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Ladders and Scaffolding for Deck Builders A deck is the one exterior job where the work sits at chest height instead of overhead, and that changes everything about access. Crews still hurt themselves on decks, mostly by reaching sideways off a stepladder with a nail gun in one hand and a board in the other. Deck Height Decides the Tool Most Dallas decks sit between 24 and 36 inches above grade, which sounds like ground work until the rim joist, the band and the railing posts all land at three t …

Roof and Ladder Work After a Hail Storm The week after a hail storm, every roofing and restoration crew in North Texas is on a roof it has never seen, on a schedule set by insurance deadlines rather than by site conditions. That combination is why storm season produces so many ladder and roof injuries. The Week After the Storm Inspection volume goes up tenfold in a few days, and much of it is done by crews brought in for the season. They are working unfamiliar houses, unfamiliar pitches and unf …

Ladder Safety for Home Inspectors A home inspector works alone, on a house nobody has looked at yet, with a camera in one hand and a schedule that does not allow for a second setup. The roof is a ten minute visit and the ladder is the whole day, which makes ladder choice the single biggest safety decision in the trade. Ten Minutes on the Roof, Six Hours on the Ladder Most inspection falls happen at the transition, not out on the field: stepping off the top of a ladder onto a roof, or swinging a …

Ladder Setups for Window Cleaning and Pressure Washing Window cleaning and pressure washing both put water exactly where a ladder needs grip. The setup that works on a dry framing job does not survive a wet slab, a soapy rung and a hose lying under one foot, and the trade does this every day. Water on the Rungs Wet aluminum rungs with a film of soap are the most common slip source in window work, and it is the worker's own hands and boots that put the water there. Wipe the rungs before climbing …

Holiday Light Installation: Ladders for Roofline Work Holiday light work happens in the worst conditions of the year: short days, cold hands, wet lawns, and a roofline the customer will look at every night for six weeks. Most of the risk sits at the ladder rather than up on the roof, and almost all of it is predictable. How Much Ladder a Two-Story Eave Actually Takes A two-story DFW house usually carries its eave between 18 and 22 feet, with a gable peak higher than that. Reaching it means the …