I am a dumbass

[senorFrog]

Well, yesterday I had the exhausto fan hooked up to my masonry chimney to alleviate a minor drafting problem. The fan was free from a relative, so why not. After the chimney folks left I got out an old beater ladder to clean up and take a look at the job. The chimney is off a flat roof and I became very comfortable working up there as I had been up there many times before. On the way down I stepped onto the ladder non-chalantly causing the ladder to slip and sending my ass on a 15 foot ride to the driveway below. I landed on my hip, ankle and elbow. Also, banged my wrist up badly on the gutter. Went to the Emergency room, got x-rayed and thankfully everything appears okay, but I'm in some pain for a while.

What could I have done differently? Get a new ladder with the rubber pads that grip. Test the freaking thing before jumping onto it. Think safety first and don't become complacent. Use a different access point with a softer landing zone.

Anyways, please learn from my stupidity and stay safe regardless if you're cutting a tree, splitting wood or cleaning your chimney, etc.

 

[Metal]

I use a bungee cord to attach the ladder to the gutter. If you are worried about damaging the gutter you can get a piece of OSB about 1 foot by 2 foot and screw it into the roof so it extends over the gutter about an inch and put your ladder against that and then bungee it down (wrap the bungee around a rung a time or two to tighten it and make it less likely to slide. I don't think you have to worry about being "non-chalant" on a ladder for a while, gravity will take that out of you pretty quick ; ) Hope you get better soon.

 

[Gibbonboy]

Glad to hear you're not seriously injured. Thanks for sharing with everyone, we are all guilty sometimes of being hurried or careless, and that's when we get hurt.

 

[wahoowad]

Welcome to the club! The history of my broken bones isn't very flattering either...

 

[MrGriz]

Glad to hear that everything turned out well in the end (no breaks, etc...).

I'm always very careful getting off or on a ladder from the roof. Once I'm up there, I'm pretty good about working up there (as long as I'm not right by the edge); it's getting off and back on the ladder that makes me the most nervous.

 

[wg_bent]

there are ladder attachments that allow for a ladder to lean against the roof vs the gutter. Not sure if it would work on a flat roof, but then again I'm trying to figure out the flat roor/gutter combo anyway.

I've had ladders slip on me also, but the plastic feet slipped on a driveway. What the heck was anyone thinking by putting plastic feet on a ladder >:-(

I'm glad your not seriously injured. One of the other tricks for roofs is paying attention to what I wear on my feet when on the roof.
I use a pair of hiking boots that have pretty sticky soles. I"ve even thought about using my Rock Climbing shoes, but their not very comfortable for working in.

I also have the benefit of being able to lean my ladder in a spot where it gets to be supported by the roof and the chimney in a sort of corner and I step onto the ladder from below the ladder. That way I'm not stepping down onto the ladder.

 

[babalu87]

Tie off the ladder with ROPE

 

[senorFrog]

I've had ladders slip on me also, but the plastic feet slipped on a driveway. What the heck was anyone thinking by putting plastic feet on a ladder >:-(

This is exactly what happened here. Old ladder with plastic feet, left behind by the previous home owner + my carelessness + damp asphalt driveway = disaster.

Thanks all for the kind words.

 

[Rob From Wisconsin]

As everyone said, glad to hear you're not too badly hurt.

Reminds me of an incident we had a couple of weeks ago...
We are in the process of having a large pole shed erected.
Scaffolding & ladders galore while it is being constructed.
Went outside & heard our 5 year-old calling us "from up high".
Looked up to see he had climbed up to the top-most flight of
saffolding that was erected (14+ ft).
Needless to say, we "calmly" called him down, and the read the
"riot act" on him :coolgrin: when his feet where firmly planted on the ground.

He hasn't done it since...at least not that we have seen.

Rob

 

[n6crv]

Glad everything is OK. Hope you were able to enjoy the ride down untill you had the sudden stop.
Don

 

[zzr7ky]

Thanks for the reminder!

My Dad said "There are several ways people learn son:
1) By instruction at home, school, and expert, etc AND 2) By the mistakes of others...

After that the tuition get STEEP!

