Pole Shed Washing Warning

[jveretto]

I know this is not the solution so I DO NOT advise anyone to do what I have done. I was cleaning an sheet iron roof to paint. I had no rope or gear to tie off. I would wear very soft rubber sole shoes and walk on the lead heads of nails or screws. Worked 90% of the time. Don't ask about the 10%.
'

 

[Deere Dude]

I know this is not the solution so I DO NOT advise anyone to do what I have done. I was cleaning an sheet iron roof to paint. I had no rope or gear to tie off. I would wear very soft rubber sole shoes and walk on the lead heads of nails or screws. Worked 90% of the time. Don't ask about the 10%.
'

That is what I was doing. Stepping on the nail heads with worn tennis shoes and it worked most of the time. I didn't mention it before because it would seem like I'm a very slow learner, and it sounds like I am, but after my original slide mishap I was really careful, but on the mostly clean side of the shed by my roof antennae tripod at the peak I was so careful but before I knew it the feet slipped out and down I went, but I was able to grab the tripod so I didn't slide any further, but 280# going down on a roof doesn't help the roof any. Still, a harness is the way to go, because I think I got lucky this time.

 

[techwrtr2]

Good advice, and I knew I should tie myself off to something using the right harness, but I don't have one. Bad excuse, I know. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.

I bought a harness from Northern I think, intended for roofing which is what I used it for. I hate heights and am in no way comfortable up there. Harness gave me comfort. I was using a boom lift as a means to lift myself, tools and materials up (hips don't like climbing ladders with heavy loads), so for part of the job I was tied off to it.

I hate roofing work.

 

[Johndeere3720]

Very interesting thread. The best way I could see washing your roof would be renting a large cherry picker with some 90 ft boom and using a pressure washer to thoroughly clean each metal/fiberglass panel. then once you have cleaned the roof I would check for leaks and replace any nail/screws with larger diameter + longer screws to ensure your barn doesn't leak again.

 

[BrianDT]

I never thought about washing a roof as I have never had a metal roof. The thought of soap, water and sloped metal would scare the crap out of me! Glad you were/are safe.

I was thinking of putting a metal roof on a 40 x 60 barn I plan to build and walking on it was not part of the decision. It is now.

 

[groundcover]

I second the boom lift pressure washer combo. Motor homes can ruin your day too. A friend of mine was washing his,standing on the top of a step ladder when the ladder kicked out. He landed on it,knocked himself out and broke three ribs !

 

[Localmotion]

I know this is not the solution so I DO NOT advise anyone to do what I have done. I was cleaning an sheet iron roof to paint. I had no rope or gear to tie off. I would wear very soft rubber sole shoes and walk on the lead heads of nails or screws. Worked 90% of the time. Don't ask about the 10%.
'

Always walk on the screw heads - especially on a fibre or asbestos roof...

Many years ago (when I was 15) I worked weekends on a dairy farm. One day I was using the farms loadall to push muck out into the lagoon - it was full and so took quite a lot of effort. In my haste (and in-excperience) I pushed the boom right out, and managed to get it hooked behind the brick corner of a cubical shed. Needless to say, it did quite a lot of damage trying to get the loadall back out, and I ended up smashing some of the roof pannels.

Trying to be a good employee (and right my wrong), I immediately found some spare sheets and set to work replacing the damaged ones. Working up on the roof (which was asbestos) I made sure to only stand on the nail heads - ensuring there was always a beam under me. Unfortunately when I finished I stood back to admire my handy work - stepping off the screw heads and falling straight through the abestos sheet roof. :banghead:

Luckily the fall was only 15 feet or so, and somehow I managed to miss the cubical frames below, instead landing on the straw bedding. Needless to say it was a mistake I'll never make again - I always use crawl boards when working on fibre roofs now.

Oh - and my boss was not at all hapy that I fell through the roof - he couldn't work out what I was doing up there in the first place as I didn't dare tell him about the loadall fiasco :ashamed:

 

[rekees4300]

If you have any other suggestions, I would be glad to hear them.

Don't cut down the trees use them for an anchor. You can get a decent roof harness for a couple hundred bucks.

View attachment 275252

 

[Deere Dude]

Always walk on the screw heads - especially on a fibre or asbestos roof...

Many years ago (when I was 15) I worked weekends on a dairy farm. One day I was using the farms loadall to push muck out into the lagoon - it was full and so took quite a lot of effort. In my haste (and in-excperience) I pushed the boom right out, and managed to get it hooked behind the brick corner of a cubical shed. Needless to say, it did quite a lot of damage trying to get the loadall back out, and I ended up smashing some of the roof pannels.

Trying to be a good employee (and right my wrong), I immediately found some spare sheets and set to work replacing the damaged ones. Working up on the roof (which was asbestos) I made sure to only stand on the nail heads - ensuring there was always a beam under me. Unfortunately when I finished I stood back to admire my handy work - stepping off the screw heads and falling straight through the abestos sheet roof. :banghead:

Luckily the fall was only 15 feet or so, and somehow I managed to miss the cubical frames below, instead landing on the straw bedding. Needless to say it was a mistake I'll never make again - I always use crawl boards when working on fibre roofs now.

Oh - and my boss was not at all hapy that I fell through the roof - he couldn't work out what I was doing up there in the first place as I didn't dare tell him about the loadall fiasco :ashamed:

That reminds me of a good one that happened to me when I was about 11-12 years old. My dad and uncles built a 40x100 pole shed with 12' sidewalls using steel from a different building. The steel had all kinds of nail holes in it, so it leaked as you can imagine. When I was young I would climb up to the rafters and step from one to the next and so on. They must have been about 4 feet apart but was a stretch for a young un'. It snowed one night and the next day I was up on the rafter doing what kids do but there was about 1" of snow on the surface and it was slippery. All of a sudden I slipped and down I went. There was a John Deere grain drill under me and the hitch stuck out the front about 4 feet or so. I landed backwards on that hitch right in the middle of my back. I kind of folded over backwards in the center of my body. I got up to make sure nobody saw me and brushed myself off. I totally realize how lucky I was that day and never told my folks, That was about 50 years ago and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Should have had a harness.

 

[Localmotion]

That reminds me of a good one that happened to me when I was about 11-12 years old. My dad and uncles built a 40x100 pole shed with 12' sidewalls using steel from a different building. The steel had all kinds of nail holes in it, so it leaked as you can imagine. When I was young I would climb up to the rafters and step from one to the next and so on. They must have been about 4 feet apart but was a stretch for a young un'. It snowed one night and the next day I was up on the rafter doing what kids do but there was about 1" of snow on the surface and it was slippery. All of a sudden I slipped and down I went. There was a John Deere grain drill under me and the hitch stuck out the front about 4 feet or so. I landed backwards on that hitch right in the middle of my back. I kind of folded over backwards in the center of my body. I got up to make sure nobody saw me and brushed myself off. I totally realize how lucky I was that day and never told my folks, That was about 50 years ago and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Should have had a harness.

Kids will be kids - but that was real lucky!!!! Bet if you did it now it would hurt a bit more