Roof Installation and Maintenance Safety

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency whose aim is to "assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education, and assistance." In its study of the common fatalities in a construction site, it has found out that falls are the leading cause. The culprit of one-third of all construction deaths, falls are usually due to unprotected roof and unstable ladders.

Homebuilders and other construction workers are required to observe the standards of safety set and enforced by OSHA. Roof installation, repair, and maintenance are some types of construction jobs in which these standards apply the most. Workers must use the protection systems that OSHA specifies in any workplace, particularly when installing or repairing roof, to avoid falls.

The three types of systems OSHA usually specifies are guard rails, safety nets, and personal fall arrest systems.

No matter how high a structure is, setting up guard rails, safety nets, and personal fall arrest tools is essential in keeping a safe workplace. Guard rails are systems installed along the perimeter of a certain working area to prevent workers from straying into dangerous or off-limit zones. Without guard rails, both workers and civilians walking alongside the structure are at risk of fall accidents.

A safety net system is almost similar with guard rails in the purpose of protecting workers from falling off the sides, except that this system consists of nets that can catch even falling debris.

Personal fall arrest systems, on the other hand, consist of lifeline support connected to anchors usually built-in on the roof. Any of these systems can be used but incorporating all of them will increase safety.

In fast developing places like Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia, there are construction projects here and there. To prevent interrupting civilians from using walkways alongside construction sites, Alexandria roofing and construction companies install either or both safety nets and guard rails. They also provide lifeline support systems for workers. They employ workers who have undergone training provided by OSHA to ensure their personal awareness of the safety standards.

Ladder and ground safety are also a primary concern in any construction project, particularly in roofing. The roofers must know how to correctly position a ladder on an existing structure, especially the minimum angle of inclination toward the eaves of the roof. Experts in roofing Arlington residents recommend observe the standards also to minimize the risk of tools falling off the roof and hitting workers or civilians.

More information about Alexandria roofing safety can be found in RoofingTalks.com. This website provides forums and blogs about roofing, including updates on safety standards.

Boiler Flue Safety: Maintenance Work and Regular Repair

 

Here’s a question: do you even stop to think about the way your home’s heater works? Probably not. A lot of people – even homeowners – barely take time to consider how the things in their home work. Now this really isn’t a problem; sometimes you just don’t want to think about these things in the background. Apple made an empire out of this natural human trait: “it just works”. People don’t like the nitty-gritty and just want things to work without interference. Now that’s fine for your computer, but what about something as important as a gas-heating boiler?

 

Gas-powered boilers can be quite dangerous especially if its flue was not installed properly. Incorrect installations can be seriously dangerous.

Also, even with proper installation, everything degrades over time, and eventually your boiler flue will be damaged and weak. Durable materials are not immortal. Ignoring the required maintenance work can lead to serious damages to your boiler flue.

 

Now the problem with faulty boiler flues is that they can be quite dangerous to your family’s health. Carbon monoxide poisoning is only one of the most serious possible results of a faulty flue.  Carbon monoxide poisoning is deadly, and it’s barely noticeable. It can cause serious brain damage or death to people exposed to it for a prolonged period of time.

 

Now known as the “flues in voids”, homeowners are cautioned to ensure that their boiler flues hidden within walls or ceiling voids is checked regularly.

This doesn’t mean that boiler flues passing through the external wall is safer; it’s just that the very presence of these flues in a void enclosure can be a serious cause of concern.

 

This is because we are trained to ignore what we don’t see. If you don’t see your boiler flue deteriorating before your eyes, you’re not likely to realise that it’s damaged. Hidden behind the internal wall and inside the ceiling void, you won’t be able to tell the boiler flue needs replacing. Sometimes, the leak will cause stains on the ceiling or the walls, but it would be quite late by then.

 

The main thing to do is to make sure that experts will be able to check your boiler flue regularly, to see if it needs maintenance or repairs. If you’re a tenant, obviously you’ll have to speak to your landlord first. If you’re a homeowner, contact your builder or a gas engineer to come see if the boiler flue was installed properly. Once or twice a year is enough time to check your boiler flue regularly. See if you can get a certified Gas Safe engineer to look at the flue.

 

But then the problem, again, is that the boiler flues are inaccessible because they’re hidden behind the ceiling void or the internal wall. In order to access it regularly, you need to start by installing flue inspection hatches on the ceiling or the wall. This way, you’ll be able to open the hatch and check on the flue regularly. You may also want to install a carbon monoxide alarm, since this is a serious health risk.

 

Now of course, you need to be quite intelligent in buying flue inspection hatches, so make sure you don’t just buy the first thing you see at the shops. Material is important, and so is manufacturer reliability. Make sure you have flue inspection hatches at home.