Staying safe outdoors

Whether you're lifting paving slabs or painting the outside of your house, there are real risks you must address before starting

Dress right

Gloves are essential for most outdoor jobs, especially if you're handling rough materials such as bricks or paving slabs. Use heavy-duty gardening gloves rather than tatty old mittens. You should also wear safety goggles if you're cutting brick, glass or paving or stripping/sanding paint, as any dust you produce can be harmful. Wear proper shoes, too, especially if you're shinning up ladders. Flat, sturdy, non-slip shoes are ladder-proof: open-toed sandals and stilettos are not.

Laws of the ladder

The ladder is a dangerous garden tool. To avoid accidents, follow these simple rules:

1. Check your ladder is in good working order and make sure someone knows what you're up to.

2. Never lean a ladder on guttering, glass or windowsills - always use the wall. Set up the ladder at a safe angle. As a guide, the distance of the feet from the wall should be a quarter of the ladder's height (ie, the feet of a 6m ladder should be positioned 1.5m from the wall).

3. Always rest your ladder on a level surface. If the ground is soft, rest the feet on a hardwood board to stop the feet sinking.

The bottom of the ladder should preferably have non-slip feet.

4. Always maintain three points of contact with the ladder and avoid carrying items up with you - use a tool belt instead. And be aware of the maximum workload of your ladder. This will vary according to the height of your model.

5. While working, keep both feet on the same rung and always face forwards. Don't overreach or you could topple the ladder. Try amd take a break every 30 minutes.

6. Best practice suggests you shouldn't use a ladder any longer than 9m. Never stand on the top three rungs (the top metre) as this will put too much pressure on the top and could cause the legs to collapse. Roof-work requires scaffolding and should be left to the professionals (see panel, p93).

Check the weather forecast

Most outside jobs can't be done in the rain as materials such as cement, mortar and sand need to be kept dry. If you're planning on climbing a ladder, watch out for high winds. Don't risk being 8m up a ladder in gale force winds - wait for the wind to drop first.

The sun may normally be a welcome visitor to your garden but if you're painting the exterior of your house, it can be a menace. The chances are you're painting with bright white paint, which can give you a headache in direct sunlight. Instead, follow the shade around the house to keep out of the sun's glare.

Lift correctly

We all know there's a safe way of lifting but it's only once back problems develop that many of us sit up (if we can) and take notice. If you have to lift something heavy, stand with feet shoulder-width apart to give you a solid base. To pick up your load, squat down bending at the knees and keeping your back straight. This way, you'll be using the power in your legs and saving your back from injury.

And finally... know when to stop

Don't be a DIY hero. If you're not confident about what you're doing, stop and ask a professional for help. Better to bruise your ego than do yourself - or your home - a serious injury.

Handy Andy's top tips

Andy Kane, the tough DIY guru of Changing Rooms fame, shares some of his DIY dos and don'ts.

The easiest DIY advice I can offer is clear your gutters. Your gutters will get blocked up with leaves (especially if you live near trees) and you could easily end up with water running down the side of your house when it overflows. Even if water's not running down the walls, your exterior will get damp if the water bounces back and hits the wall at the bottom. It's simple to sort: get a ladder, get up there and clear the leaves once a year.

Be careful if you're doing up your windows, especially if you have an old house. Make sure you wear a mask when sanding down flaky paint as it may contain lead. The less dust you breathe in the better. If there are chips in the frame you want to fill, make sure you use an exterior filler. If you use an interior filler, it'll look fine until it rains - then all your hard work will go down the pan.

If you're laying a patio, make sure the highest point is nearest your house so water runs away from it. It sounds obvious, but imagine if you got it wrong! If you're making a raised patio, you need to have two courses of brickwork below the DPC (damp-proof course) before you lay your patio slabs. If you don't, the water will rise and you'll be left with a damp structure.

In any building work, most of the cost is in the ground (the foundations and the DPC), which is frustrating as it's the part of the job you'll never see. Bear this in mind and calculate the cost of every project before you decide to go ahead with it.

Finally, people often forget to wear goggles. I was taking out a pane of glass once and a glass splinter went straight into my eye. I could see it sticking out, so I just pulled it out, but it could've been so much worse. That taught me a lesson. I always wear goggles now. DIY is not about looking good.

Permission granted?

Unless you live in a listed building, conservation area or national park, you can paint the exterior of your house any colour your choose. You can carry out repairs to guttering, walls and windows without permission and you can furnish your garden with patios and paths without complaint. Walls and fences under 2m tall don't require planning permission. Decking, however, is another matter. If your deck measures more than 3m from the ground to the top of the balustrade, you'll need planning permission.

If you carry out external work which requires planning permission before you apply for it, your local council has the right to demolish it, so check with them first. See or for more information.