Be carefull up the roof.

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nate379

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While this has nothing to do with MY stove, I know many of you guys are getting up the roof to clean the chimney.

Well yesterday I shoveled the snow off the roof (it's just plywood right now) of a shed I am putting up so I can roof it later this week. Well long story short the toe board I had put up pulled out the nails when I slid down on the roof and put my weight on it (I was about 3-4 feet from the toe board).

I fell about 11 feet. Stomach down when I went off the roof, but I ended up about 15ft away from the roof on my back... on top of the ladder. I'm not sure what happened as it was over in a split second, but I think I might have landed on my feet and then flipped backward onto my back.

No broken bones but I did eff up my back pretty bad and my arms and legs don't feel that great. Could have been MUCH MUCH worse.
 
Wow! Glad you're okay, relatively speaking. I hope you feel better soon.
 
Sheesh! Glad you are able to tell the story!


Shari
 
Alaska is dangerous country..

Glad you didn't die. They might not find you 'till spring..

;-)
 
I noticed that Home Depot has a complete fall protection system in the stores now for $99. Pretty cheap if one uses it and is unfortunate enough to need it.
 
I hope you feel better soon.
 
While building houses about 30 years ago, we were laying plywood on a new house and the temperature was in the low 20's but dry!
My buddy was chewing and spitting off the edge but missed once.
As I walked down to the edge to recieve another sheet, I hit that tiny bit of frozen spit and went about 12' to the ground.
I layed flat on my back collecting my senses and realized my left leg was bent out and up putting my left heel near my left ear.
With a lot of cussing, I got up and went back to work.
Twenty eight years later a surgeon says I got the worst degenerative hip she'd ever seen and there was obvious evidence of an earlier break.
Who woulda ever thought a buddy chewing tobacco would cause me so much pain and a total hip replacement so many years later and the worst part,
I'll probably out live it and need a second.
YES, please be careful.
 
Scary and very real possibility to many of us.. Fall protection is a PIA but can be a good thing when things go wrong.. My chimney is over 20' from the roof to the ground I may be so lucky if I fell from that height.. Take Care..

Ray
 
Oh there was only about 3" on the roof, just I needed to get it cleaned off to put the shingles on Friday. I just have a back brace right now and been taking pain meds. Have to walk around like I'm 80.
 
Seconds and thirds on that advice. Over the past 10 years, a good friend's father and my brother in law died from falls off roofs. And a neighbor fell, survived, but broke both his legs so badly, he went through multiple surgergies before they had to amputate one, and the one he kept ain't all that good. I was working on the storage shed I was building this summer, had the walls framed up and was fastenting down the top plates. I don't recall exactly what I was doing, but I was up on the top of the framed wall, had used a 6 ft step ladder to climb up there, and it wasn't an especially safe position, and the thought crosses my mind, maybe not a good idea. Just then I see my neighbor who lost his leg walking his dogs, he uses a cane an limps noticeably.

I climb down, and go get the extension ladder. Lesson learned.
 
This brings back some memories of myself taking a swan dive off the roof on Dec 31st. That sure ruined our holiday that year, I spent most of the following day nursing sore ankles & shoulder. I hate to admit it, but this has happened on more than one occasion because of an slippery roof
 
Glad to hear you survived that fall. This is something that scares the hell out of me as I have a severe fear of heights. You noted the fall took a split second. Based on the table below for free falling objects you accelerated from 0 - 9.8 Meters/Sec (32Ft/Sec) during the first 10 feet of that 11ft fall. So it actually took you about a 1/2 of a second to reach the ground.. Gravity is a major groan!!

re:
Velocity and time for a free-falling object being dropped from a position of rest results in the following pattern.

Time (s) Velocity (m/s)
0 -- 0
1 -- 9.8
2 -- 19.6
3 -- 29.4
4 -- 39.2
5 -- 49.0
 
I almost rode my previous block chimney to the ground when I leaned against it from the roof, not realizing it wasn't tied into the house at all. It sure was fun to take that one down last November though. TIMBER!
So far I've been lucky to not have had any bad falls, though not from a lack of doing some dumb stuff.

I finally got smart enough to make it so I could sweep my 2 chimneys from the comfort of my dining and great rooms. I stuck the first section of handle and brush in the bottom of the pipe, then tied a trash bag over the stovepipe adapter to catch the soot. Then I just added new sections through a small hole in the bag as I worked my way up. Seemed to work pretty slick.
 
NATE379 said:
Oh there was only about 3" on the roof, just I needed to get it cleaned off to put the shingles on Friday. I just have a back brace right now and been taking pain meds. Have to walk around like I'm 80.

That's bad as I had heard you are only 79 Nate!

Happy that you are still okay as that can be pretty scary taking a fall like that.


Kenny, those store-bought hips last pretty good. I have one and looks like I'll have another soon. A bionic Backwoods Savage!


On fall protection, many hunting stores carry some great fall protection devices. Old guys like me and even the younger ones like to make sure we stay up there. That fall is not bad at all but the sudden stop can be a bit hairy.
 
I have a 12/12 pitch painted gal roof and I noticed when building it that nails would simply scream down when dropped. My answer was to get a 44' extension ladder and I brace the bottom so well that its not going anywhere. The only drawback is that is one heavy ladder.
I did do some dangerous work this summer as relates to heights. We have an extensive sprinkler system for forest fires. The Spruce trees that they were on have grown and partially block the water so I climbed 100' plus to move the sprinklers up. The good thing is our spruce have good branches and I used the ladder for the first 40'. I did 1 tree a day as the stress is worse than the work. I do have a harness for when I am at the top and working but its no help moving up or down. Should be good for 10 years and I will not be going up when I am 75.
 