ATB,

Mike P

 

[jpl1nh]

Thanks SF and glad your not worse off. Hope I can avoid some steep tuition thanks to you. Just a question, in that "infinitely long fraction of a second" between the beginning and the end of the fall, what were your thoughts? :ahhh:

 

[senorFrog]

It really is amazing how quickly your brain can process thoughts. I guess they shifted from I'm really about to get to hurt, to I can't stop this now, to disbelief, to family.

Immed afterward I resisted the urge to try and jump up right away. Probably the only smart thing I did.

All day yesterday I kept thinking what an idiot I was and going through the actual events of the fall in slow-mo. Just doing it occasionally today.

We'd all like to think we have some superhuman ability to get us out of bad jam. No back flips or life saving nin-jitsu going on for me. Just a pathetic fall to the pavement.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

well, i havent fell , but i did once knock the ladder over and had to wait for the wife to get home to get off the roof. took a while to live that one down

 

[BrotherBart]

well, i havent fell , but i did once knock the ladder over and had to wait for the wife to get home to get off the roof. took a while to live that one down

Happened to me too. 100 degree August day and the sneakers melting on my feet on the roof. Ladder goes down. Fifteen minutes of pounding on the side of the second floor bedroom wall before wife who is on the other side of said wall gets curious and comes out. The conversation went like this:

"Where the *)$&@ have you been?!"

"Stop yelling at me. What is the matter?"

"Get the *^#&$ ladder set up!"

"Stop yelling at me or you can just stay up there!"

"If you don't get that *(^%# ladder up here right now you better hope that I never get down and that I die up here!"

Ahhh. Young love.

 

[begreen]

SF, glad you're still an alive dumbass. We all make mistakes, but good to hear that this one was just a learning experience.

 

[drizler]

Not dumb at all in my book. File it under "chit HAPPENS" and learn from it. I once had a ladder up inside a skylight in my kitchen. Tile floor against those cheap plastic feet slides just like grease. I came straight down the skylight and landed flat on the ladder with my fingers under the ladder. The cheap plastic bumpers did provide enough clearance that my fingers didn't get busted or even bruised. Your mind works fast but not fast enough to do much about it. All I did was hold on tight. I bought a fiberglass 10 foot ladder for all the inside work and most of the outside and its way better in all respects. Nowdays I never do anything on a ladder without someone being around just in case. If its up on the roof I park the truck or car on the opposite side of the house and toss a line over the peak now days. I just keep it next to me working up there. If you slip and start sliding you will find it quick enough. With a 6/12 pitch on my roof once you start its hard to stop again. Its best purpose is stability when climbing from the ladder onto the roof. For the most part thats where you will fall or slip the ladder if you are going to do it. Its amazing how that simple rope stabilizes you. Why it give a fella way more than Viagra or Ciallis. Possibly thats why "Bob" in the stupid ad has that silly smirk on his face. He tripped over his new found pride and joy and fell off the roof.

 

[hardwood715]

I'm about 25 to 30 feet up against a brick building, ladder is tight against a fence, close quarters- go to climb another rung to get on SLATE roof, and the ladder starts falling backwards, I'm hanging on floating backwards, ladders so big, it lands against adjacent building and fence behind me, I'm mind you- still up there now on inside of ladder yelling help, cant climb down, ladders leaning against fence halfway down, and building up top. i'm sandwiched in between on inside of ladder backwards, Yup im the dumbass now!! Passing motoist saw my perdicament and dialed 911- those firemen were laughing thier asses off, however i didn't find the humor till long after they pried my clenching fists from that ladder,

 

[CountryGal]

Yes, after seeing my husband fall from the roof once--he is no longer allowed on a ladder (or the roof) without someone holding the ladder. He actually hurt himself much worse (broken ribs) before he quit drinking Jack Daniels. Heh.

 

[Bill]

My cabin has a deck around half the house. When I need to get on the roof, I put a piece of wood with two screwdriver's in the deck slots, holding the bottom of the ladder. I also like some mentioned use a bungee cord on the gutter, works great. Nothing funny about slipping off the ladder. When using the ladder on the ground, mine has feet that have teeth that tip into the dirt. Digs in quiet well. One of the weirdest feelings is trying to find that first rung with your foot, while climbing down off the roof. Not afraid of heights, but afraid of the sudden stop at the bottom.