After building my first tiny house, I figured out that I am not the most comfortable being up on a 13’ high roof. Fear of heights is certainly not uncommon, but whether you like it or not, you are going to have to spend some time in the air during your tiny house construction. Here is some advice on conquering (or at least lessening) your fear of tiny house heights.
Using Scaffolding
Scaffolding is probably my favorite tool outside of the pneumatic palm nailer. We use the Metaltech Multipurpose 6ft. Baker-Style Scaffold (pictured left). This is easy to set up and take down, locks into place and can be easily added onto. There is nothing better than when you have to work from the inside attaching rafters on both sides of the house and you can simply walk back and forth on top of the scaffold. Talk about don’t worry, be happy? No fear on this thing.
Extension Ladder Essentials
Nowadays, many extension ladders have spikes on the bottom in addition to feet. This is awesome for when you are working on a non-paved surface and will give you a great foothold for the ladder. Also, make sure that you have the ladder extended two rungs above the roof level so that it makes it easy to get on and off. There is nothing scarier than having to dangle your legs off of the roof “fishing” for the ladder rung.
Climbing Equipment
This isn’t the best option in the world, but it will do the job, especially if you are just afraid of working on the ladder. You can clip-in using something like the Miller Titan by Honeywell. If you have a rope, you can throw it over the other side of the roof and have someone keep an eye out for you falling.
Ask for Help
There is no better way to conquer your fear of heights than to avoid them all together. Asking around or contracting that part of the job out is not cheating! There are some people that are not comfortable with plumbing, so they bring a real plumber in to do the work. If you just can’t get up there to do the work, find someone you can. READ MORE: How Not to Die While Building Your Tiny House So hopefully that helps explain some of the ways that you can get over your fear of tiny house heights. Just because it is a tiny house, doesn’t mean that this is a tiny fear. What fears do you have about building your tiny house? Let me know in the comments below.
Published on 8/11/2021. Published in Tiny House Construction.
