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I’m stealing a topic from the “what to pay help string”
What do you wear day in and day out, and what do you expect you help to show up in. How many of you have the Norm Abrams flannel look, and how many have the company polo with jeans or khakis ect. Do you show up for initial estimates in the same duds?
How do you think your look effects your business?
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Justus, I think that is determined by the work being done on a routine basis. I wouldn't expect a framer or roofer to wear what I do.
Since most of my jobs are small, small being less than 4 hours, with some being up to 40 hours, I wear beige pants, good Rockport brown shoes, and white shirts with button down collars. When I had an employee, I also supplied him with the same - 6 sets. Also white painter's pants for those jobs.
An extra set of clothes in the truck to change during lunch if we got very dirty by then.
*Your reply is exactly what I had in mind Lykos, I wouldn't expect a framing crew to show up in polo shirts and khakis either. I do think it looks sharp if the whole crew has a company t-shirt. Yes I know that the clothes don't make the man or the work. Their are plenty of crews doing top notch work that look like they just washed ashore from a pirate ship. I do 95% of my work solo, but I keep a couple of t-shirts with the company logo with me for when I have a helper. It may sound silly but I just think it looks much more professional. I wear a nice shirt and pants when I come to do the initial estimate. On the job I wear shirt with the logo on it and jeans. I also keep a clean polo shirt in the truck in case I need to meet with somone directly after work.
*Justus, I forgot to say that Dockers and a nice sport shirt is typical for me for sales calls.Your comment: "Yes I know that the clothes don't make the man or the work. Their are plenty of crews doing top notch work that look like they just washed ashore from a pirate ship." but for those of us who typically do most of our work in peoples homes, our dress is only part of out total image.By that I mean I wish I had a ten spot for every client that called our office to compliment one of our guys who called because he would be only 5 minutes late, or to express shock that after doing a small job and picked up his runners, vacumed that carpet under them, or used or Windexed all of the plumbing fixtures in the bathroom after doing a minor change. And in each case, only as an after thought saying: "Oh. And by the way, he did a nice job too."Imagine that. The workmanship quality, lousy, average or exceptional, was an after thought. Kind of makes obvious the priorities of some people, or changes them after realizing an "experience" that's not typical in our industry.Sonny Lykos
*Justus, I used to go with the shirtless, six-pack abs look and a pair of tight fitting jeans but women on any given jobsite kept hooting and hollering at me so I put on a few pounds around the midsection and toned it down a little. I really hated those distractions from my work... Now I limit the shirtless look for around the home where the little lady can make her remarks. Remarks like, "Put a shirt on thats disguisting!" or "when are you due?";)Mike
*Clean clothes!!!! Jeans....Levis preferably. Theyre sturdy, look good, somewhat protective compared to kahkis. They make me feel good and that makes me work even better. I love my jeans.....sorry..any guy that works for me can wear whatever they want as long as they are clean and not out of a circus. Work boots are imperitive ....saftey again. For estimates I dress a bit better but not much. I love to look clean and comfortable. Sorry but thats my style.....When I go to a wedding I just throw on a sports jacket....jeans stay on....ok maybe a bit cleaner pair,,,,,right.....Then don't invite me. My portfolio says it all.....and the look in my eyes. Sincerity and a strong handshake......all in the same breath.
*Carpenters overalls.We are carpenters right?It used to be a tradition.The only place to get them any more is J. C. Penney's.Workwear catalog.Item # A545-0127EMost all of the old timers wore them. Most of the guys on our crew do, and a lot of the better carpenters in town do also.Once, on the first day of a job, three of our carpenters showed up and the client asked the builder, "What did you do? Call central casting and ask for some carpenters?"At least we look like carpenters.Ed.
*EdI really like your dress code. My grandfather wore them and so did anyone of his generation (born 1901) worthy of the carpenter logo.Me, I try to look presentable, but I'm a roofer and we have to make the rest of youi respectable construction workerslook good. The only thing I require is a wide brim cowboy hat, use your imagination for the rest.Terry
*I'm kinda partial to the carhartt bibs myself. normally I'm jeans and flannel or gray uniform shirt (like mechanics wear, but with out the name above the pocket) in summer it's a t-shirt and khaki shorts. I'm at the point of pricing shirts with the company name on them and will probably be getting some early 2002.As far as clean goes normally they're clean, although I forgot the rag the other day and was up on the scaffolding caulking with brown silicone. I got a gob on my hand and without thinking wiped my hand on my jeans leg. now I have a pair with a nice brown blotch on the one leg. looks like I wiped crap on them. I gotta go buys some new ones now.
