Do not hurt yourself while renovating or building your home. Safety tips.

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​Construction is an inherently dangerous job. Unfortunately injuries caused by people carrying out do-it-yourself maintenance and renovation tasks at home are one of the leading causes of hospital admissions. An injury to yourself could, in the worst case, lead to death or permanent disability, but at the very least will lead to pain, inconvenience and additional costs. Some people are highly dependent on the full use of parts of their body, so consider how losing a finger or suffering a hand injury could impact a surgeon or a dentist (even if they lose the use of a finger or their hand for only a few days, the lost earnings could far outweigh the savings of doing the work themselves). How dependant is your job on your fingers, limbs or eyes?

Image by F. Muhammad from Pixabay

Important home renovation safety tips include:

• Working at heights is a leading cause of injury. Always ensure that when working off ladders these are structurally sound, that they’re placed on a firm footing and are held in place so they can’t slip or fall over. Where possible another person should anchor the ladder.
• When working on an access scaffold always ensure that the scaffold is on a firm footing, where one leg can’t suddenly settle into the ground causing the whole scaffold to tilt. Scaffold legs should have base plates and even timbers under them to distribute the load. The planks on scaffolding should be firmly attached so they can’t accidentally tip, or fall off. Scaffold towers should never be higher than three times their width. If the tower is higher it should be tied to a wall, or have side props to prevent it toppling over. Never overload scaffold platforms. Don’t erect scaffold on the edge of excavations.
• Wear proper personal protective equipment.
  • Your eyes are valuable so it’s vital you wear glasses that provide full protection so that dust and other construction debris can’t enter your eyes. Also, some solvents and liquids can damage the eye should they splash into your eye.
  • Safety shoes are essential. They help prevent trips, slips and falls, they’ll protect your feet if something heavy or sharp falls on them, and protect the soles of feet should you stand on a sharp object.
  • Gloves provide protection to hands.
  • Inhaling dust and fibres from cutting can lead to long term health problems, including lung cancer, so dust masks are necessary when cutting or drilling into materials which generate dust.
  • Some products, particularly epoxies, solvents and glues can give off noxious fumes, so wearing a proper breathing mask appropriate to the task is essential, and only mix and use them in ventilated areas.
  • Safety harnesses are essential when working at heights where there’s a possibility of falling. These need to be anchored to a firm support that will hold and arrest your fall.
  • Darkened visors must be used when flame cutting or welding.
• Always get an injury treated properly, then take precautions to prevent dirt getting into the wound. Even a minor cut finger can become infected and end with a protracted hospital stay, or even worse an amputation of a finger.

In the next article I discuss more safety tips when renovating your home.Safety tips when renovating or building a house - part 2 and Building and renovating your home safely - part 3 
You may find this article also useful when removing internal walls or cutting out openings in walls - do not bring your house down!
Read this article Construction Accidents What to Do If There’s an Accident on Your Project?

Want to learn more about designing, renovating and building houses?

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.
© 2020 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.