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Chimney, Flue and Fireplace Work The older neighborhoods in Dallas, from Swiss Avenue to Lakewood to Munger Place, are full of tall masonry chimneys on steep roofs. A chimney sweep or mason working those houses needs roof access that does not damage the shingles and a way to work the stack itself. Getting to the Roof Without Damaging the Shingles A ladder laid straight against a gutter crushes it and puts the feet on a surface that gives. A standoff or a walk-through top section spreads the loa …

Working Above Parking Garage Decks A parking structure is a stack of low ceilings with open edges. Between the slab above and the deck below there are seven to eight feet of clear height, the lighting and conduit live up there, and the parapet at the edge is the only thing between a tech and a two story drop. Seven Feet of Clearance The clear height between decks is the constraint that decides everything. A frame scaffold will not fit standing up, and most stepladders cannot be opened under a s …

Aircraft Hangar Maintenance at DFW Airports A hangar is a warehouse with a very expensive floor. The ceiling is thirty to forty feet up, the lights and door tracks live there, and directly below sits an airframe that nobody wants a ladder leaning against. Hangar Ceilings Are Warehouse Ceilings The structure is pre-engineered steel with purlins at twenty to thirty feet and a sprinkler grid to match. Access is a rolling tower, not a ladder, because everything that needs fixing is out in the middl …

Choosing Fall Protection Anchor Points A harness and lanyard are only as good as what they are attached to. The anchor is the part of the system that has to hold a falling body without warning, and it is the part most often chosen by eye on the morning of the job. What Actually Counts as an Anchor The general rule for a personal fall arrest anchor is 5,000 pounds per worker attached, or a system designed and certified by a qualified person for the specific installation. It has to be independent …

Working on Standing Seam Metal Roofs A standing seam roof is a finished surface, not a substrate. Every step lands on the customer's visible product, and every seam is a raised folded edge that was never designed to carry a boot. Crews that treat it like shingle come away with dents they cannot explain and slips they did not expect. The Seam Is Not a Step A standing seam is folded metal standing an inch or more above the panel. Standing on it flattens the fold, and a flattened seam is visible f …