SAS Urban Survival Handbook (36 page)

WARNING

NEVER use a power tool with the lock-on button pressed. If you fall, or drop the tool, it may carry on working—and cause a more serious accident.

Carrying a ladder

Everyone tells you to carry a ladder vertically. That is easier said than done with a long ladder. It takes a lot of nerve, control and practice.
If you can’t manage this circus trick, don’t despair. Two people can wrestle a long ladder into almost any position, better than one.

WARNING

Always use a ladder at an angle of 75º. The distance between the base of the ladder and the wall should be one quarter the height of the uppermost point of contact.

Accessories

Look for ladder accessories which can make working at a height easier and safer. There are bolt-on or clip-on platforms which can make the rung you stand on into a wider ‘perch’. Stand-offs hold the top of the ladder away from the wall so you can avoid resting the ladder on guttering. A clip-on tray would make a good area for resting tools or paint while you work. A pot of paint could be easier to manage if slung from a rung on a large S-shaped hook.

When NOT to use a ladder

DON’T use a ladder if you feel unsafe or at all worried about the height. DON’T use a ladder if you will need both hands to do a job. DON’T use a ladder for climbing onto a roof—nearly all roof coverings are unsafe and liable to be damaged in the process. DON’T use a ladder for major jobs like taking down a chimney stack.

In all these cases, call a µprofessional—who may choose to erect proper scaffolding—or consider using a platform tower.

PLATFORM TOWERS

Platform towers are safer, by far, than using extension ladders. You need space at ground level for one to stand safely. They are probably too costly and too bulky in storage to make it worth buying one—but they may be hired.

The towers are, basically, in ‘kit form’—consisting of H-frames which slot together. Each level is added at right angles to the previous one—with occasional diagonal braces dropped in for stability. At the top are placed standing boards and—very important—a hand rail.

Platform towers can be built single-handed, with a rope to haul the sections up, but really require at least two people.

When built, the towers resemble some children’s climbing frames. NEVER let a child play on or near the tower. NEVER leave a tower unattended.

Working safely

The top of the tower should be at a safe working height for the job you need to do. NEVER use a ladder on top of a tower.

The height of the tower should not be greater than three times the base dimension. Square towers are safer than oblong ones, where the height should not exceed the SMALLER of the base dimensions. External supports—outriggers—increase the working height to three times the resulting base.

Towers MUST be built on level ground—choose the feet to suit the quality of the support the ground offers. On soft ground, you need base plates to spread the load and prevent sinking. On very level ground, ‘castors’ (which MUST be locked before the tower is climbed) allow the tower to be moved from one location to another—avoiding dismantling.

There are ‘adjustable’ feet which allow you to compensate for slightly uneven ground—or if it is absolutely essential to build the tower on steps.
ALWAYS level the first section, before commencing to build the tower.

REMEMBER

Always climb
inside
the frame. Haul a bag of tools up separately, with a rope—you must have both hands free for climbing. Make sure you wipe any mud off your feet BEFORE you climb.

Safety first

• ◑ ALWAYS secure the tower at the top, to prevent toppling.
  
• ◑ NEVER rest a ladder against a tower—or only do so
  IF
  the top of the tower is secured and
  IF
  the ladder is leaning towards the building.
  ALWAYS
  secure the ladder top and bottom, before attempting to climb it.
  
• ◑ Fix the top boards, or remove them if you expect high winds. It is fairly possible that they may be dislodged by the wind—and do considerable damage.
  

WARNING

Do NOT attempt roof work if you are not qualified to do so. NEVER walk on a roof! Quite apart from the damage you will do to the roof—no roof covering is intended for walking on—most roofs are not strong enough. The use of crawlboards and roof ‘ladders’ is ESSENTIAL. Innumerable deaths and accidents have been caused by people thinking that it was safe to walk about on roofs, because they’ve seen ‘professionals’ doing so. You must seek specialist advice.

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

With almost all DIY processes, some form of physical protection is required. Skin may heal if superficially burned by chemicals—but body functions such as sight, hearing and breathing should not be viewed as renewable resources.

Safety equipment on sale may NOT be safe enough—safety goggles may not be shatterproof, breathing masks may be hopelessly inefficient. Always choose, not by price, but by evidence that the items have passed tests for efficiency and durability.

There is no reason why protection during amateur work should be any less effective than that used by professionals or in industry.

