Safety Tips For The DIY-Minded
Whilst it’s fashionable to find absurd examples of ‘health and safety culture gone mad’, these days, it was as a result of appalling deaths and injuries sustained in the building industry in particular that serious thought was given to prevention. The key issue is not to be complacent, you may think that DIY is vastly safer than say, a major property development project, but power tools and sharp hand tools are not toys. Any building work needs safety rules, so here are some down to earth safety measures for ordinary home improvement projects.
If you’re drilling through walls, think ‘pipe and ‘cable’. Use a pipe and wire detector to check if either lie beneath the area you’re working on and check the location of power sockets, the cables often drop down to them from the ceiling void above, through chases beneath the plaster.
Keep it tidy, clutter frequently leads to accidents, from slipping on soggy wallpaper off cuts to kneeling on upturned screws or nails, definitely not nice. Don’t be macho about safety goggles, a tiny fleck of plaster or concrete in your eye can be excruciatingly painful and at worse you could end up with a serious injury.
Lots of substances commonly used in DIY can give off toxic vapours, from adhesives to varnishes and paints. Keep rooms well ventilated when applying these substances; no one wants to be taken ill after a bit of painting and decorating.
Always take exceptional care with ladders and work platforms. Ladders must be secure at the base and lean at safe angles, while work platforms should be assembled exactly according with the instructions provided.
