Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: SherwoodCleaningSe on November 14, 2007, 10:11:32 pm
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Not having a go at ladder users. I love my ladders and wouldn't be without them. I know most of us have done this before, but with todays wfp is there any need.
Simon.
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.B4 i went wfp i used to do this all the time.. and worse.. But when the tiles are wet you just cant do it :)
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Tying to stand on roof tiles at that angle kills your ankles and the back of your calves especially if you're trying to clean the guttering & fascias ;D
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notice the broken tile by the ladders on the second layer :-X
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Those were the Days ;D ;D ;D :o :o :o
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been there done that never again now wfp this is how i had my firs accident doing this one minuit it was fine next it started raining footing sliped down i went on the bonnit of a vectra those were the early days though learned a hard lesson
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notice the broken tile by the ladders on the second layer :-X
The tile is not broken, he has pushed the tile up so that he can use the top of the tile below as a step, he has also done this higher up where he is standing, this is an old roofers trick, and is a perfectly safe way of working.
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notice the broken tile by the ladders on the second layer :-X
my guess is he has pushed the tile up out of the way to get onto the roof
thats would i have done in the past, it then just slided back when your done
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Thats what I just said! ;D
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notice the broken tile by the ladders on the second layer :-X
The tile is not broken, he has pushed the tile up so that he can use the top of the tile below as a step, he has also done this higher up where he is standing, this is an old roofers trick, and is a perfectly safe way of working.
well spotted ;)
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notice the broken tile by the ladders on the second layer :-X
The tile is not broken, he has pushed the tile up so that he can use the top of the tile below as a step, he has also done this higher up where he is standing, this is an old roofers trick, and is a perfectly safe way of working.
well spotted ;)
and me ;)i just type slower ;)
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To be honest doing that particular window from ladders aint no problem provided they are outstretched and someone is footing them, also rubber mits on the end of his ladders help prevent damage to the tiles.
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Yep that's exactly what he did with the tile. Must admit I used to do it a bit in the past. Makes a noise though when you move the tile it amazing no body ever complains but then again I suppose they are happy just to get there windows cleaned.
Simon.
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Not having a go at ladder users. I love my ladders and wouldn't be without them. I know most of us have done this before, but with todays wfp is there any need.
Simon.
Well yes, if you haven't got wfp. ???
I've done that millions of times with no problems.
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I used to do a bit of tile walking too but not when they were at such a steep gradient. I was never totally happy with wet tiles or mossy ones but I still did it. I wouldn't do it now even if I didn't have WFP.
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cant believe i was doing this sort of thing back in march and not thinking twice did some fascias today and i was amazed at my lack of bottle onthe roof work am i the only one who has felt this way after switching to pole?
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Sore ankles aching calfs hanging on for dear life those were the days
Fond memories ;D
Dean
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Not having a go at ladder users. I love my ladders and wouldn't be without them. I know most of us have done this before, but with todays wfp is there any need.
Simon.
Well yes, if you haven't got wfp. ???
I've done that millions of times with no problems.
a bit dodgy on hard ground without been held...also lad i was working with the other week took one foot off his ladder onto the roof tile and it totally disintegrated...it was a real eye opener,now the same tile up there with the nutter and things could get messy....ladders are safe with safe working practises...ps before the lynch mob come charging in i use both wfp and trad...LEEDS UTD CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE!!!
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I had 1 or 2 a day like that when i worked trad and didn't really think about it. I did that again last month for the 1st time in 18 months or so to scrape some silicone off the window. I was $h!tting myself.
It ain't so bad with good footwear but to not do it for a while and then do a one off after a long time was no fun at all.
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notice the broken tile by the ladders on the second layer :-X
The tile is not broken, he has pushed the tile up so that he can use the top of the tile below as a step, he has also done this higher up where he is standing, this is an old roofers trick, and is a perfectly safe way of working.
if you think that is safe you are really need to go a a safety course, this is not a safe way to work at all, maybe a trick from roofers, but is never safe.
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stop being pansy's
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Funny thing is, I got wfp to go quicker, not so I didn't have to do this!
But now I wouldn't do it.
