[AT] OT: Retiring from roof work

[Carl Gogol]

Thanks for the story,  it will make us all think a little more before  we 
climb a ladder alone.  Glad you can tell us about it so soon


-----Original Message----- 
From: Dean Vinson
Sent: Saturday, March 31, 2012 8:45 AM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: [AT] OT: Retiring from roof work

Some years ago I came to the realization that high work involving an
extended extension ladder no longer held much appeal for me.   Memories of
the many thousands of square feet of barns and houses I'd painted from an
extension ladder many years ago, confidently zipping up and down that
ladder, had gradually been replaced by an awareness of how high up I was and
how much harm could result in the event of an accident.  So I had some good
gutter-guard strips installed on my house, gave up on high Christmas
decorations, and decided I'd hire out any high repairs that needed doing.

But the low roof, the single-story roof over my garage, still felt within
range.  So I was up there this past Tuesday evening, spraying some mildew
treatment on the north-facing second-story wall of my house that's nice and
accessible from that garage roof.  I used the extension ladder but didn't
need to extend it since it's only eight feet or so to the gutter.  Before I
climbed up the first time, I worried that the base of the ladder might slide
out from underneath me once I had my weight on the ladder, since the asphalt
driveway slopes slightly downhill and away from the garage.  To guard
against that possibility, I flipped the little "feet" from the normal
hard-rubber pad position to the spiky metal fork position, assuming that
would prevent any sliding.  That's the part I wish I could go back and put a
little more thought and effort into.

After a couple of trips up and down the ladder to apply the spray treatment
and then to rinse it off, I was on my way back up for a third time, with the
garden hose and a scrub brush to tend to the bad spots.  When I reached the
height of the roof, with my left foot still on the ladder I reached my right
foot out for the roof... and felt the bottom of the ladder sliding out from
beneath me.  It's no fun to have that moment of clarity about exactly what
is happening, when it's something you'd really rather not happen.

Fortune smiled greatly upon me, though, given the range of potential
outcomes.  Some neighbors saw me fall, came to my assistance, called for an
ambulance within seconds, and I was in an emergency room within minutes.  I
suffered a couple of hairline fractures to my right hip socket, and a
hairline fracture to the right front side of my skull, and a big gash on my
forehead.  None of those injuries required surgery or a cast, and I'm now
home from the hospital and back on my feet with the assistance of crutches,
free to bear as much weight on my right side as I feel like, free to start
working my way back toward a normal routine.

In hindsight I'm kicking myself big time about the base of the ladder--about
correctly recognizing the danger but then falling into complacency and
taking a shortcut (and the wrong one) to address it.  Those spiky feet are
probably best intended for use on a lawn or bare soil, not a hard surface
like asphalt.  Given the slope of the driveway I should have taken much more
robust steps to make sure the base of the ladder was fully restrained.

I'm very grateful to be alive, unparalyzed, and with no more than a black
eye, some stitches, a pair of crutches, and a lot of tenderness to deal
with.  But I don't think I need to be doing any other roof work in the
future.

Let's be careful out there!

Dean Vinson
Dayton, Ohio
www.vinsonfarm.net


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