Ladder slipped on me in 2018, still think about it sometimes

I was working on a dormer window in a old house over in Springfield. Had my framing square and a fresh bundle of cedar shakes up there, and the extension ladder just started sliding sideways on the wet grass. I jumped off onto the porch roof, landed hard on my hip but didn't drop anything. Client was watching from the driveway and just yelled "you okay?" I said yeah but inside I was shook for the rest of the day. Any of you guys have a close call that made you change how you set up ladders?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlienelson2mo ago

wet grass is the worst, happened to me too and now i always use levelers

the_pat2mo ago

Oh man, wet grass really is a nightmare to deal with! So @charlienelson, are the levelers helping with the actual moisture issue or is it more about avoiding those tire ruts in the first place? I always figured levelers were more for uneven ground than for dealing with wet grass.

black.joel1mo ago

My buddy Dave learned this the hard way last spring. He parked his truck on his lawn for five minutes to unload some dirt and the tires just sunk right in. Took him an hour with a shovel and some boards just to get unstuck. Now he uses levelers under his tires whenever he parks on grass, even if it looks dry. He says it spreads the weight out enough that the ground doesn't give way. The ruts from last year are still there, so he's pretty serious about not making new ones.