Fear of stepping on & off ladders

sarangan

sarangan

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Andrew, CFI-I
Obviously I am not afraid of heights during flying. However, I have a major issue with getting on and off a roof using a ladder. It has very little to do with height (the roof is only about 8 ft up), but everything to do with the geometry and technique. Taking the feet off the ladder and placing it on the edge of the roof seems like a major leap in trust. Even bigger issue is getting off the roof. Standing at the edge of the roof, walking backwards and dangling the feet blindly searching for the step seems like a crazy task. I can't help wonder surely there has to be a better way. If you watch this youtube, that's exactly what I am talking about. But if you look at all the commentaries, everyone is ridiculing the guy with no constructive suggestions. I have been unable to do simple repairs on the roof as a result of this fear, and had to hire someone. So this is actually costing me money. I would like to get over this fear, but don't know how.
 
Two people, one extension ladder. Extend the ladder a couple of feet above the roof line. One person “foots” the ladder, the climber goes up and steps over or around, now you have a “stop” to keep you from falling off.
 
Mike Smith said:
Two people, one extension ladder. Extend the ladder a couple of feet above the roof line. One person “foots” the ladder, the climber goes up and steps over or around, now you have a “stop” to keep you from falling off.
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that's exactly how i do it. worked for me.
 
That’s why god invented handyman or roofer. See you have options
 
How much does it cost to rent a bucket truck?
 
I've seen what falls do to fellow Airmen who play the Home Depot stuff at home. Had a cat on broken ribs sucking hind tit DNIF at the step desk for six months over some bulls---t honey-do from the frau that got him through his own ceiling. I got too much riding on these golden mittens for that noise. Any time the wife comes asking about some injury-prone stunt at the house I look at her like...
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I have the same problem because I'm afraid of heights. I make sure the ladder is a couple or 3 feet above the roof, and then I don't have to step over the edge of the roof to get on.
 
BrianNC said:
I have the same problem because I'm afraid of heights. I make sure the ladder is a couple or 3 feet above the roof, and then I don't have to step over the edge of the roof to get on.
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Nothing to do with fear of heights, that's how it's supposed to be done to be safe.
 
I used to make a sacrifice to the ladder gods.
You know, put up the ladder, go in to get something to drink. While I was inside one kid or another, after being expressly ORDERED not to go near the ladder, would go near the ladder.
After they hurt themselves, it was safe to use the ladder for the rest of the day.
 
I have no fear of ladders or heights. I have a profound fear of hitting the ground at high velocity.
 
All the following numbers are hypothetical and you can fill in your own.....

Cost of handyman to do a job on the roof....$800
Earning estimate per day ....$250 (based upon $4166/month)
Estimated number of days away from work ??????
Figure out the cost benefit of you doing it your self vs hiring someone else

PS. Fall from roof, break arm and or ribs....minimum of six weeks out from flying....is it worth it?

Example....pilot friend slipped off his ladder and his foot struck a metal pail severing his Achilles tendon. Just over one year away from his job as a professional pilot. He had sick pay/vacation/disability insurance but he lost one year of retirement investments. It cost him a TON of money.
Estimate from a contractor to do the job he was doing...less than a $1000.
 
The basic firefighting course (FF1) cured my apprehension of getting on ladders. You should try it.
 
I go on the roof fairly often, just yesterday spaying a few wasp nests. Yes, get a ladder that goes a handful of steps above the roof line. Always keep 3 points of contact while climbing, keep the mind in the task, keep it slow & methodical.

Most have heard horror stories of ladder accents, other things can get you too. Of course if working around the edge keep the center of gravity inward.
 
That's why I Iike low wing planes. No ladder needed. (Note: I'm only 5-8 if being quite generous and wearing shoes)
 
My roofers helper fell off the roof of the job he did right after mine. He is quadriplegic now.
Your fear of the ladder is absolutely rational. you should listen to it.
 
I used to climb towers for a living. Now I rent a boom lift to do anything that requires more than a 6’ ladder. I don’t bounce like I did when I was younger.... now I sound like a watermelon when I hit the ground....Recovery time is weeks or months instead of days.:(
 
I always have someone holding on to the bottom of the ladder....safety first..!!!

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My wife has the same problem. We spent an afternoon shingling the roof of a garden shed I built. She was fine until it came time to get down off the roof and she had to steel herself to get back on the ladder.

I'm not afraid of heights, I'm afraid of widths.
 
Craig said:
I used to climb towers for a living. Now I rent a boom lift to do anything that requires more than a 6’ ladder. I don’t bounce like I did when I was younger.... now I sound like a watermelon when I hit the ground....Recovery time is weeks or months instead of days.:(
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Amen, brother. Amen.
 
Stand on the second to the top rung of a 40' extension ladder that's footed on a small second story deck, and have a guy down below tossing siding up to you to nail on. If that doesn't scare you? You aren't human. The older I get the more aware I am that I don't have the balance or reflexes that I used to. Tall ladders are in my past. I can hire young guys when I need high work done.
 
