Tips
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If you are thinking about painting the exterior of your house, you really should take some tips on safety from a professional Roswell House Painter. They can instruct you on how to be physically prepared as well as having the right equipment on hand.
Here are some safety painting tips to keep in mind:
Be Ladder Safe with Levelers
When it comes to ladder accidents the majority are caused by make shift props such as bricks and other construction materials. A leveler will fix this problem, they attach to the legs of the ladder providing more security. Painting contractors concerned with production and safety use them often. Using ladder levelers will greatly reduce your risk of being injured while providing stability. Even your production will increase, as you are not constantly searching for something to stick under the ladder legs. This is worth the cost of investment in itself.
You need the proper range of ladders to safely paint all areas
Standard equipment for a professional house painters will include a range of ladders. The recommendation from contractors is to have on hand a 6 ft stepladder, 20 ft, 28 ft and 36 ft extension ladders. You may not need the 36 ft; it all depends on the areas of your home you need to reach. Generally, if you have a range of ladder sizes like this you will not have to worry about missing anything. Keep in mind that the length of the ladder advertised is not the actual size. Your ladders lap will decrease its workable length by around four foot. This means a 28 ft ladder will only offer you about 24 feet to work with.
Another thing to remember is when you place the foot of the ladder away from the side of the house to give you a safe climbing angle you lose another couple of feet. Your 28 ft ladder has now been reduced to about 20-22 ft of access.
Purchasing the Correct Drop Cloth
Canvas drop cloths are perfect for rough and tough materials such as hard surfaces, driveways, shrubs and bushes but they are much too heavy for things that are more delicate. If you have small plants or flowers around your home, you might want to use an old bed sheet as a drop cloth. This way the plants will be protected but the material is light enough not to crush them and allows airflow so the plants can breathe.
Never use a plastic drop cloth. You may find your plants or shrubs permanently damaged from plastic use. Plastic is solid and will not allow air for your plants to breathe, plus it can get very hot under there in a hurry. Within a couple of hours under temperatures can rise to dangerous levels. Using a plastic drop cloth can kill the tops of your shrubs or plants.
You need to keep some cold Beverage on hand for yourself as well, dehydration can happen quickly when you are working outside in the heat.
The importance of proper hydration cannot be overly stressed. When working outside in the heat you can quickly dehydrate, especially if you do not normally work outside. Do not let dehydration sneak up on you, and it can in a hurry. You will be working along and all of the sudden feel dizzy or lightheaded, not good when you are on a ladder! Hydration is also important to your health in other ways as well. If you are not careful dehydration can end in a stroke, so play it safe and keep plenty of Gatorade on hand.
Choose a nice shady area for frequent breaks and most importantly do not over exert yourself.
A big mistake that many homeowners make is trying to pack a ton of painting into one day. Painting is time consuming, especially when you are doing the exterior. Do not get yourself into physical distress by stretching your limitations on a hot sunny day.
Can You Handle the Job Physically?
Your legs may begin to cramp severely after a day of climbing up and down the ladder. You really need to be prepared for this kind of work otherwise; your leg muscles can become overstressed and weak. Shaky legs increases your chances of taking a nasty spill from your ladder. Consider carefully your physical condition before you start. Consult your physician if you have any preexisting medical conditions, before you begin painting. This is generally not a problem for contractors because they spend most of each day climbing up and down ladders. Someone who is not used to this type of work can quickly get into trouble.
Remember to prepare for flying insects as well, you do not want to fight off a wasp while working at the end of a 36 ft ladder.
Spray and then knock down all visible wasp nests before you paint. The end of your extension ladder is no place to fight a wasp. This kind of distraction could cause you to lose your balance.
Consider Using a Roof Ladder
Does your home have areas that need to be painted above the roofline? Look into renting a roof ladder for the day. You should not take the chance of sliding off your roof! Roof ladders hook over the peak of your house and lay on top of your shingles. This allows you to safely navigate your roof and reach walls or soffits that are above the roof, most of the time they are reasonable to rent.
Be sure you do not set your ladder up on a slope that falls back and away from it.
You can notch the ground out with a shovel and pic, this is very important to safety. Create a level flat area for each ladder leg. Setting up a ladder means leaning it against your house so that you can easily navigate the ladder. When you combine the leaning ladder and a backwards slope, you have an extremely dangerous situation. You can always reseed the area later, it is better to be safe. Painting contractors all teach this important safety tip to their workers.
The best thing you can do is carefully plan out your project. You will want to make sure you are properly equipped for safety reasons. You also need to compare the amount of time the project will take with the amount you have free, you do not need to rush this kind of job. In the end if you are short on time or are otherwise unable to work on the job you may want to hire a professional painting contractor instead. Contractors can do the job in a fraction of the time.