Beating the heat all in a day's work

Patrick Kalin, owner operator of Total Home Insulation in Whangarei, works in temperatures up to 45C during summer. Photo / John Stone

The sight of a soaring temperature gauge is not always a happy sight - it certainly turns the heat up for one Whangarei business owner.

If you are suffering in this heat, spare a thought for Patrick Kalin, owner-operator of Total Homes Insulation.

To him a warm weather forecast means he has a small window of time to crawl around in 40C heat in roof spaces before his workplace turns into an oven.

Mr Kalin could spend up to two hours working on insulating a roof and said he had to make sure he was out of them by 12pm.

"You have to get out before it gets too hot. It has happened only a handful of times. I've had to stay up there to finish a job, and it gets to about 45 to 50C - that heat is just a no-go."

Most of the time, he said, he starts roof work at 7.30am and temperatures are likely to be a little lower - around 40C.

"You have to get through it fast and get it right the first time, you don't want to have to go back up."

He said he had to drink plenty of fluids, and ensure all roof jobs were booked in early.

"Health and safety is so important. It's just not safe in that heat if it gets too hot."

Polyester insulation was a more skin-friendly alternative to the heat-activated itch in fibreglass too, he said.

Some clients had gone out of their way to help Mr Kalin stay cool.

"Some folks have hosed down their roofs or even taken tin sheets off it. But we don't expect clients to do that."

At least crawling under the house to complete the insulation job offered some cool respite.