*>Their are plenty of crews doing top notch work that look like they just washed ashore from a pirate ship." Ha! Ha! That's pretty good. Love them pirates....me... levi's usually with a hole in the knee, old T shirt, tennis shoes, hat of the day. Not to impressive, but have been wearing the same uniform for over thirty years......one of the best finish carpenters I know looks like he spends his evenings in a refrig. box....but he does bathe, that's the secret guys, you got to take a bath every Sat regardless.
*I supply company T shirts,company hooded sweatshirts,company hats.I will advance money for roofers shoes and deduct $10/week till the shoes are paid back.most employees can't believe I give them this stuff FREE.They tell me that most other crews they worked on REQUIRE company shirts,but charge the employee for their purchase.they also tell me that some crews will hold up the final paycheck of a worker who quits untill he returns the company shirts.I thought that was crazy untill I started hearing about some of the places my company shirts were turning up in.( There is a down side to company shirts)BTW everything except the shoes are a dark green which in my house is known as Hazlett Green.
*"beware of those that wear uniforms" Ralph Waldo Emerson
*Ed I used to wear carpenter bibs but they all had those heavy duty metal buttons right where my nail aprons would ride on my hips. Then I found a local uniform service that sold the blue green & khaki pants for 5$ a pair. Later as my waistline started to expand I found the elastic waist workpants from Wearguard. Now I have 4-5 pair of JD America's heavy duty workpants. THese are great!!! tough as nails, reinforced seams, elastic waist, extra heavywieght fabric on the butt & knees and knee pads built right in. I cant say enough about how nice these pants are They are available from the company and thru Jc- Penneys wor wear catolog.Up top its t-shirt & sweatshirts decorated with dry wall mud or whatever else Im puttin up.Mr. T.
*NEIL YOUNG ATTIRE.......Keep on "rockin'" in the free world....I don't think he meant sheetrock but hey.....ya know?
*You know, I never did get the whole Norm Abrams flannel shirt thing. The i lastthing I would want to wear when working around sawdust, drywall dust, and insulation all day long is a freakin' flannel shirt that just attracts all of that stuff like a magnet.I like to look nice when I'm at work, but I above all, I want to be comfortable.
*Mr T.,I hear ya.......Remember the old CCN&Y song, "Almost Cut My Hair"?There is a line in that song that means a lot to me.It goes..."I feel like I owe it to someone".That's the way I feel about the traditon of carpenters stripes."I feel like I owe it to someone."Carpenters in striped overalls.....it's been an American tradition since before I was born.Ed.
*Thanks for the info. Mr.T on JcPenney's pants with the great knees. I have at least ten pairs of pants Lars wants patches put on. I have put it off and now I am going to get some pants that last! By the way I know I am a wife of a carpenter, but can I ask you guys something? Do you ALL wear beards and mustaches? Lars also tells me it is part of being a carpenter. Loved this thread thanks for all the great info. here.
*Yes. Anyone who does not have a beard and mustache, is only pretending to be a carpenter.
*That's right brother! There is nothing more manly than having to shop-vac the sawdust out of your beard at the end of the day. A note on safety though, I got my beard caught in the top of my router yesterday, no damage just missing a few tufts.
*i Do you ALL wear beards and mustaches? Of course.Terry
*used have long hair also until today the wife gave me a buz cut.. it feels kinda good i might keep it. still got the stash going....
*I haven't shaved in over 25 years. Although I do trim the hedge every few months or so. The ZZTop look kinda freaks out some of my highend customers.Shave everyday? I don't think so. I'd rather take a beating.Ed.
*Shaving is for wimmins arrmpits and thier other soft places.Real men have whiskers'cept them talibums, they give beards a bad name!I pity da foo dat hasta drag sharpened steel across his face EVERY day.Mr. T.
*I wear clothes to work mostly. Shorts & tee shirt w/ company logo. I thrash work clothes real fast, can't seem to keep them unstained, uncut, ect., so I stopped trying- good thing I do clean work, cuz I'm generally not by the middle of the morning...
