Jump to content

Are you too fat?


Ben H

Recommended Posts

I've always looked at various service companies that send out single employees to do work at myriads of homes and have wondered how anyone can make an OSHA argument for anything other than hearing and eye protection. Here are a few:

Gutter service companies

Roof cleaning companies

Roof repair companies

Satelite dish installers

Chimneysweeps

Chimney masons

Electricians

Plumbers

Landscaping

Alarm system installer

Sprinkler system installer

Insulation installer

Drywaller (These guys stand on stilts fer crissake!)

The list goes on and on. I can understand when you bring in a crew of guys and set up scaffolding that they have to stand on and such but I've never understood the argument that these trades, which need to be able to get in and out quickly unencumbered by time consuming paraphernalia that they're supposed to wear or be hooked up to, all need to have the same rules. If a guy can't climb a ladder without OSHA required safeguards why don't painters have the bottom of their ladders anchored in cement and every employee strapped to the ladder with a safety net spread out around the ladder?

It's like those arrest gear anchors the roofers are forced to wear when climbing around up there on the roof. First, they have to constantly be aware of where the rope is so that they don't trip and fall off the roof and get to test the thing firsthand and then when they leave the roof they have to disconnect from the anchor and negotiate their way to the ladder without any gear. That doesn't make sense, if they learn to rely on the harness and gear instead of learning to walk the roof correctly, I think they are more likely to fall off the roof when trying to get back to and on to the ladder than if they'd been working without it. Oh, and how do the OSHA guys propose employees are supposed to get onto the roof without anything to anchor to the next time; because those anchors are supposed to be removed and aren't really meant to be left there forever - although they are most of the time.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know you're too fat when you exceed the weight limit of a covered bridge - and you're on foot.

Click to Enlarge
tn_201087152112_Bridgesag.jpg

83.69 KB

"It was sagging before I walked across it ...... honest!"

I drive through a covered bridge everyday - twice. The clearance is posted at 11' 6". Looks like you're 12'+.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a first this morning...Lady calls up to schedule a home w/ a crawl. Half way through our conversation, she says " I don't wanna sound rude, but can you fit into a crawl space opening?" I almost giggled...

Anyone else had this question asked before?

Sure. I tell them it's like putting a marshmallow into a piggy bank, you just have to be patient.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I am heaver than I need to be. I have lost some weight not as much as I wanted to.

For crawlspaces if I can get my shoulders and chest through the opening the belly will go and there has to be room for me to turn around.

In attic I will get on my hand and knees to go through them.

Roof I walk what I think is safe for me. Some may be only at the valleys and ridge. By what I am reading Mike and some of you walk steeper roof than I do. If I don't walk it my ladder go to a lot of places around the edge.

We all have our limits, mine is set by my person not my weight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never been asked, but have found access openings I couldn't fit thru, leaving to look like Mike O's avatar.

At 5'10", 165 I still qualify as little I guess. Forty minute yoga session every morning for longer than I can remember keeps me toned and flexible, but have never liked exercise for its own sake.

Plenty of that comes with cutting & splitting firewood every year off my five acre woodlot. A cpl of years ago I moved 14 tons of #7 crushed granite with a shovel and a wheelbarrow to make a front walk at my house.

Click to Enlarge
tn_201081112451_PICT5392_resize.jpg

88.82 KB

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...