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yes, we've all been there and it makes you wonder how many customers didn't really want us standing on their tiles, but just had to put up with it! When we take on new that have hard to reach windows and we explain that it's no problem with the pole and we won't be standing on your roof, the majority are so relieved as most have had bad experiences with previous wc's that have done so :)
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stop being pansy's
he with the broken (what was it?)
yes, we've all been there and it makes you wonder how many customers didn't really want us standing on their tiles, but just had to put up with it! When we take on new that have hard to reach windows and we explain that it's no problem with the pole and we won't be standing on your roof, the majority are so relieved as most have had bad experiences with previous wc's that have done so :)
If a customer ever asked me to go on a roof I would have said no as it is dangerous, I have said in the past, they are welcome for me to foot the ladder while they do it when they say no I ask why and the normal reply back it is dangerous.
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rugby!
sometimes i think some of you could pass for heath and safety officers
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rugby!
sometimes i think some of you could pass for heath and safety officers
Only wish I was, I would close so many business' down for there own safety and send them on training courses, one slip of the tile and down you tummble, people that have done it will know what i mean when i say your heart skips a beat.
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h&s dont care about your safety you kidding your self if you think that's why they have a job
H&S only have jobs because of a word called "insurance"
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rugby!
sometimes i think some of you could pass for heath and safety officers
Well Alex. Over the years I've had several near misses that could have broken a bone or killed me. None of them were on a rugby pitch either. :)
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Take that as a compliment everyone who that is aimed at as we should all be H & S Officers within our own business ;D ;D
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Actually if that WC' er got himself a long pole he could squeegee those windows from his ladder or possibly the ground.
Although talking of H&S what is going to happen when all the water dropped by WFP on the ground starts freezing? :o
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Can't you see he's fine he is attatched to two safety wires. Mind you the ladder coming out of the sunroof looks dodgy!
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Actually if that WC' er got himself a long pole he could squeegee those windows from his ladder or possibly the ground.
Although talking of H&S what is going to happen when all the water dropped by WFP on the ground starts freezing? :o
That's exactly what I used to do with such windows before I started with WFP. Extend an Unger pole with applicator and squeegee on the end.
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Actually if that WC' er got himself a long pole he could squeegee those windows from his ladder or possibly the ground.
Although talking of H&S what is going to happen when all the water dropped by WFP on the ground starts freezing? :o
That's exactly what I used to do with such windows before I started with WFP. Extend an Unger pole with applicator and squeegee on the end.
I think thats how most of us did it but early on when i first started i would walk up roofs no problem but experience and age teaches you to do thing differently
Dean
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When I first started my boss made me take off my shoes when the tiles were wet for better grip, he would often take the ladder away and do another window on some houses too!!!
I was 15 years old, fresh out of school, and thankfully that was many many years ago. I do love my wfp nowadays!!!!
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I think you should all just mind your own business and leave the poor bloke alone!!, He is simply earning an honest living and doing no one any harm, and has very sensibly pushed up a couple of tiles so he has somewhere safe to stand. Anyhow we will all be back up our ladders once the hosepipe bans come into force!!
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Anyhow we will all be back up our ladders once the hosepipe bans come into force!!
if I do so be it, never like that though, I value my life, seems other like to take risks like that,
the guy in the pic works this way, it is not way safe even if he lifted tiles, each to there own we all work in a different way, I think the pic is great on how not to clean windows safely.(and people wonder why window cleaners die :-\
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You will probably find more WC'ers die in accidents whilst driving their vehicles but that doesn't stop them. ;)
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h&s dont care about your safety you kidding your self if you think that's why they have a job
H&S only have jobs because of a word called "insurance"
actually i passed the H&S exec course a few years back ;) i just didnt fancy the time sat behind a desk and the time dealing with idiots
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It isn't safe, the ladder should not be just propped against the guttering, health and safety no no...but then, we all did that didn't we?
I did for years on end, and far worse too, took all kinds of risks, more than you could shake a stick at in fact.
But the plain and simple fact is that what he is doing constitutes dangerous work practice.
There are a whole host of reasons why working that way is high risk.
Steep roof.
Sandy surface, possibly mossy too.
Ladder unsecured, risking ladder slipping away on guttering as weight is transfered form ladder to roof and afterwards from roof to ladder.
Risk of damage to guttering.
And obviously risk of damaging tiles.
These are not risks to poo-poo, just because many of us worked in this fashion before it doesn't make it right.
I think I've had more heart stopping moments on roofs than on ladders.
I've also walked around the corner of a house to find my employee groaning on the floor after he'd fell off the roof! :o
I've had broken tiles, cracked gutters, all manner of things...
Guidelines put in place to try and stop us working in this manner are not over the top, they make sense.
