• Keep a first-aid kit on the job site at all times.
• Keep the sun off your body. It may be okay to wear tank tops, shorts, and sandals to the beach, but these are not okay to wear on a construction site day in and day out. You won’t stay cooler by letting the hot sun beat directly on you. Wear long-sleeve shirts, jeans, good shoes, and a wide-brim hat when the sun is shining. If you are especially sensitive to the sun, keep a bottle of sunblock handy. (If you aren’t convinced of the value of protecting yourself from the harsh sun, ask an old carpenter with skin cancer to find out what he thinks about it.)
• Don’t wear loose-fitting clothing or jewelry that can get caught in a power tool. If you have long hair, tie it up for the same reason.
• Drink lots of water. It’s easy for the body to become dehydrated on a hot day. Dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion, which can lead to accidents.
• Keep a hard hat handy. Many carpenters resist wearing hard hats, but when someone is working overhead, wearing a hard hat below is a good idea. You may have a hard head, but it won’t be hard enough to protect you from falling tools or lumber. [6] in a sock and carry them with you. If you wear prescription glasses, don’t think they protect your eyes. Standard prescription lenses are not rated to shield your eyes from flying objects. You need lenses that are made specifically for safety. I wear safety glasses with plastic prescription lenses and side protectors.
• Use ear protection whenever operating a loud power tool like a router or circular saw. Otherwise, make “huh?” part of your vocabulary. I keep a few sponge ear plugs in a 35-mm film canister and store them in my toolbucket so that I have them with me at all times.
• Wear knee pads to protect your knees—for example, when putting down roofing or nailing down flooring.
• Lungs need protection, too. A dust mask helps keep large particles out of your lungs. I use one when sanding or when working in an enclosed area with poor ventilation. With toxic materials, wear a respirator. I have often worn a respirator during remodeling jobs in which I’ve ripped out old plaster and insulation. When ripping out these materials, the dust particles may be small enough to penetrate a dust mask (and some older plaster may even contain asbestos).
• Protect your hands with gloves when necessary. Wear light rubber gloves when painting or staining to prevent harmful materials from entering your body through your pores. Use heavy work gloves to protect your hands from wood slivers when handling rough lumber.
Flat plate straps are another type of anchor used to tie wooden members together. They are made from heavy — gauge metal, contain numerous fastener holes, and come in many different widths and lengths (up to 4 ft. long).
Hold-downs are heavy-gauge, L-shaped metal anchors that help prevent house uplift by connecting the building to the foundation. They often attach near the mudsill with an anchor bolt set in the concrete foundation and are bolted to posts in the wood frame.
Post caps attach larger posts, like 4x4s, to beams or to concrete. L — or T-straps connect two members that meet in a right-angle or T configuration, such as when a beam rests on a post.
