By Mark Clement
Compliance in a Can
It's not that I'm scared of heights. It's that I'm scared of falling from them. For example, I have to install a skylight in a two-story house. That's no big whoop, except:
- The roof is walkable — barely. One slip and I'm in the yard. The problem with that — besides the two-story fall — is the pointy picket fence that I'd land on (cringe, wince, shudder).
- Ladder access is possible, but again, the fence cuts proper access in half. I have to prop the ladder just about straight up to reach the eaves.
- I can position the ladder on the other side of the house and walk the roof, but what happens if those little granules of shingle give way and I start sliding. Hello, fence again.
Now, I've rigged up various doo-hickeys to tie myself off in the past (don't laugh; you've done it, too), but I have a lady and daughter at home whom I'd very much like to see again. Besides, I'm all done trying to prove I'm tougher (or dumber) than the next guy. So instead of tying a clothes line or garden hose to a plumbing vent and hoping I don't fall, I'm looking into other options.
One that seems sensible (I wish I knew about this before) and easily stored out of the way when not in use is Guardian's Bucket of Safe-Tie, otherwise called "compliance in a can."
Guardian's Bucket provides a single worker with everything he or she would need to comply with OSHA standards, including a vertical lifeline assembly, anchor points, and a basic harness. The universal harness has 5 points of adjustment for comfort and the proper fit. The vertical lifeline includes a shock pack for fall arrest; an extension lanyard to keep the permanently attached rope grab close; and your choice of a 25-foot or 50-foot 5/8 inch rope. The bucket includes your choice of anchor points, including five snappy disposable anchors, two stainless-steel reusable anchors, one HD Temper reusable anchor, and 1 SP-anchor.
That's good stuff. If I were still working with a crew on steep-pitch roof work, I'd be sure these were around.
Guardian Fall
Box It Up
If you're driving to site in a pick-up, chances are you have a truck box on the back of the bed. However, all truck boxes are not created equal. I know; I've shopped for about every one of them upfitting my last truck.
See, I wanted one big enough to hold my twin tank compressor and a bunch of corded and cordless tools. For that it needed to be deep. I eventually found one at an RV supplier — and couldn't get another one of that brand today if I had to.
Weather Guard Truck Equipment makes a deep truck box, and it looks much better than the one I had. The WG654-5-01 is 19-1/8 x 55 x 20-1/14-inches and stands a fighting chance of giving that compressor plus all those other tools a home away from the rain, snow or prying eyes.
And, in case the prying eyes have prying bars, Weather Guard says they have a rock-solid lock system on this box, called Extreme Lock Protection. What's better than the one I had is that it has an automotive-style latch for easy, "one touch" opening, according to the company. I didn't have that before, and it would have been nice. The box also has full vertical opening, so when you're loading or unloading, the lid opens fully out of the way. Nice.
The WG654-5-01 fits all kinds of different full-size trucks and weighs just 52 pounds.
And you know what else I like about it? It's black. I'm not too concerned about the way a work truck looks, but if I have a choice of a black box or shiny aluminum, I'll bet on black any day.
Weather Guard Box
Chalk It Up
When I first walked onto a jobsite, I only ever saw two flavors of chalk: blue for interior work and red for framing. You could wash the blue off surfaces (like drywall) if you needed to, while the red pretty much stayed put, even through weather, so we could see our framing-layout lines.
Today, however, it's a different story. As with most products, the modern world has brought more choices. But, even when there were only two colors, I can only ever remember using Strait-Line chalk, which is now part of the Irwin family of tools and materials.
Strait-Line now comes in seven colors: black, red, fluorescent orange, fluorescent green, yellow, blue, and white. Strait-Line says that black, red, orange, green, and yellow are the most permanent colors, black being the most permanent, followed by red. They stand up to the environment and create long-lasting lines that are easy to see. I like that for installing ceramic tile where a wimpy line is easily—and quickly—covered by thin-set, or for remodeling-type framing where light conditions could be better and you really need layout lines to pop.
Florescent colors are designed for laying down bright, visible lines on dark items such as felt paper, bitumen (Ice and Water Shield), painted concrete or brick. White and blue chalk are best for interior use where you need a line that won't stain the work surface or other surfaces in the house, which is especially nice for remodeling and trimming. (I can just see laborer Biff spilling red chalk all over Mrs. Jones' new floor.) Whether the house is new or old, go with blue for snapping out closets, cabinets, molding, etc. Strait-Line says white is best for tiling, decorating, and carpet installation.
Got that straight?
Irwin Industrial Tools
Mark Clement is a remodeler and author of The Carpenter's Notebook and The Kid's Carpenter's Workbook, Fun Family Projects! Find out more at
www.TheCarpentersNotebook.com.
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