The basics

Tough overalls are essential for most kinds of work—not to stop you ruining your clothes, but so that dust and contamination is confined to one set of clothes and not carried around with you. A lab coat or apron, or a separate set of ‘work’ clothes may suffice for cleaner safer jobs.

Overalls should fit OVER another set of clothes and be roomy enough to allow for movement—such as bending down or reaching your arms above your head. They should not be loose enough to catch in machinery, particularly the sleeves. A buttoned cuff is probably safer than a plain one.

The fabric should be tightly woven and flameproof. Some man-made fibres may melt onto the skin when heat is applied.

Wash overalls separately from general laundry.

Investigate overalls with removable limb or torso guards—some of which are designed to protect you (to some degree) from the impact of a revolving cutting blade.

Gloves

The gloves you wear must not prevent you from working safely—they should fit but should not be so restrictive that you do not have full use of your fingers.

How strong they must be depends on the job you are doing. If you are stripping paint with chemicals or working with solvents, oils or acids, the gloves should be impervious to such chemicals. If handling concrete or sawing, the gloves will need to withstand a lot of wear. There are even reinforced gloves for use when operating cutting machinery—which should resist a saw blade (to some degree) turning at speed.

If working with dust or installing loft insulation, you should wear gloves which fit to the wrist with an elasticated band to prevent particles from falling inside.

Gloves should not make your hands sweat—leather and canvas seem the best materials, although there are numerous alternatives. For lighter work, consider disposable paper/plastic alternatives.

If gloves become heavily soiled, or contaminated inside, they should be discarded—unless specified as washable.

If you really CAN’T wear gloves to do the job—not even ‘surgeon’s gloves’—or if you cannot wear both gloves, protect the skin with barrier cream.

Footwear

Good footwear should have thick, non-slip, rubber soles—which can resist piercing, acids and grease. It should also provide you with safety from electrocution.

The uppers should ideally be steel-reinforced to prevent: crushing of toes when a heavy object falls on your feet; cutting or stabbing feet with gardening tools, chainsaws or axes; burning of the feet from (for instance) droplets of molten metal, while welding.

The shoes/boots should be comfortable enough to wear and stand in for long periods of time. Thick socks may make them more comfortable—remember to wear these socks when you try the footwear on.

Protecting eyes

To be any good at all, eye protectors must be fairly comfortable and allow near-perfect vision. If scratched or worn, they should be replaced. They should not ‘steam up’. Depending on the task in hand, they should resist impact from flying debris, dust penetration (around the sides) and splashes with chemicals. It is ESSENTIAL that they be shatterproof.

There are various types available. For some jobs, where the main danger is flying debris or splashed chemicals, ‘spectacle’style eyeshields may suffice. They are easy to put on and remove. Don’t use them if there is any danger of them falling off, or being knocked off. An adjustable band which goes right round the head would make them safer.

Whole-face screens, which hinge up and down—so they can quickly be lifted out of the way—are very good for flying debris and chemical splashes. They protect the whole face, and in some cases, the front of the neck as well. Drifting dust will find its way in, though. This form of protection might be your only choice if you wear glasses.

Goggles with an elastic strap which goes round your head, like those worn by skiers, may be essential to keep dust out of your eyes. They may be prone to steaming up.

If welding, you will need eye protection in the form of a whole-face shield with a clear (tinted) portion which filters out the harmful intense light—if your sight is to be protected AND your skin (see
Welding
).

Hearing protectors

Think of them as ‘hearing protectors’—not EAR protectors. They should be worn with almost any power tool or noisy process. Most people don’t realise that their hearing is at risk from loud noise. It’s common to feel a temporary effect, which ranges from muffled hearing to a ‘ringing’ in the ears. Eventually, this temporary hearing loss can become permanent.

Hearing protectors (which look like headphones) are easy to wear. The headband should be movable so that you could also wear a safety helmet. You should still be able to hear a little—in case an accident happens, something falls, or someone shouts for help.

Wax earplugs are efficient, for most people, but not very convenient. Cotton wool (cotton) is useless.

Breathing protection

Inhalation of dust or fumes may present an extremely serious long-term health hazard. Breathing protection is VITAL.
Smog masks, made of cloth or paper, are not sufficient—except for protection from larger debris. Even so, you should replace them frequently—as soon as you can see any build-up of dust on them.