Get the job done with safety and fun at Halfvalue.com

We all know that outdoor construction can be just plain hard work. But balancing all that tough stuff with a certain amount of play can certainly make your days more pleasant. Here are eight essential job site amenities--not necessarily tools to get the job done, but extras to make construction a little more comfortable.

First-Aid Kit
A comprehensive first-aid kit contains bandages, antiseptic, tweezers, scissors, alcohol wipes, adhesive tape, gauze pads, gauze rolls, triangular bandages, a tourniquet, clove oil (for toothaches), burn ointment, smelling salts (ammonia ampules, for reviving passed-out workers), salt tablets (useful in hot weather), a snakebite kit, sting-kill swabs, chemical cold packs and hot packs, and some kind of pain-relieving headache remedy such as aspirin. This kit should be inspected annually and refreshed as things get old or used. Hopefully you won't need to use any of these first-aid supplies; with reasonable care, you may not have to. But if something does go wrong on the job site, nothing else will do.

Radio
The intrepid carpenter can always use music as a soundtrack to comfort and distract. A powerful radio tuned to a good station can set a working rhythm for a crew, establishing a beat that makes the work seem to sail along. Unless you work alone, count on some compromise in the name of worker harmony. Individual radios with earphones are also appearing with greater frequency on the job, partially due to the prevalence of loud compressors and nail guns.

Sun Block
Under the rays of old Sol, exposed skin can quickly acquire an overdose of UV radiation and over time may begin to resemble leather. Although there's something traditional about a sleep-killing sunburn at the end of a long working day, we're now concerned about things like skin cancer. All outdoor workers should slather up with a good protective film of a high-powered sun lotion.

Vacuum Bottle
Fill your bottle with coffee or hot cocoa during those months with a "brrr" in their name, or fill it with lemonade or ice water for hot-weather work. Those fuzzy morning moments when the coffee is poured and the building plans are examined one last time can bring a crew together with a certain magic that is difficult to describe.

Insect Repellent
When you're walking on a wall two stories high, climbing a ladder, or kneeling at the edge of a roof, one mosquito bite can kill you. The rest of the time, mosquito and fly bites are merely a nuisance, albeit a major one. If you can prevent this hassle with a little bit of bug juice, go ahead and make the effort.

Insecticide
Get a big spray can of yellow jacket, wasp, and hornet killer. This item may present a problem for some people, and not just because it releases another dirty toxin into our already poisoned biosphere. Some folks have qualms about destroying such large numbers of insects whose only crime is to swarm forth from their new nest under a pile of expensive building materials and sting workers indiscriminately and without mercy. In such events, the hapless workers then gallop off in all directions, swatting at their clothing and refusing to return without guarantees of safety, thereby shutting down a job as effectively as an OSHA inspector's red tag. Having seen many such scenarios brought on by unprovoked attacks by insects, I have no problem with the use of lethal force.

Hats
Rain or shine, a hat keeps the head in good shape, hair unsullied by the cold rain, and ears uncooked by the hot sun. And remember the aforementioned UV radiation? The bill or brim of a hat also protects the eyes from this threat.

Eye Protection
At first, it may seem like the risk of getting an eye injury is small. This is why so many otherwise intelligent people neglect to wear simple eye protection while using tools festooned with warnings such as "Always wear eye protection." It takes no more than two seconds to put on safety goggles, but that is far longer than the travel time of a flying steel chip on its way to an intersection with your naked eyeball. A flying steel chip can be produced any time that a hammer strikes a nail or a chisel. Flying wood chips are another category of dangerous missile. Safety goggles protect the wearer from both kinds.

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Jeff Taylor, author of 'Tools of the Trade : The Art and Craft of Carpentry' and 'Tools of the Earth', has contributed articles to "This Old House," "Esquire," and "The New York Times." Now a freelance writer in Oregon's coastal mountains, Taylor works out of a former parsonage that was built from lumber salvaged from an old Army barracks.