Ian
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It isn't safe, the ladder should not be just propped against the guttering, health and safety no no...but then, we all did that didn't we?
I did for years on end, and far worse too, took all kinds of risks, more than you could shake a stick at in fact.
But the plain and simple fact is that what he is doing constitutes dangerous work practice.
There are a whole host of reasons why working that way is high risk.
Steep roof.
Sandy surface, possibly mossy too.
Ladder unsecured, risking ladder slipping away on guttering as weight is transfered form ladder to roof and afterwards from roof to ladder.
Risk of damage to guttering.
And obviously risk of damaging tiles.
These are not risks to poo-poo, just because many of us worked in this fashion before it doesn't make it right.
I think I've had more heart stopping moments on roofs than on ladders.
I've also walked around the corner of a house to find my employee groaning on the floor after he'd fell off the roof! :o
I've had broken tiles, cracked gutters, all manner of things...
Guidelines put in place to try and stop us working in this manner are not over the top, they make sense.
Ian
Well put ive been there done that and i am glad i dont have to do it anymore
some of the things i have done in the past thinking about it send shudders up me
Heres to a safer future
Dean
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Here's a question for you all.
If youv'e done this sort of thing before, and you never had WFP would you still be doing this sort of thing. ???
Please answer truthfully. ;)
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got a new customer last month who got fed up with his last cleaner breaking his tiles , cleaned it this month and he,d replaced all the brocken ones at a cost of £650.00 , LONG LIVE THE POLE
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Here's a question for you all.
If youv'e done this sort of thing before, and you never had WFP would you still be doing this sort of thing. ???
Please answer truthfully. ;)
Mmmm....truthful answer is yes and no, in some cases I would still be walking on sloping roof's, but equally there would also be many occasions when I would no longer do so, I'd use extension poles and trad equipment instead, and inform the customer that it is not safe to do so any other way.
would also have to tell them that those particular windows would not be cleaned to the same standard as windows I could get to without the use of poles.
Ian
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I had a fall and broke my ankle. 3 months off. I sold my round and stopped window cleaning. :( A few years when wfp started getting popular I decided to buy a system and start back window cleaning. :) I will climb a ladder for access but won't work from one anymore. If wfp stopped tomorrow so would I.
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Can't say I've ever climbed on a roof that steep but I did used to do a few with a shallower angle till I broke my ankle. After I got back to work I found the restricted movement in my ankle caused problems when getting back off the roofs and onto my ladder so I packed it in and used an ext'n pole with trad tools till I went WFP this year.
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Years ago I saw a young kid cleaning windows on a block of flats exactly the same way as the bloke in the picture but two stories up. lt literally make me feel ill watching him. It was in the days before I had a camera phone, I wish I had been able to take a picture.
The worst bit was when he had done the window he walked backwards down the roof and had to hook the unsupported ladder with his foot. That was the bit I just couldn't watch.
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I will climb a ladder for access but won't work from one anymore. If wfp stopped tomorrow so would I.
Same here. If water company banned us from using WFP I would pack in work and go and sign on the dole ;D and have a long vacation until the ban was lifted.
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Its amazing how quickly you become ladder shy once you stop using them.
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Its amazing how quickly you become ladder shy once you stop using them.
Vince, I'm not ladder shy, I'm not scared of heights. I love abseiling down cliffs forwards or backwards.
If water companies banned WFP use I would be forced to sign on the dole because as I suffer from chronic arthritus I would have no choice but to give up work because it is impossible for me to go more than one day using a squeegie without flaring my joints up. I'm not a lazy person, but if a ban came in to force, I would be forced to sign on the dole through no choice of my own because of health not safety issues.
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Arthritis is a funny thing. It's a bit like back pain. For some the excersise helps it and for others it doesn't. I've got a mixture of both. The back is helped by the excersise but the arthritic knee is fine as long as I'm not on a ladder. I was having a lot of pain in the knee before I went WFP which has since settled right down. I seriously don't want to go back to using ladders. I still use them for access to flat roofs and a handfull of flats but I can tell the differnce in my knee immediately.
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I used to do lots of these chalet bungalows from a ladder. There's a simple way to vastly improve the stability of the ladder: look at the picture, the ladder is long enough to reach the top of the dormer window, so the rubber point should be set on the wood frame above the window. The foot of the ladder can be set so that the styles don't touch the guttering without it being at too shallow an angle. When the man climbs up he will be within reach of the glass without having to overstretch, and no danger of sliding down the roof.
Cheers,
Ian