(2nd try) How do you climb down from a roof?

[gonegreen]

I have done my share of roof jobs and don't normally mind being up there. However, the steeper and higher the roof is (and the older I get) the more cautious I am. The last roof job I was on, the two twenty year olds asked me if I was afraid of heights. I told them "no I'm not afraid of heights - I'm afraid of falling"!

 

[deepNdirt]

I have done my share of roof jobs and don't normally mind being up there. However, the steeper and higher the roof is (and the older I get) the more cautious I am. The last roof job I was on, the two twenty year olds asked me if I was afraid of heights. I told them "no I'm not afraid of heights - I'm afraid of falling"!

Yeah! and its not really the fall that worry me...its that sudden stop
and another thing----> the best tool to have in your hand when falling is a extention cord.......-> why? because its sure to hang up on something

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Yeah! and its not really the fall that worry me...its that sudden stop

Well, sadly I can tell you the fall is what worried me the most. The sudden stop was the only certain thing, falling I had no control over what I was going to hit or how. I slid into the ladder and ended up following the back side of the ladder straight down to the ground. I missed the service line coming to the house by inches and luckily didn't get tied up in the rungs of the ladder when I slid into it. Once I was on the ground and was still conscious I was relieved even though I could barely move and thought I broke my legs. But the falling part was definitely a worse feeling then the sudden stop (well for me anyways and hopefully no one else has to ever experience it). It actually wasn't too painful either. The pain came when I was being moved and loaded into the helicopter (which is very bouncy I learned).

 

[deepNdirt]

Well, sadly I can tell you the fall is what worried me the most. The sudden stop was the only certain thing, falling I had no control over what I was going to hit or how. I slid into the ladder and ended up following the back side of the ladder straight down to the ground. I missed the service line coming to the house by inches and luckily didn't get tied up in the rungs of the ladder when I slid into it. Once I was on the ground and was still conscious I was relieved even though I could barely move and thought I broke my legs.

I wasn't going to admit this, But it can happen to anyone even with someone with life long experiance as I have on ladders,..... 4 years ago inside a new home, I was triming out a upstair window in a 18 x 22 den with 20ft ceilings it was the largest room in the house so I had set up my miter saw in there and had made a lot of dust on the floor from cutting for the rest of the house trim, this window was the last to be finished the job and the closest to my saw work station, I had to move the saw over a few feet to get the ladder stood, I knew the dust was on the floor and simply kicked it away with my shoes the best I could,
I went ahead up the ladder and worked on 3 sides of the window and had to stretch to get to the far 4th side, and this is when the ladder started sliding down the wall because the ladders feet lost the grip to the floor do to the sawdust, the fall was not problem I knew what to do I rode it down for half the way until the top of the ladder came to the large 8 ft. tall case opening in the wall when the ladder went thru this opening I lost my ballance fell backwards my right foot fell thru the rung and when I slam to the floor all my 220 lbs on top of the ladder and ladder on top of my ankle,It was a situation that one person could not get themselve out of, it was a good thing someone else in the house heard the noise and came to help, its hard to figure out how to get up off a ladder when your legs is stretched out under the thing with a broken ankle ,
well I found out how fast a foot can swell when I remove my boot, and can also turn many colors you never seen before.............. but as I said ..it is the sudden stop I fear, everyone was amazed that i didn't break anything else at my age of 46 at the time, I do still walk with a limp to remind me of that day

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I wasn't going to admit this, But it can happen to anyone even with someone with life long experiance as I have on ladders,..... 4 years ago inside a new home, I was triming out a upstair window in a 18 x 22 den with 20ft ceilings it was the largest room in the house so I had set up my miter saw in there and had made a lot of dust on the floor from cutting for the rest of the house trim, this window was the last to be finished the job and the closest to my saw work station, I had to move the saw over a few feet to get the ladder stood, I knew the dust was on the floor and simply kicked it away with my shoes the best I could,
I went ahead up the ladder and worked on 3 sides of the window and had to stretch to get to the far 4th side, and this is when the ladder started sliding down the wall because the ladders feet lost the grip to the floor do to the sawdust, the fall was not problem I knew what to do I rode it down for half the way until the top of the ladder came to the large 8 ft. tall case opening in the wall when the ladder went thru this opening I lost my ballance fell backwards my right foot fell thru the rung and when I slam to the floor all my 220 lbs on top of the ladder and ladder on top of my ankle,It was a situation that one person could not get themselve out of, it was a good thing someone else in the house heard the noise and came to help, its hard to figure out how to get up off a ladder when your legs is stretched out under the thing with a broken ankle ,
well I found out how fast a foot can swell when I remove my boot, and can also turn many colors you never seen before.............. but as I said ..it is the sudden stop I fear, everyone was amazed that i didn't break anything else at my age of 46 at the time, I do still walk with a limp to remind me of that day

It is just a simple mistake that usually costs us. We all get cocky when we do this type of work long enough and that is when we pay the price.

I found when free falling you have no control and no certainty as to what will happen. The sudden stop while possibly painful is the only certainty (and thus kind of reassuring). When I slipped over the peak of the roof I pictured every scenerio and one of which was landing on my head and breaking my neck and leaving Ava without a father. So when all I broke was a vertebre in my back I was relieved. 15 days in the hospital and then I got to spend a lot of time with Ava which was a blessing since she was 3 at the time. She would sit with me in my chair and we would color and read books. It was a positive out of the situation and one I was thankful to have

Ava would come visit me in the hospital every couple days but it was a long drive so I felt bad for her having to ride that long so often. But she was happy as she got to ride the elevator and escalators every time which I think she enjoyed more then seeing me

I was in a similar situation to where your accident happened. I did not trust the floor with that light coating of dust and when I had to stand a ladder up to the peak of the wall to finish some painting I made sure someone was holding the base of the ladder. I do not like falling and I definitely don't want to have to fix the damage I cause if I do fall. I hope your ankle is feeling better now.