I've been scarce around here lately. Here is what happened.

[Kern Dog]

When the weather warms up in a few months here, I need to try and do some leak repairs on my parents house. I tried that once before.....the concrete tiles are painted and the paint has oxidised, making them slippery. The pitch is reasonably steep, so I started sliding down as I was crawling up. Too hard to stand up without breaking tiles....being a heavy guy it's not hard to break tiles.

I'll have this incident of Greg's in my mind as I set up to do the job.

This may seem obvious but here goes.
ALWAYS place your weight here:

On the edges, the tiles are supported and should not break.

When you step in the middle like here:

The tiles are in free span and unsupported. They are far more likely to break even if you're thin. I'm over 200 so I obviously need to err on the side of caution.

 

[kiwigtx]

This may seem obvious but here goes.
ALWAYS place your weight here:

View attachment 1484126

On the edges, the tiles are supported and should not break.

When you step in the middle like here:

View attachment 1484127

The tiles are in free span and unsupported. They are far more likely to break even if you're thin. I'm over 200 so I obviously need to err on the side of caution.

The tiles on my roof are concrete, 35 years old, and until I had them painted four years ago, they were original condition......in winter the concrete takes on water, and if you're unlucky they can freeze and crack that way.
The guys fixing my roof replaced about 50 tiles and all the ridge caps plus a few odd hips. Most damage was just weather - sun related. Pretty harsh UV down these parts.

 

[moparwacko]

I'm over 200 so I obviously need to err on the side of caution.

Time to get off the couch!
Tough it out, you can work one handed - merely a flesh wound.

 

[Kern Dog]

I am not one to shy away from hard work or to fake being hurt. If the pain is legitimate, I'll play it easy with the left side. I'm already seeing large improvements in just a few days of rest.
I'm going to use some of this time as an excuse to do some car stuff. I've been busy with house stuff for awhile. I always get anxious to tinker on the cars when I've been away from the shop for too long.
I might be able to coerce Mary to mow the lawn.

Since I overheated Jigsaw on the way to the Autorama car show in April, I have changed parts but have yet to really test it to see if it is fixed.
Ginger needs more braking force so I'm looking to swap in a B body specific vacuum booster to replace the '75 Dart booster I've used for years. The 66-70 B unit is a dual diaphragm design, the Dart booster is a single.
I have a 72 Duster that needs interior work to finish, then I'm selling it.
I love to hop around and tinker with the cars. It is so much fun for me.
I'm having trouble sleeping though. It is now past 6:00 AM and I have not slept a wink. I laid down at midnight but couldn't conk out. This medication really interferes with my sleep patterns.

 

[Cranky]

Pretty sure you didn't get jolted.
Service drops (shielded wire) are
designed to protect against such
contact. The bare wire is a
tension (guide) wire used to take the
stress off the hot wire connections.
So sorry to hear of your mishap, and I
can relate to your present state.
Did your doc recommend any sort
of physical therapy to help with
recovery?

Isn't the guide wire also used as a ground?

I have a few appointments scheduled for next week. I suspect that some of them might be a matter of playing it safe/cover your *** sort of thing.
I don't know much but I would be surprised if they suggest physical therapy. If they do, I'm not sure if I'd follow through.
In the 90s, aside from construction, I had a side hobby where I was making home movies with VHS cameras. I jumped several cars, rolled two, crashed others. This was LONG before YouTube offered a platform for such nonsense. I recovered from all that with next to no lasting effects.
Yeah, I am older now and I am aware that injuries with advanced age can be worse. I can't let this get me down though. I will not let fear ruin me from living my life.

