Roof Sheathing Safety: Part I

One of the most dangerous parts of installing sheathing on a roof is down by the rafter tails. Some contractors know this and do time consuming, laborious procedures to ensure that the rafter tail is done very last… Even with the proper safety gear, nobody wants to fall off the roof – and leaning out over the rafter tails with a heavy nail gun, or using both hands to hold and hammer in some 8 penny nails is not the best way to ensure you don’t.

Unfortunately, those same procedures that ensure the rafter tail is done last also mean that the sheathing is being held longer against the force of gravity, higher up on the roof – meaning that fewer people might be falling off the roof, but more objects are probably falling off the roof; possibly onto friends below. By starting at the bottom of the roof by the bird blocking or rafter tails – it allows builders to “stack” OSB or plywood on edge with one another and slowly work your way up the pitch without having to hold the plywood from slipping.

 Dodge Industries is doing what it can to make the sheathing aspect of roofing as safe as it can be by removing a significant amount of risk associated with getting that first row – really the row of security, hung. Dodge Industries has developed a new line of hangers which eliminate a lot of the danger associated with getting that first row hung.