*i I wear clothes to work mostly.
*I am a damn slob and I hate it. Neat truck, slobby pants. Any tips? Got a rag to keep in toolbox/belt.Thanks.
*My work attire seems to generate alot of conversation. I wonder what you guys think of this.I dress neat, but I wear shorts pretty much 10 months or more out of the year. I live in PA, so it gets kind of cold, but if the sun's out and its above 40 or so, and I doing physical work, I'm in shorts. If I'm going to be inside at all and its above 40 outside, even if its unheated, I'm usually in shorts. If its going to be in the 20's or so I wear shorts underneath my pants. Just in case. Sometimes I where shorts underneath coveralls. Other than that, I wear shorts unless I will look really, really stupid, like if I'm snowblowing the driveway, or am at my own wedding or something.I don't wear pants at anywhere if its above 55.About september I start hearing it, "shorts, in september?"I guess by Ed's standards I'm not a real carpenter. I was on a commercial job(inside, Jan, or Feb) and the super gave me shit. Hey, I'm not jepoadizing my fertility for anyone. Jeans aren't any safer, accept for the occasional scratch or splinter. I quit a damn job making alot more money where I had to wear at least 3 layers of clothes year round, and cinch a noose around my neck. If I'm doing this kind of work, I'm gonna be comfortable while I hang on by my toenails on that 12 pitch with a three story drop.If anyone looks up my shorts while I'm climbing a ladder, I'll be "hanging brain". Go look up a woman's shorts if you wanna see something that suits you better. Or start questioning your sexual orientation.And I wear work slippers. You all should try them, you never have to tie your shoes. All my guys wear them and it generates alot of interest. Try them and you'll never go back.Is this what's commonly referred to as a rant?
*Easy there Tommy, your a grown man and you wear as much or as little as you like. If your making a living wearing shorts, I'm not going to tell you otherwise. I will say that you've got to have asbestos knees to be on a roof bare legged. I'm with Aaron though, as soon as I put on a new pair of pants I forget and wipe caulk or glue all over them. This time I got smart though, soon as I got home I scrubbed the spots with mineral spirits and the stuff came right off! And so did the color, now I've got white spots all over my jeans. You can't win for loosing
*Tommy, I'm the same way with the shorts. I even wore shorts to my own wedding. My senior year (93)in school (Purdue in Northern Indiana) I only wore long pants one day! It's good motivation to work faster and harder when you're a little cold=)I give all my guys company T-shirts and sweatshirts. They are required to bring 2 everyday, one that looks OK and one thats pretty trashed for painting and caulking.Eric
*i 'cept them talibums, they give beards a bad name! 'nother vote for beards, no shavin' hassle; but, have gotten "profiled" on most of the flights in US I've been on since 911 (about 15) and been double searched at least once on EVERY trip in USA. (grey beard, short reddish hair, no turban) Wife won't fly with me anymore, she hates getting patted down by strangers. None of the wand stuff either in UK, it's a full hands on pat down. Wear "graded" work clothes, 95% garage sale stuff.-those with bigger holes starting get worn welding or painting, finally ending up as grease rags.- really stained but in one piece get worn repairing the loader or digging wells or changing oil.- relatively clean get worn working on cabinets or furniture. Are we really supposed to take a bath EVERY Saturday??
*Beards aren't allowed for us military types. The gas mask won't work with a beard.
*TommyB,Slippers?Say it ain't so. You can be a "real" carpenter and wear shorts I guess. But it doesn't seem like proper work clothes to me.But "slippers"?Not on my watch.I guess if you worked in the Texas summer heat, you'd have to wear sandals and a tank-top? How about Speedo's? Where do you draw the line? Speedo's and combat boots? Is there something you wouldn't wear because it doesn't seem professional? How about Speedo's, a Metalica T-shirt, combat boots and your hat on sideways with a FlavorFlav wall clock hanging around your neck? Is that "not really professional looking"?I drew my line. Where's yours?I admire your independence, but it won't get much respect on the jobsites I work on. Most people around here would just ask, "who the hell is the guy in the slippers?"Ed.
