The chimney in your home should be inspected each year just before the cold season to reduce the chance of fire and to increase efficiency. You'll see more if you inspect the chimney from the top. On a bright day use a mirror to reflect sunlight down into the chimney.
If you can't look down a chimney, inspect it with a strong flashlight and mirror from a fireplace or from the flue opening for a stove pipe. If the chimney has crumbling mortar, be careful as you chip away cracked, loose mortar in preparation for tuckpointing or remortaring. A chimney in poor condition could topple at any time.
To keep your hands free while you re making repairs, make a holster for the nails and screws you'll need. Take a paper cup and make 2 vertical slits in it about an inch apart; the slits should be wide enough to let you slip your belt through them. When working on a steeply sloped roof, keep your tools on a sheet of plastic foam. That way they won't slide off. Need a place to hold your hammer when you re on the roof? Attach a shower curtain ring to your belt and slip the hammer through it.
When using an aluminum ladder, watch out for power lines: aluminum conducts electricity. If you're planning to work on a ladder extended to its full height, gain stability by lashing the bottom rung to 2 stakes driven into the ground under and to the sides of the ladder. Before climbing up a ladder test the bottom rung to make sure the ladder is solidly footed. The best way for a lone worker to raise a ladder is to pin its feet against the base of the house and push the ladder up from the otherend, hand over hand, until it is upright.
Keep your hips within the ladder's rails. Extend the top 2 rungs higher than the place where you're working. The ladder should always extend up above the roof. Make sure your ladder has firm support at the top. Placing it against a window sash or close to an edge means a slight shift could cause you to fall.
If you can't look down a chimney, inspect it with a strong flashlight and mirror from a fireplace or from the flue opening for a stove pipe. If the chimney has crumbling mortar, be careful as you chip away cracked, loose mortar in preparation for tuckpointing or remortaring. A chimney in poor condition could topple at any time.
When using an aluminum ladder, watch out for power lines: aluminum conducts electricity. If you're planning to work on a ladder extended to its full height, gain stability by lashing the bottom rung to 2 stakes driven into the ground under and to the sides of the ladder. Before climbing up a ladder test the bottom rung to make sure the ladder is solidly footed. The best way for a lone worker to raise a ladder is to pin its feet against the base of the house and push the ladder up from the otherend, hand over hand, until it is upright.
Keep your hips within the ladder's rails. Extend the top 2 rungs higher than the place where you're working. The ladder should always extend up above the roof. Make sure your ladder has firm support at the top. Placing it against a window sash or close to an edge means a slight shift could cause you to fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment