Safety First

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Many of us do home renovations or work on small projects at home or at the cottage.  While safety standards in the construction industry are regulated by law in most places, there are very few safety restrictions when working at home and even those that are in place are nearly unenforceable.

Most of safety is just common sense.  If a ladder feels unstable, it is.  Don't use your body as a sawhorse.  Keep the safety guards on your tools.  Unplug your saw before changing the blade.  Disconnect air tools from the air supply as soon as you are done with them. Protect your eyes and your ears. Read the manuals, including the safety section.

Reminders of that information are widely available, so we'll skip it for this article and move on to what people need reminding of.

The area where people most seem to lack common sense is proper attire.

As I write this, I'm wearing a pair of cheap sandals.  They are cool, comfortable and quite suitable for the task of writing.  When I go out to start work on the shed I'm building, I will change into safety shoes that have a protective shank and toe.  In the case of my shoes, the protective portions are made from Kevlar, reducing the weight.