I started working home construction with my dad at age 14 and it wasn't too long before I started sub-contracting from him doing what was called gyp and deck. Did lots of other things too but that's for another time. Back then gypsum sheathing was used on the outside walls for insulation and water repellent under the brick and was constructed very similar to sheet rock but with a water repellent 'paper' covering and thicker. It was shipped 8' long and 2" wide and was much heavier than sheet rock. The roof decking was either 3/8" plywood or 1x4" strips with the plywood being for composition shingles and the strips spaced 4" for cedar shingles. Anyways, I spent a lot of time on bare frame houses chopping joists that stuck out above the rafters. Yeah, the framers dropped the ball on that but at least most were not sticking up by much so I just used a hatchet to do that job. Over time I got to where I could walk all over a bare frame without thinking much about it but these days, at 72 I don't even want to up on a completed roof anymore....and yeah, I've hit the ground a time or two but was able to get some control of the fall before hitting the ground. I too used to jump off of houses as a kid playing. It was a bit scary the first time though lol.

Fast forward from the mid 60's and 1970 to 84 when my dad and I built my 28x52' shop. Dad was 63 at the time and I was 33.....me being in good shape still but with dad being not as good, he only got up on the top to help me get the ridge board nailed in place and then he got down and never came back up again and now I know why. This was the first time for me to do a complete frame job and it went well with dad cutting rafters etc. The joists were easy and just put up a false wall down the center and laid the joists on it and once everything was tied together, the FW was removed....the shop has no inside support columns as the roof is a semi truss setup. Years before doing this, dad mis-stepped while up on a freshly framed house and ended up falling between a couple of rafters and cracked a few ribs. He never was up on the frame of that many houses and think he didn't like that part at all.

Glad you didn't get injured anymore than you did but man, gotta be more careful as we get older.....and each injury seems to come back to haunt us as we age....

 

[1967coronet]

Greg , I glad you are healing up. Falls are always bad .
Off the roof , damn man .
Crazy reading this just last weekend I was up on our 2 story home installing a tv antenna.
I am alot more careful than when I was younger.
Hope you heal up fast and get things finished, good luck on your sale.

 

[moparedtn]

Those are some wild-assed looking gutters, least to me. Giant!

 

[Hey-O]

Greg,
A few weeks ago I took a break from here, it wasn't over a cheap meal or the flip and flop brothers. I was at a point in my world that I was a little too busy to deal with stupidity. The truth is, I had bought another condo to flip. A 30 to 60 day turn around. It's sold before it's done and I close on the sale of it in a few weeks, or whatever, we'll see, it's not important. I'm not going to pass out advise on how to make a fast buck here, that's not needed here now. My point is, I have always done a fair amount of the work on my flips and now, on this one, I did nothing, but phone and line up all my contacts and stand back and watch the work being done. Age has not stopped my mind or my greed from doing all the things that have made me who I am, but my body and my wife have asked me to stop. There's more than one way to skin a cat and I have told you before, time waits for no one. I can't tell you how sorry I am about you falling and yes, it's not a joke, it's a wake up call. It doesn't mean your done or you can't, it's about knowing when to slow down, so you and Mary can make it to the end of the journey you both have made and truly deserve to finish. Yes, this problem is from the fall and the concussion and remembering all of it isn't important at this point, what is important is that you get something out of it besides the pain. My way of thinking has changed and I'm OK with it. It's hard to admit that it can and will take longer to do things and just maybe, it's alright to step back and let someone else do some of the things you normally did. It's not a sign of weakness, it's just us, working smarter not harder. Now, take a moment and see how many grammer mistakes i've made and that will help all of us to know it's still you out their.... LOL. Godspeed our friend....... Ulli.

 

[skicker]

Sorry to hear about your fall Kern...

You've officially joined the DUMASS club...

I've had 2 in the past 4 years...one about 9' high and the other about 11'...

Both times while sitting or laying on the ground I yelled "DUMASS"...

Both just freak deals that I surely wasn't prepared for...but neither caused anything more than some stoved up pain just about everywhere...

At 58 I'm not looking forward to future roof work but have two projects that will require it...

Just take so time off and work on easier projects and you should recover just fine...

2 1/2 years ago I did this to my hand on 1/6/21...

Doctors instructions were to basically take it easy and do nothing...

I started working on my car again using the grinder a lot and it vastly improved the function and dexterity in the injured hand to the point that when therapy was required I passed all the tests in a mere 2 weeks rather than the scheduled 8...

