If you are thinking about painting the exterior of your house, you really should take some tips on safety from a professional painting contractor. They can instruct you on how to be physically prepared as well as having the right equipment on hand.
Be Ladder Safe with Levelers
The majority of ladder accidents happen because the ladder has a make shift prop. Ladder levelers attach to the legs and provide security on uneven ground. Painting companies concerned with safety and production use them all the time. These devices make you ladder a much more secure platform to work from and reduce the chances of injury. Even your production will improve, as you are not constantly looking for something to prop the ladder up with. This alone makes them a smart investment.
Do you have the proper range of ladders to safely reach all areas of your house?
Professional painting contractors usually have the following range in ladders as standard equipment. Coming from a professional painting perspective, I recommend a 6 foot step ladder, a 20 ft extension, a 28 ft extension, and a 36 ft extension ladder if your house is needs a ladder this size. This range will allow you to comfortably reach all areas of your house that are accessible with ladders. The advertised length of a ladder is not the actual accessible length. The lap of your ladder when fully extended will reduce its reach by 3 or 4 feet. As an example, a 28 foot rated ladder will only extend about 24 or 25 feet.
Also you have to consider that you are going to lose a couple more feet when you place the foot of the ladder out from the side of your house to give you a proper angle to safely climb the ladder. A 28 ft ladder will only give you about 20 to 22 feet access.
Purchasing the Correct Drop Cloth
Canvas drop cloths are fine for the tough stuff like most shrubs, bushes, drive ways and hard surfaces; however they are too heavy for smaller plants or flowers. The best thing to use on small plants or flowers is old bed sheets. They allow the plants and flowers to breath and they are light enough to provide protection without crushing the delicate plants.
A big no-no are plastic drop cloths as they can cause permanent damage to your shrubs or flowers. There is a twofold problem with plastic, first your plants cannot breathe and second it can heat up under plastic in a hurry. All that is needed to cause damage under plastic is a few hours. You may find the tops of your shrubs or plants dead after using plastic drop cloths.
You need to keep some cold Gatorade on hand for yourself as well, dehydration can happen quickly when you are working outside in the heat.
I can't emphasize this enough. Painting outdoors in the sunlight will dehydrate you quickly, especially if you aren't use to this type of work. Don't let dehydration catch you by surprise. It doesn't take long to dehydrate. You can suddenly become light headed and lose your balance. Staying properly hydrated is very important for your health in other ways. One of the more serious complications you can develop from dehydration is a stroke, so always play it safe and use lots Gatorade.
Pick out a place where you can rest in the shade. Don't 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.
What is Your Physical Fitness?
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.
Beware of flying hazards as well; wasps are about the worst thing you can encounter while at the top of a 36-foot ladder.
Before attempting to paint, you need to eliminate the wasp problem. You do not want to battle a stinging insect while on a ladder! You could lose your grip on the ladder an fall.
Rent 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.
You never want to set your ladder up on a slope that falls 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. - 29955
Be Ladder Safe with Levelers
The majority of ladder accidents happen because the ladder has a make shift prop. Ladder levelers attach to the legs and provide security on uneven ground. Painting companies concerned with safety and production use them all the time. These devices make you ladder a much more secure platform to work from and reduce the chances of injury. Even your production will improve, as you are not constantly looking for something to prop the ladder up with. This alone makes them a smart investment.
Do you have the proper range of ladders to safely reach all areas of your house?
Professional painting contractors usually have the following range in ladders as standard equipment. Coming from a professional painting perspective, I recommend a 6 foot step ladder, a 20 ft extension, a 28 ft extension, and a 36 ft extension ladder if your house is needs a ladder this size. This range will allow you to comfortably reach all areas of your house that are accessible with ladders. The advertised length of a ladder is not the actual accessible length. The lap of your ladder when fully extended will reduce its reach by 3 or 4 feet. As an example, a 28 foot rated ladder will only extend about 24 or 25 feet.
Also you have to consider that you are going to lose a couple more feet when you place the foot of the ladder out from the side of your house to give you a proper angle to safely climb the ladder. A 28 ft ladder will only give you about 20 to 22 feet access.
Purchasing the Correct Drop Cloth
Canvas drop cloths are fine for the tough stuff like most shrubs, bushes, drive ways and hard surfaces; however they are too heavy for smaller plants or flowers. The best thing to use on small plants or flowers is old bed sheets. They allow the plants and flowers to breath and they are light enough to provide protection without crushing the delicate plants.
A big no-no are plastic drop cloths as they can cause permanent damage to your shrubs or flowers. There is a twofold problem with plastic, first your plants cannot breathe and second it can heat up under plastic in a hurry. All that is needed to cause damage under plastic is a few hours. You may find the tops of your shrubs or plants dead after using plastic drop cloths.
You need to keep some cold Gatorade on hand for yourself as well, dehydration can happen quickly when you are working outside in the heat.
I can't emphasize this enough. Painting outdoors in the sunlight will dehydrate you quickly, especially if you aren't use to this type of work. Don't let dehydration catch you by surprise. It doesn't take long to dehydrate. You can suddenly become light headed and lose your balance. Staying properly hydrated is very important for your health in other ways. One of the more serious complications you can develop from dehydration is a stroke, so always play it safe and use lots Gatorade.
Pick out a place where you can rest in the shade. Don't 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.
What is Your Physical Fitness?
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.
Beware of flying hazards as well; wasps are about the worst thing you can encounter while at the top of a 36-foot ladder.
Before attempting to paint, you need to eliminate the wasp problem. You do not want to battle a stinging insect while on a ladder! You could lose your grip on the ladder an fall.
Rent 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.
You never want to set your ladder up on a slope that falls 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. - 29955
About the Author:
Nicky Taylor owns a Marietta painting contractor firm. Nicky has worked in the painting industry 27 year now with his Marietta house painting company and home repair service. Nicky's company paints in North Metro Atlanta Ga. Nicky is quick to give his ideas on selectingMarietta house painters and other improvement subject matter relating to your home at the above links through articles and other resources. Contains helpful information for anyone planning their own projects.
