1. Scout Power Lines
You’ll need a ladder to reach loose shingles or bent flashing on your roof. Just make sure you scout the power lines coming into your home before raising a metal ladder. Otherwise, you could cause yourself serious injury or even death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that roughly 350 people die each year as a result of electrocution, most from contact with overhead wires. If your roof repair requires you to work near live power lines, call a professional roofer in Oregon.
2. Use Appropriate Footwear
Before you get on the roof, you want to make sure you are wearing appropriate footwear. Steep pitches, loose granules, rooftop algae, and other debris can make it very easy to fall from and seriously injure yourself while working on the roof. Wearing shoes that are specifically designed for walking on roofs is ideal, but if you don’t have those, the next best thing is tight-fitting soft soled tennis shoes. Even with appropriate footwear, roof falls can still be common, so for any extensive repairs on the roof, you will want to use a safety harness.
3. Use a Roofing Safety Harness
Attach a roof anchor and use a safety harness when you’re on the roof. The roof anchor attaches securely to the rafters of your roof. The safety harness wraps around your body and distributes your weight properly should you slip and fall. You’ll connect your harness to the anchor using strong rope and a carabiner. This ensures that, should you fall from the roof:
- You won’t hit the ground
- Your weight will be properly supported
- You’ll avoid serious injury to your back or neck
A roofing anchor requires the proper type of fasteners for installation, and the harness must be secured with rope that’s heavy enough that it doesn’t snap under pressure. Be sure to research the proper use of a roofing safety harness before attempting DIY roof repairs.
4. Watch Out for Stinging Insects
Many components on roofs also double as excellent locations for insect nests. In Oregon, it is common to find wasp nests in the corner of soffits or inside of different vents. Before getting to work on your repair, it is good to scout the area you will be working on to make sure you don’t accidentally bump into a nest and invite a swarm of attackers. The natural human reaction after agitating a wasp nest is to want to run, which is extremely dangerous on the rooftop. A little bit of scouting on the front end can save you from serious injury.
5. Wear Eye Protection
Most roof repairs require the use of nails or screws — sharp instruments that can cause severe damage should they come into contact with your eyes. Wearing protective eye goggles also keeps you from getting other types of debris in your eyes, including:
- Metal shards
- Wood splinters
- Granules from asphalt shingles
- Sawdust
- Mold spores
Wearing eye protection should be standard operating procedure for any home repair, but it’s especially important when you’re working multiple feet off the ground. A sudden eye injury is not only painful, but it can startle you into a misstep — something that could cause you to lose balance, slip, and fall.