I don't like heights at all but you gotta do what you gotta do you know?

Fall could have been prevented but that is easy to say now. I am very thankful that it wasn't any worse. Broken arm, leg... or worse could have a reality for sure!

Mainly the toe plate should have been nailed better. I had just put short pieces of 2x4 upright on the fascia board every 4-6ft and fired in 4-5 nails on each. Then I put a 2x6 across the little 2x4s. It was fine holding my weight when I put the sheathing on, but when my feet hit the 2x6 as I slid it pulled the nails right now of 2 of the 2x4s and spun the 2x6 vertical. It came down along with the ladder. I should have spent more time on it. I wanted to make it easy to pull down, which it was, but instead of nails I should have used screws. Or even just bought few roof jacks. Also should have used a rope to get up the the peak and back down.

I'm not sure what is up with my back. I have several old injuries and I don't know if I finished something off or I just pulled every muscle. I have been taking Advil and it is helping. If it's still killing me later tonight I think I am going to make a trip to the ER. I am not wanting to do this because I am in military and it's going to turn into a nightmare of explaining to everyone over me exactly what I did. Also I can almost guarantee the Dr will just give me some motrin and send me off as they are very known for that.

My right arm has a huge bump and some skin ripped off. I had a T Shirt, long sleeve shirt and then Carhardt 1 pc suit so I don't know how the skin came off?!

Inferno I am only 27... though I don't want to know what it feels like to be 80 if I feel like this now!
 
NATE379 said:
I don't like heights at all but you gotta do what you gotta do you know?

Fall could have been prevented but that is easy to say now. I am very thankful that it wasn't any worse. Broken arm, leg... or worse could have a reality for sure!

Mainly the toe plate should have been nailed better. I had just put short pieces of 2x4 upright on the fascia board every 4-6ft and fired in 4-5 nails on each. Then I put a 2x6 across the little 2x4s. It was fine holding my weight when I put the sheathing on, but when my feet hit the 2x6 as I slid it pulled the nails right now of 2 of the 2x4s and spun the 2x6 vertical. It came down along with the ladder. I should have spent more time on it. I wanted to make it easy to pull down, which it was, but instead of nails I should have used screws. Or even just bought few roof jacks. Also should have used a rope to get up the the peak and back down.

I'm not sure what is up with my back. I have several old injuries and I don't know if I finished something off or I just pulled every muscle. I have been taking Advil and it is helping. If it's still killing me later tonight I think I am going to make a trip to the ER. I am not wanting to do this because I am in military and it's going to turn into a nightmare of explaining to everyone over me exactly what I did. Also I can almost guarantee the Dr will just give me some motrin and send me off as they are very known for that.

My right arm has a huge bump and some skin ripped off. I had a T Shirt, long sleeve shirt and then Carhardt 1 pc suit so I don't know how the skin came off?!

Inferno I am only 27... though I don't want to know what it feels like to be 80 if I feel like this now!

settle down sailor! glad you made it, but be quiet or obama might ban roofs in alaska. and we need them! no matter how dangerous they are to people walking on them.
 
Glad you're sort of, kind of OK Nate . . . here's to hoping you're back up and pain free in no time.
 
snowtime said:
I have a 12/12 pitch painted gal roof and I noticed when building it that nails would simply scream down when dropped. My answer was to get a 44' extension ladder and I brace the bottom so well that its not going anywhere. The only drawback is that is one heavy ladder.
I did do some dangerous work this summer as relates to heights. We have an extensive sprinkler system for forest fires. The Spruce trees that they were on have grown and partially block the water so I climbed 100' plus to move the sprinklers up. The good thing is our spruce have good branches and I used the ladder for the first 40'. I did 1 tree a day as the stress is worse than the work. I do have a harness for when I am at the top and working but its no help moving up or down. Should be good for 10 years and I will not be going up when I am 75.

So you did that when you were 65? I hope I'm that agile (and brave) at that age.
 
Yep 65. Barring injuries and genetics having a workout schedule every day will extend your health and flexibility. Working out is a way of life and necessary if you are snowed in like us and can not rely on anyone for help. When we have visitors in the summer and both my dw and I take 2 hours every day to exercise they think we are fanatics. Truth be told its an easy hobby that keeps you fit and happy.
 
Hey Snowtime, I agree. That is one reason I ride my bicycle several thousand miles every year....and I am a bit past the 65 mark.
 
Well I ended up going to the doctor earlier this week. Found out the results of the X-Rays yesterday morning and I have a broken back. :(
 
You must have been a world of hurt, my friend, since your fall was on November 2nd.. Good that you decided to find out why is was still painin' you and I wish you a speedy recovery. And your advice is definitely timely for those of us who are DIYers. I have to go up on our roof to lace the deck canopy in place in the spring and unlace it in the fall. The roof pitch is 5/12 but even with the relatively flat roof I'm cautious. I won't go up there unless the good man is closeby. And we've struck a bargain, he and I, that he won't go up on the roof when he's alone.

All it takes is a moment's inattention or just plain bad luck. No one plans a tragedy.
 
NATE379 said:
Well I ended up going to the doctor earlier this week. Found out the results of the X-Rays yesterday morning and I have a broken back. :(

You'll get better. heck it didn't kill you, you got up and went about your day(s).. Some pain meds and good bourbon, you will be fine by spring I would bet. Now, based on what I am learning as I age.. it will come back to haunt you in 30 or so years... lol but so much stuff I don't remember hurting aches in the morning now, that I hardly pay any attention to *when* it started hurting..

I don't worry about much, but I can say, it's three stories down if I fall off the roof, and my best bet is it would just kill me outright, but I am worried I might survive if I fell, and be in really bad shape for whats left of my life.. so I have started using a harness when up there.

Get well.
 
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