Fell off a ladder

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Tinytom

Tinytom

Well-Known Member
Anyone else ever fell off a ladder? I’m always doing bits and bobs roofing doing daft things up roofs with no crawler etc then this morning just been to swap some Georgian wire in a skylight iv got to the top of the ladder and lost my balance turning to pass the glass to the labourer who was already on the roof and fell off luckily it was only a single story and I managed to jump clean back off the ladder and threw the glass so I didn’t land on it, not hurt at all but s**t me up good and proper. What a start to the day
 
Ive done it before. Not footing the ladder right, overstretching, awkward job. Fell down and thought, wow, nothing, that was lucky and then the pain set in. I’d cut a huge slice out of my thumb with my trowel :eek: couldn’t stop the blood pouring out. Could have been worse I suppose.
 
Funny you should say, a bloke who I work for has just come off one on Tuesday. Straight on to some wrought iron railings right up his jaxi and out the top of his ass cheek. He’s in a bad way, not really a worker either more of a finger pointing mini hitler in his late 60s.


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Was on a two storey roof before to redo a chimney. Slates were stripped back from the Base of the chimney (just not enough)
Anyways as I went to move from one side to the other for nailing the stop beads I missed my footing and ending up sliding a fair distance down the roof.
Hammer rapidly went through the slates, busted the second or third lath (not quite sure) before I stopped sliding.
Not the nicest experience I may tell you.
 
This is the second warning Iv had in the last 2 weeks I slipped off a slate roof too @Irish John luckily it was only a few foot above another roof so I managed to fall onto the ridge feet first and I was ok, iv done days and days of work up on roofs never realised how easy it is to slip and there’s no stopping yourself on a wet slate roof, we should all be scaffolding like the council do. Problem is though you price to scaffold and someone else doesn’t there’s no way your getting the job, the customer doesn’t give a f**k how dangerous it is for you.
 
These things normally happen when you've been working too much in my case. I fell bounced my head off the wall and concurs myself before throwing on couple walls that were not my finest
 
Tinytom said:
This is the second warning Iv had in the last 2 weeks I slipped off a slate roof too @Irish John luckily it was only a few foot above another roof so I managed to fall onto the ridge feet first and I was ok, iv done days and days of work up on roofs never realised how easy it is to slip and there’s no stopping yourself on a wet slate roof, we should all be scaffolding like the council do. Problem is though you price to scaffold and someone else doesn’t there’s no way your getting the job, the customer doesn’t give a f**k how dangerous it is for you.
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As Irish John says - claw hammer to use as an anchor when you're not on a cat ladder.

I came off a bungalow roof once. Skidding down the roof, I realised that I was still straight above the ladder, so rather than smash the roof, I opted to hit the ladder. Didn't stop me though, and I pole vaulted clean across the garden like some sort of circus clown.
 
Not ladder related but did not put all the brakes on my mini max last week, shifted my weight too quick and away it went! Platform was about 4ft up and, i was half way through a ceiling. Apart from a lump on my ankle for 24hrs I was OK my trowel not so lucky 3 of the rivets popped I chucked it that hard as I fell.
 
Tinytom said:
This is the second warning Iv had in the last 2 weeks I slipped off a slate roof too @Irish John luckily it was only a few foot above another roof so I managed to fall onto the ridge feet first and I was ok, iv done days and days of work up on roofs never realised how easy it is to slip and there’s no stopping yourself on a wet slate roof, we should all be scaffolding like the council do. Problem is though you price to scaffold and someone else doesn’t there’s no way your getting the job, the customer doesn’t give a f**k how dangerous it is for you.
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I don't do much roof work (guttering, repairs, fitting a Velux etc) but when I do it's with scaffolding and if it's chimney work then that gets a cradle with proper access from the scaffolding. If there's access then I'll sometimes use a boom lift, but if it's above 20 mph winds or p1ssing down then it's not happening that day.

