If you find yourself constantly worrying about the safety of your loved ones every time they go to the roof of your home, you need to install roof safety handrails as soon as possible. Though we try to ensure that our home is 100% safe, we often tend to ignore the roof. You and your friends or family members might need to access the roof for different reasons. Without proper safety measures, your roof can be a highly dangerous, accident-prone zone. Handrails are important to avoid hazards like people slipping and falling from the roof.
Advantages of Installing Roof Safety Handrails:
Some significant benefits of installing handrails are as follows:
- Prevention of Accidents: Handrails can ensure that people can grip something while moving or working on the roof. This provides support and can avoid falls. Also, if handrails cover the entire perimeter of the roof, people will have less probability of slipping and falling from the edges.
- Easy Installation and Maintenance: Handrails can be installed very easily and fast. There are numerous companies that provide ready-made as well as custom options. In many cases, the handrails do not even need to be bolted or welded to the actual roof. No leaks or resealing of the roof is involved. No ongoing maintenance is needed for roof safety handrails. These usually come with a warranty.
- Affordable Costs: You can choose from a wide range of highly experienced companies which can not only provide high-quality handrails but also take care of installation and long-term maintenance and support that too at a very low cost.
Compliance with The Law:
Roof safety is not just needed at homes but is essential at workplaces too. In Australia, as per the government’s height safety standards and regulations, an employer must establish roof safety handrails at the workplace to ensure that the work environment is safe.
- Installing Handrails at The Private and Public Property: If a worker needs to work within 2 meters of a roof’s edge, it is compulsory to install handrails. For example, if your house has an air conditioning system on the edge of the roof, professionals will need to work at the edge for servicing or cleaning the machine. You are legally bound to install handrails to ensure the safety of the worker.
- Installing Handrails at Construction Sites: As per the Australian guardrail requirements, handrails must be installed at construction sites where workers need to work within 3 meters of the edge of the roof. It is also compulsory to have handrails at roof surfaces which have a slope of fewer than 26 degrees and where a person has the risk of falling from a height greater than 2 meters.
Types of Handrails:
Broadly, there are two types of roof safety handrails:
- Free-Standing Systems: These do not need welding or bolting, and no attachments need to be made on the roof floor. These are not permanent and are suitable for temporary scenarios like construction.
- Fixed Attachment Systems: Installation of these involve bolting, welding, clamping and the roof floor needs to be penetrated. These are permanent and highly effective for long-term purposes.
Roof safety handrails are a must for domestic as well as commercial and industrial scenarios. Safety should not be neglected or compromised at any cost. Installing handrails can not only minimize your safety concerns and risks, but they can also save you from legal issues. You can install a temporary or permanent system based on your needs. But be sure to involve a credible and specialized company.
