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Roofguard Shingle Cleaning wrote:

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Roof ladder Manufacturers emphasize the importance of roof ladder safety and maintenance. Being a firefighter and being involved with the training of firefighters for over 35 years along with my buisness experence as a chimney sweep for over 20 years and more recently as a roof cleaner I would like to share my knowledge reguarding roof ladder safety and maintenance. 
Ladders are part of your total inventory.  Just like your pumps, nozzles, hoses and other equipment you use every day.  I'm sure you would never go out on a job without first inspecting these items to make sure there were no defects.  Your ladders should also be inspected.  Ladder inspection can be seperated into two procedures.  The first, is a visual inspection. A daily visual inspection should be conducted of the rungs, beams, locks,  base plates and  the halyard to make sure they are in good condition.  look for worn areas on the rungs and beams.  If you use a ladder rack that doesn't have a positive lock down for the rungs and beams they can be damaged by road vibration. Make sure the locks work free and don't hang up.  Also check the halyard making sure it's not worn or frayed.  Bent ladders should be dicarded as in most cases they cann't be repaired to manufacurers specificatioins.  If  damage is observed the ladder should be place out of service until repaired.  Repair maintenance should be conducted prior to using a damaged ladder.  Most ladder manufactures have a web site where parts can be purchased.  Make sure you test the ladder prior to use after repairs are made.
The second part of this is ladder maintenance.  General maintenance should begin by cleaning the ladder with soap and water at least two times a year.  Take care to flush the rungs and to remove debris, road grit etc. (aluminum ladders can be cleaned with extra fine steel wool pads, fiberglass ladders ladders can be cleaned with a sponge or rag)  Use caution not to remove the lables.  Once the ladder is cleaned perform a visual inspection as listed above.    You should apply a parrafin wax or candle wax to the friction areas to lubricate the contact areas.  Log all inspections and set up a maintenance program just as you would for the oil changes on you pumps.  Additional information on ladder s can be found in N.F.P.A. 1932 standard pamphlet.
 

-- Edited by Roofguard Shingle Cleaning at 11:08, 2008-10-09

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Holt Construction & Cleaning wrote:

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a walk board is something that vinyl siding guys use. they are normally aluminum and are 16 to 24 feet long 1foot wide or wider and 5 inches thick. ladder jacks cup two rungs of a ladder and are adjustable for pitch. we set our walkboards up at roof height and let the extension ladders extend up 3 foot higher. having something stable to stand on gives you two hands to work with.

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