As for those that don't and price cheap? Crack on, it's their choice and one more dead/crippled/injured/prosecuted bloke is no skin off my nose anymore than someone getting a job I didn't. There're plenty more jobs to be done, but you won't get many of them from a wheelchair or coffin.
 
@imago your the man on here let’s say your doing the job, it’s single story approx 3 meters to the flat roof height and you’ve got to take a 900 square pane of Georgian wire up there, what would you say is the safest way?
 
Fell off a ladder
 
Tinytom said:
@imago your the man on here let’s say your doing the job, it’s single story approx 3 meters to the flat roof height and you’ve got to take a 900 square pane of Georgian wire up there, what would you say is the safest way?
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Cradle with proper scaffolding. Men footing the scaffolding. Top rope men lashed to the chimney. Safety harnesses, abseil equipment. Adequate training. Crash mats underneath. Hards hats and parachutes for all personnel.

Safety first.
 
Tinytom said:
@imago your the man on here
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Now that's just not true.

Tinytom said:
@imago let’s say your doing the job, it’s single story approx 3 meters to the flat roof height and you’ve got to take a 900 square pane of Georgian wire up there, what would you say is the safest way?
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Two people and for preference a cherry picker so that you can step straight out of the basket. You can usually get a short lift on with driver out to a site for between £50 and £100 for half a day.

If you can't get a cherry picker near, then a scaffold tower with two decks and leg braces, same hire price just more faff to set up. Pass material up to the bloke on the first deck, same for the second, same for onto the roof.
 
imago said:
Now that's just not true.



Two people and for preference a cherry picker so that you can step straight out of the basket. You can usually get a short lift on with driver out to a site for between £50 and £100 for half a day.

If you can't get a cherry picker near, then a scaffold tower with two decks and leg braces, same hire price just more faff to set up. Pass material up to the bloke on the first deck, same for the second, same for onto the roof.
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Iv got ticket for cherry picker and tower scaffold and I use both regularly however there was no access for a cherry picker and I thought a tower scaffold would be more dangerous passing a pane of glass up between the bars, so ladder it was. I’m off to try again tomorrow, there was 2 if us there I’ll just be more careful this time.
I wasn’t being funny by the way your replies always seem like you know your stuff down to a t
 
Tinytom said:
Iv got ticket for cherry picker and tower scaffold and I use both regularly however there was no access for a cherry picker and I thought a tower scaffold would be more dangerous passing a pane of glass up between the bars, so ladder it was. I’m off to try again tomorrow, there was 2 if us there I’ll just be more careful this time.
I wasn’t being funny by the way your replies always seem like you know your stuff down to a t
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Handling/moving glass I use the split foam pipe lagging. Put it all round the edge and wrap around the pane/panel with duct tape to hold it in place. Easier on the fingers and stops the glass or walls etc getting damaged. Really handy when you're shifting a big shower panel up a flight of stairs.
 
Fell off a hop up once....

I hate plasterers (if you can call them that) that leave their trowels blade up.... be like falling on a knife... really does piss me off
 
When I was at college one of the lecturers was off for a couple of months then came back on crutches. The ladder slipped when he was clearing his gutters and he broke both ankles, but the more serious damage was to his tendons. He landed in his neighbour's garden and their Alsatian went nuts and dragged him round the patio. :eek:

Obviously we p1ssed ourselves when we were told. :LOL:
 
Tinytom said:
Anyone else ever fell off a ladder? I’m always doing bits and bobs roofing doing daft things up roofs with no crawler etc then this morning just been to swap some Georgian wire in a skylight iv got to the top of the ladder and lost my balance turning to pass the glass to the labourer who was already on the roof and fell off luckily it was only a single story and I managed to jump clean back off the ladder and threw the glass so I didn’t land on it, not hurt at all but s**t me up good and proper. What a start to the day
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You are obviously missing jumping out of aeroplanes with f**k all wrong with them
 
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