Much like a bad meal in a sketchy establishment...this too shall pass...

 

[terrywalker]

I've had accidents on roofs and doing construction projects around the house which resulted in sore backs and dislocated shoulders a couple of times. Physical therapy has helped me tremendously in recovering. I follow the recommendations and I seem to heal quicker. While recovering and taking it easy, I lose some flexibility of the injured arm or leg. PT really helps. I'm still doing PT and chiropractor visits from an accident in January when we were t-boned by a vehicle which ran a red light. I started PT two weeks after the accident as my doctor wanted me to heal some first. I was surprised at how much physical ability I had lost in two weeks. At 70 years old, I need all the ability I can get. I'm back to 80% or more of what I was before the accident. I had never visited a chiropractor before this car accident. My back was screwed up and I wasn't aware of it. The visits for adjustments have helped. Follow the doctors' recommendations so you don't suffer down the road. Just my 2 cents.
Terry W.

 

[DeltaV]

Concussions: What to Do After

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Concussions: What to Do After​

Updated July 02, 2021
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Although most people recover fully within 10 days after a concussion, how quickly you improve depends very much on how well you take care of yourself after the injury.
Duke neurologist Joel Morgenlander, MD, offers these helpful tips to follow after a concussion -- whether you’re a child or an adult:

• Get plenty of sleep at night, and rest during the day. Keep a regular schedule -- no late nights, no sleepovers for kids.
• Initially, avoid activities that are physically demanding, require a lot of concentration, or are mentally or emotionally stressful.
• Avoid multitasking -- whether that’s watching TV while fixing dinner or fielding multiple messages on your smart phone.
• Your reaction times may be slower, so ask your doctor when you can safely drive a car, ride a bike, or operate major equipment.
• Consider returning to work or school gradually -- start with half-days if possible.
• Treat pain with acetaminophen only, unless other pain relievers are approved by your medical provider.
• Adults: no alcohol.
• Kids: no video games.

After Your Concussion​

It’s a good idea to let employers, teachers, coaches, and family members know what’s happened, so they can help you deal with any challenges that arise, whether it’s patience with mild forgetfulness or accommodating the need for frequent rest breaks.
Mental and physical rest is very important. In today’s multitasking world, true rest can be a true challenge, but it’s essential to the brain’s recovery.

All in the Game​

You don’t have to lose consciousness to have a concussion. If a concussion is sports-related, the injured player should always be evaluated by a health professional.
After a concussion, you should stay off the field -- don’t even practice -- until you are cleared to return to play.

 

[beanhead]

Holy guacamole Greg...that's a nasty accident! I'm glad you're still around to tell the story, seriously.
I'd noticed you weren't quite as active as normal, but then I'd see you make a post here and there and whenever I checked the "last seen" it always showed you being on board recently, so I figured you were just busy with the cars or the property work.
As much as you got beat up, at our age a tumble like that usually ends up a lot worse...good thing Mary was around, too.
Keep getting better!!

 

[F4R/T]

KD I’m sorry to hear about your fall .. it’s terrible. Be careful, get well and don’t hesitate to say when.... Your very lucky it wasn’t worse. Take care, nice to see you back!

 

[HD539]

Glad you’re on the mend, hope and pray all goes well.

 

[oldkimmer]

Sorry to hear of your mishap. Glad u weren’t more seriously hurt. Glad to hear your on the mend. Take care Kern. Kim

 

[Fran Blacker]

Get well!

 

[barnfind]

Heal up Greg, it's a wake up call for sure. Gotta take more time doing things than what we're used to doing these days. Had to get on the shop roof to deal with a downed tree. Been at least 4 years since I've needed to be on a roof. The pitch wasn't steep but had plenty of neighbors watching. Old guy on the roof with a chainsaw. What could go wrong? If ya gotta do it yourself, slowing down and thinking things thru are just part of it. I did call a gutter guy to do that part.
Take care!

 

[Richard Cranium]

 

[moparedtn]

Amazingly enough I never went to the doctor but my back hurt for over 100 days.

Dammit Don, you dope!

 

[moparedtn]