Hey there Do-It-Yourselfers! I hope you’ve been encouraged with our recent articles to do some more things around your house to keep it better maintained, and I hope our tips have been helpful. This may be the most important tip and it should go without saying, but whatever you’re doing, please BE CAREFUL! More than 18,000 people in America lose their life every year from injuries that take place in the home! The number of injuries requiring hospital emergency room visits is a staggering 21 million a year adding up to about $220 billion in medical costs! I’ll say it again … PLEASE PLEASE BE CAREFUL!
When “doing it yourself” around the house, there are many hazards, such as climbing a ladder, electrical shocks, moving something heavy, and much more. Falls are the leading cause of death and account for 1/3 of the lives lost. In 2010, more than 662,000 adults were hospitalized from non-fatal injuries suffered from falls.
I’m 60 years old now and still use a ladder all the time to get on roofs and access something out of reach. I’ve been using ladders and getting on ladders since I was a teenager repairing my dad’s rent houses. It’s so easy to get comfortable and even careless with placing and using a ladder. It only takes one fall to cause serious injury or death. You cannot be too safe on a ladder! The four main types of ladder accidents are as follows:
- Wrong type of ladder was selected
- Ladder was damaged or excessively worn
- Ladder was used incorrectly
- Ladder was placed incorrectly
Each one of those points could be greatly expanded upon. Make sure the ladder is in excellent condition. If you use a ladder all the time and your ladder is weak, damaged or worn, it’s a good investment to buy a new one. The few dollars spent could save a life, serious injury and thousands of dollars in medical bills.
Make sure the ladder is placed correctly, on a solid surface and on a surface where the ladder will not lose its footing. Don’t set the ladder in soft dirt; adding your weight to the ladder can cause one side to sink and the ladder can go one direction while you fall the other way.
A proper slope and placement of a ladder is as follows: Place your ladder base at a 1:4 ratio. For every 4 feet of working length, the base of the ladder should be 1 foot out from the top support. Extend the ladder 3 feet above the top support point.
Since so many things are done in an attic, using ladders just to access an attic or the subject of pull-down attic stairs are another item of concern. We’ll talk about that next month! Climb safe my friends!