*Hey Erich, did you shave the morning you went through the gas chamber? Whooeee! Worst razor burn I ever had. That was a long time ago, I'd have a hard time getting all my hair up underneath a bdu cap. ;)
*damn Ed, that is a real nice image you created. once, while rock-climbing in yosemite, we let a german team climb up past us, as they were in a big hurry. one guy just had on rock shoes and a speedo, and was pretty sweaty. i prefered just to enjoy the view of the Valley from 500ft, rather than look up.
*>You can be a "real" carpenter and wear shorts I guess. But it doesn't seem like proper work clothes to meYou know, in all my years I've rarely worn shorts to a job site. Never was interested in showing off my pretty legs.....or getting sliced and diced by nails/sharp objects/sunburn/knee rash/.......I see no benefit except to think you're looking cool. There are many kinds of lightweight pants to wear on hot days.......If it's hot and sunny wear a wide brim hat that'll help more than the shorts.
*Jason, Rock climbing in speedos....eeeeee. I'd never let them go ahead of me..who wants to look up and see that???? Yuk. By the way I climb the Gunks in New PAltz NY. Its fantastic. I learned to climb two years ago at 48 years old. I love it. If your ever in NY let me know. Just got a new rope for Christmas.Maybe I should have gotten Speedos...lol
*Andy,yea i can see ya going up a 5.9 face and me belaying you looking at you in those speedos. Yea Id feel safe :)
*Andy,yea i can see ya going up a 5.9 face and me belaying you looking at you in those speedos. Yea Id feel safe :) I used to do it alot here at joshua tree but since I had my kids I havent had the time working ot and working on the house. I sure miss it though. Im thinking of taking the family backpacking hre this feb in the dez near JT
*Oh yea Andy wait til you have your first "screamer" it'll tighten ya up but its such a rush.
*screamed plenty..made me all the more into it and I'm up to a 6.o thankyou.....Geezzzzzz....now I know someone at Joshuas....does that mean when I ride my new bike out to California to see my daughter you'll take me to the rocks.....awesome.....tell ya what...I'll give ya day of any carpentry job ya want in return for a day of climbin' lessons
*Andy,I'll buy a day of carpentry from you if you'll stop making me think of you in a speedo. Yeech.SHG
*Shg, what day?
*And what tree can I nail my billboard to? Heh heh
*Ya know, I'm real sorry I missed that gas chamber in basic training. The day my company did the gas chamber and trained on the M60, I was on KP. The next morning they loaded the KP guys in the back of a pickup truck and said we were going out to do the training we had missed the day before. After about 20 minutes of sitting there, a sargeant came out and said: "Congratulations. You guys just finished your M60 and gas chamber training". So we went back and joined our units. I've never to this day seen an M60, but according to the Army I'm qualified to shoot one.
*That's not a rarity Boss, and your not missing anything about the gas chamber, cept maybe laughing at movies when they use "tear gas" on the good guys.
*I started wearing shorts in good weather about 3 years ago and I love them. It's to where I can hardly stand the thought of wearing long pants anymore and wait until it gets real cold to switch back to jeans. I mostly wear t-shirts and sweatshirts year round, adjusting layers for comfort. I wear work shoes or tennis shoes, depending on the job. If I'm out in the wet I wear good rain gear and rubber barn boots with nice insoles. Oh yeah, and a hard hat to shed the rain - haven't had a hard hat soak through yet.I guess the one thing I'd ask any co-worker not to wear onsite would be something with profanity or overt sexuality on it.
*Oh boy Ed. You'd probably have to rush me to hospital for emergency heat stroke resuscitation by 10 am on my first day if you insisted that I worked for you loaded down with all that clobber, especially on an average August day. One way or another, I don't think I'd last long as one of your employees. How can you wear all that stuff in Dallas? I seem to recall it gets pretty hot, like 100°F plus, or at least it's been that hot often enough when I've been there. Here in Houston my sad looking uniform is dictated by the heat and humidity for about 8- 9 months of the year: a sweat rotted, dripping wet T-shirt and sweat soaked shorts, a pair of Doc. Martens, and a UK style joiners' aprons with the front pockets for rules, tape, pencil, etc.. I look terrible most of the time with the sweat running off me all day, and if I could find some way of getting cooler without frightening small children, delicate women, and the horses I would. As a furniture maker that works 98% of the time in a workshop, I remember the times in a different climate when I could wear a pair of jeans or trousers, T-shirt, and polo shirt under my apron just about all year round and, as a consequence, look decent. When it got cold we turned on the workshop heaters. Never seen a workshop down here that can be made comfortably cool though. No beard, but wear a moustache, so some shaving has to be done most days. Slainte, RJ.
