How careful are you in the ceiling space?

Whether you are fitting insulation into your home, installing solar PV panels or using the crawl space to store tins left over from your house painting job, it is important to be careful in the ceiling space.

A recent campaign by the Queensland government has highlighted the electrical risks to both homeowners and tradespeople in these spaces.

It advises anyone heading up into a crawl space to be careful about electrical safety.

This means ensuring that the switchboard is turned off before you climb up and taking steps to prevent others from flicking it back on. The government suggests taping it or labelling it when you are up there.

Even if all the power is turned off, it advises that contact be avoided with electrical cables and other equipment as it may still be live.

Another suggestion is to use cordless tools and torches, as this eliminates the need for power in the space. 

If you are laying insulation, it is important that this material does not cover any electrical equipment of fittings, in particular down lights, as this has the potential to cause fires.

Confined spaces, excessive heat and sharp objects are other issues posed to workers in these spaces.