In firefighting, we teach you always extend the ladder at least 2 to 3 rungs above the edge of the roof. This gives you a hand hold when stepping onto or off of the roof.

On another topic, I too do not like working from ladders, roofs, or any other elevated positions, but am just fine in an airplane, and moderately ok from a stable bucket. From what I have been told, it is not a fear of heights per se, but a fear of falling. In an airplane or a stable bucket, you have little to no chance to fall, so you are not afraid. But standing at the edge of the roof with no safety edge, you could fall, and that is what triggers the fear response.
 
sarangan said:
Obviously I am not afraid of heights during flying. However, I have a major issue with getting on and off a roof using a ladder. It has very little to do with height (the roof is only about 8 ft up), but everything to do with the geometry and technique. Taking the feet off the ladder and placing it on the edge of the roof seems like a major leap in trust. Even bigger issue is getting off the roof. Standing at the edge of the roof, walking backwards and dangling the feet blindly searching for the step seems like a crazy task. I can't help wonder surely there has to be a better way. If you watch this youtube, that's exactly what I am talking about. But if you look at all the commentaries, everyone is ridiculing the guy with no constructive suggestions. I have been unable to do simple repairs on the roof as a result of this fear, and had to hire someone. So this is actually costing me money. I would like to get over this fear, but don't know how.
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I am fortunate to have a good spot to put a ladder - at the lowest point of the roof, and with a higher lip behind the feet at the edge of the driveway, which will prevent
the ladder from slipping. If you place the ladder on the ground, dig a small hole for each foot to secure it. I also do that when using a ladder on uneven ground - to level it up.
As for climbing on the roof, as others have said, make sure the ladder extends 3-4 feet above the edge. It is nice to have something to hold on to while climbing off or
back on. A convenient "anchor" can be a steel vent pipe (common in most residential construction). Throw a rope over one nearby - or use a long pole with a suitable attachment fixture at the end. I have done both.

Falls are no joke. I have been fortunate - but have known others who came to grief. A man I knew at work fell out of a tree and hurt his back (was hobbling around). Some
years later he fell off a ladder and injured himself more severely. He got addicted to opoid painkillers and drifted off to never never land - not heard from again.
Some years ago another one was injured in a senseless industrial accident. He was in constant pain - and used a TENS unit to deal with it (instead of ever-increading
doses of painkillers). He was still able to work - but his life was never the same.

Dave
 
I actually have a hydraulic lift (it goes straight up). I got tired of wobbly scaffolds I was using to get up to my hangar ceiling. The neat thing is that collapsed it fits through a standard doorway. It will put my feet 24' up int he air at max extension and there's no shaking or swaying.

You can get these things cheap, but the key is to find one close enough that you can go get as they weigh a lot and the shipping will swamp the bargain price.
 
I don't do roofs, especially now that we live in Texas. Steep roofs here.

I've got a 16ft peak height cathedral ceiling that I'm going to have to skim coat (after removing popcorn) and texture. I'm considering droping $300 on one of those A-frames that has a platform with a handrail surround on it. It's scary as frack at the top of a tall A-frame ladder. And I have absolutely no fear of heights. (Which is probably why I should stay off of roofs. Zero fear = lots of mistakes.)

I recently paid $1000 to have roofers close up three skylights. I knew how to do it, just didn't want to take the chance. (Especially in the heat.)
 
I am a firefighter as well and used to paint houses on 30 and 40' ladders all the time when I was a kid. I am generally not afraid of heights but every once in awhile there have been those odd days when I hold onto a 6 foot step ladder like my life depended on it not sure why. The older I get the less I like being on ladders and roofs although I do it anyway. If you fall when your 18 you can usually fully recover when your in your 50s recovery may never happen.
 
DFH65 said:
I am a firefighter
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Brings back my memories of the pompier ladders. Now nobody carried these relics in our county anymore, but I guess for the experience they had two at the academy and our ladder drill consisted of something like:

Ladder the smoke house.
Deploy a roof ladder to climb about half way up the smoke house roof to the hatch,
Deploy a folding ladder into the hatch and climb down.
Go out the window on a straight ladder to the second floor of the drill tower
Climb up two floors on the drill tower with the pompier ladder
Climb down the aerial ladder from the truck.

Swinging out onto that silly pompier ladder was not for the feint of heart two stories up.
 
flyingron said:
Brings back my memories of the pompier ladders. Now nobody carried these relics in our county anymore, but I guess for the experience they had two at the academy and our ladder drill consisted of something like:

Ladder the smoke house.
Deploy a roof ladder to climb about half way up the smoke house roof to the hatch,
Deploy a folding ladder into the hatch and climb down.
Go out the window on a straight ladder to the second floor of the drill tower
Climb up two floors on the drill tower with the pompier ladder
Climb down the aerial ladder from the truck.

Swinging out onto that silly pompier ladder was not for the feint of heart two stories up.
Click to expand...

No now we use them to get in tree stands? Kinda. :)
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ETA: We have a bucket because we are in a college town and I much prefer to work out of the bucket than off a ladder on roofs.
 
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