Who needs ‘health and safety’?
By Fleur
@Fleura (34996)
United Kingdom
July 13, 2022 10:43am CST
Our neighbours are having some work done on their roof. I confess I have laughed to myself when I have seen the workers in action.
First they put up scaffolding all over both the front and back of the house. Fair enough, nowadays there are lots of safety regulations governing working at height.
But then they didn’t use the scaffolding. Instead they put a ladder against the side of the house, climbed up and just walked up and down the roof!
The only person I saw actually using the scaffolding was someone who I presume must have been some sort of supervisor/ overseer, and he only used it to lean on while having a smoke and watching the men work!
Of course they were fine, no accidents or anything, but I guess if there had been they could show they had complied with all the relevant regulations.
And of course they would have charged the owners for the scaffolding, which is often the biggest cost!
All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2022.
13 people like this
14 responses
@WorDazza (15826)
• Manchester, England
13 Jul 22
That photo makes me feel a bit sick. I'm not great with heights.
When we had our roof re-slated we were charged an arm and a leg for the scaffolding. We were told it was costly due to high demand. It stayed in place for about 3 weeks after the roof was finished!!!
1 person likes this
@WorDazza (15826)
• Manchester, England
13 Jul 22
@Fleura Well if I ever see that headline I'll know who it is 
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When we had the house refurbished we got the sash windows that can tilt inwards so I can clean the windows from the inside. Now I only have to get up a ladder to clear the gutters every now and then.
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When we had the house refurbished we got the sash windows that can tilt inwards so I can clean the windows from the inside. Now I only have to get up a ladder to clear the gutters every now and then.1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169448)
• United States
14 Jul 22
What a scheme. I wonder if the homeowners are out observing any of this?
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230350)
• Chile
13 Jul 22
Here we also have a lot of regulations. And the workers do not use everything. I remember how much I fought with workers when my late husband was a builder. There were all sorts of garments that the workers simply would never use. I told them that if they fell and did not have their regulation garments on, they would not be paid for the days they did not work.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
13 Jul 22
Sometimes too much regulation is not good if it's impractical, an additional burden and in our country it becomes a venue for corruption when regulators search for all kinds of holes in what you are doing. On the otherhand, I believe good regulation implemented properly is important for safety. That guy looks like Spiderman, I don't think the scaffolding is necessary
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174395)
• United States
13 Jul 22
Ladders is all I've ever seen roofers here use.
When we were working on the inside of our first house, my wife and I bought scaffolding to use and then sold it when we were done. No reason to keep it around. (I believe we made a profit on the scaffolding, if memory serves.)
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (91068)
• United States
13 Jul 22
That is funny that they installed the scaffolding and didn't use it. I'm always amazed at how easily roofers walk up and down a roof incline as if they're on level ground.
1 person likes this
@Beestring (15372)
• Hong Kong
13 Jul 22
Scaffolding is expensive. Of course, they would ask the owners to do it. I wonder if workers in HK dare not to use the scaffolding because fines are heavy and accidents did happen.
1 person likes this