*Hey Slainte,Houston is sooooooooooo much worse than Dallas. I guess it's cause you're closer to the coast.It is brutal in Dallas for about 2 months a year. You know the game.Believe it or not, a pair of shorts under cotton overalls is very cool. You have to try it to believe it. Why do you think all those people in the deserts where robes? You don't see them running around in shorts. They keep cool by keeping the direct sun off their skin.We can wear shorts at the shop. There arn't any customers there. Just sawdust and lots of fans. The fans do help, but it's always about 100 by mid afternoon in the shop.Oh well....how about this winter? I don't think it's been below 40 yet, and spring is just around the corner!Happy New Year,Ed.
*Winter, Ed? I've almost forgotten what one of those is it's been so long. We have just two seasons down here; hot, and hotter, and if we're really lucky we get a nicely chilly 2- 3 weeks about this time of year. I've heard what you say about the Dallas climate before. Houston's climate is especially hard to handle for me because of the humidity. In the middle of the November just passed I was looking forward to some cooler weather. Well, okay, we got some, but the humidity shot up too, so it all ended up feeling about the same until early December when it cooled off a bit more.I dunno. This is a strange place to live. I think you have to be borne here to like the climate. I've never understood why many buildings are routinely built so singularly unable to cope with the climate. They even still use single glazed window units as a normal thing. Mention double glazing, people clutch their chests in horror, and say it's too expensive, and that it's much cheaper to just run the A/C. Workshops typically are bare metal buildings, although ours has a wee skim of blown on insulation. There is an A/C unit there too, and if it's turned on during the hottest months, it runs continuously, and it manages to bring the temperature down from about 98°F to maybe 95° or 94°F, but I can still feel the heat radiating through the roof.You mentioned overalls as cooler in the heat. I wore overalls for a messy spray painting job one July. Just about killed me. I've never felt so ill from heat stroke, either before or since. I was off work for two days recovering. Overalls in the heat? Never again. I guess I'm just not very well built for coping with hot, humid weather. And the general climate makes it a bit tricky to spray polish, deal with timber movement, and handle such things as PVA glue creep, too, which explains why I don't use much PVA anymore! Slainte, RJ.
*RJ,You must be renting. Elsewise, I can't see why you haven't super inulated the place yet. Starting with the roof. There is no reason you should put up with that if you can at all afford it. Start by using snow-roof coating on the roof. Or just paint it white. Then go to insulating below the roof, and put some drywall up. Etc...I'm with you, there is just no way that I could stand that climate. It almost killed me when I was in my 20's, there is no way I could stand it now. Where I live is probably a lot like where you were born. If I had to move to a climate like yours, I would put every spare penny I had, into making the micro-climate in the shop as survivable as possible. First and foremost. I would consider it a more valuable investment than tools.
*Yes, I rent Luka. But the workshop I described is typical for here. Every single one that I've ever been in, bar one, is a baking hot, humid oven. It's one of the reasons that I went self employed because I realised that I physically couldn't do an eight hour, or more, day in a regular cabinet shop in this part of the world. I honestly don't know how people can do a days productive work of hard labour during the hotter months. Yet the the person I share my workshop with hardly even breaks into a sweat when it's in the 90's and above. However, below about 60°F, he goes about shivering, all bundled up like an eskimo, whilst I'm happy in jeans, T-shirt, and polo shirt. 'Er indoors is also a shivering wreck below about 70°F too, another native Houstonian. Anyway, we are goofing about, and digressing from the subject of this thread, so we ought to let it get back on course. Slainte, RJ.
*Luka,I rent too. 3500 sqft rated office/warehouse. I'm not supossed to be running a wood shop out of it. Dallas has some steep codes on that which I just found out about this year. I quess I better stay where I am. There is really only about 2 months out of the year that are that hot. Unless I could add a BIG commercial unit on the roof, it wouldn't help much to try to cool down the whole shop. The offices are AC'ed, but not the shop. We just learn to grin and bare it. Kinda like you guys and all that stinkin' snow. You just learn to live with it.Ed.
*I used an electric, saved a lot of time during basic training.
*Hi Guys. I'm new aound this site.It's strange to see all this talk about the HEAT,anyway those Arab fellows are seem to know a thing or two about that. Something loose that keeps off the sun seems to help.Probably the main reason I'm not in the trades anymore is the cold. Are there any tips for the fingers and toes, mine are shot and sometimes tingle in just cool weather. Mark In Indiana
*I wear whatever Mom drops off from the church second-hand store where she volunteers, stuff that they don't think they can sell. I toss the clothing each day in the rag bag or woodstove, depending on condition, instead of the laundry. I can also keep my help pretty well supplied with shirts that say things like "Rock Creek Testicle Festival" and "Lacey Family Reunion". It's rural here.The time i cut my finger off, at the ER they suggested i might be more comfortable getting out of my clothes--not sure if they meant the blood or the hot-pink, pull-on pants with which it clashed. The nurse looked me over with scissors poised and either asked or observed, "You won't miss these too much, will you?"I shave. Doesn't seem to help with the gas, though...
*Welcome aboard, Mark!Tips for fingers and toes?? When I was in high school and working for a mayoral candidate I ended up passing out flyers outside a department store (Goldblatt's) on a bitterly cold day. The adult I was with said "just let the fingers go numb and then you don't feel anything and then there's no problem." I've never gotten myself to buy in to that.Warm socks and gloves. Take as many breaks in a warm place as possible.Oh, yeah. When the predicted high is 30 and the current temp is 10, stall by hanging out at Breaktime!Another Hoosier! Dang, we bout got ourselves a contingent!Rich Beckman
*Mark:Keeping your core(corps), neck and head wrapped/warm should help with warm blood circulation to hands/fingers/feet/toes. Also, have a thremos of something warm to drink handy, and drink often.I sound like my mom.
*Mark,Layers are the secret. I'm from Alberta and we build year-round. Last week was -26 C and I was out putting up a railing on a landing into a garage. I only needed one break to warm up the fingers and toes during about 3-4 hours of work. Also wear a toque instead of a ball cap. I understand that you lose most of your heat through your head. It also helps to eat well. Mace
*-26C and you're building outside?Man, you guys got balls, but I bet you don't see them till Spring.Ed.
*Boots. Always boots. They'll bury me in boots.In summer, in the shop, it's shorts now.....with the boots,and a t-shirt, my wife calls that the grunge look. Beard, of course. Sheesh.Working in town, jeans and a shirt. Doing the visiting/estimating call, sometimes go to shoes, dockers, shirt. Never got to company shirts, but it was high on the list. This is a blue collar town, lots of guys in different trades big into Carhartts; I know one cabinetmaker works in painters overalls. Never in my life seen blue striped carpenters overalls, but them Texans are just crazy enough to try something like that.
*Work slippers???Only if they're steel toes. Steel toed boots are the only way to go. Save your ankles and save your toes.And after a while you learn to use the steel toe as a tool. The best offense is a good defense.
*I really like "IronClad" gloves, they're expensive, but I've found them to be durable, and they don't impair my dexterity, (I can tie my shoes with them) I've got thick leather gloves for rough work, but I wear the other ones 90% of the time. No splinters, good grip, good stuff.
*Jeans in cool weather. Shorts in hot weather.Question: When wearing shorts, I always seem to get sawdust in my socks...Then it feels like I've got porcupines hugging my ankles. Somewhat annoying. Anybody got a clever way to keep the sawdust out??
*Duct tape.
*Winter cold... not this year... but... overdress and the extremities stay warm... No gloves needed. Here it warms up enough by coffee time to start shedding layers. I also run a space heater first thing to walk up to if needed to thaw fingers in the first few minutes. Works great. Heater is never needed that long..a tank of fuel lasts for days and days.near the stream almost in shorts... 55 degrees yesterday... snow just about gone. No ice on lake that would have cars driving on it by now. Waterski show yesterday even.ajMy heat solution... I run a sprinkler on many jobs if the temp passes 85. Works super for roofing after the paper is down. The shingles never smear. The sprinkler goes at the peak.
*There was a post that said to wear two pair of socks, roll one pair down over your boot tops, and keep the other pair up. I really don't know if it works, but it's worth a try. Personally I've never had much trouble with saw dust in my boots.