Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Davew on November 23, 2007, 08:26:49 pm
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how do you trad guys cope with soggy ground? some lawns are like swamps at the moment.
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i dont have any problems
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soggy ground is not usually too much of a problem, unless it is extremely soft. Probably the worse thing that can happen is one of the stiles sinking into the ground more than the other. the only way to prevent this is to keep your weight evenly distributed as you climb. this usually means treading in the centre of the rungs instead of one side then the other. Once at the top you should be even more careful than normal not to shift your weight about too far or too quickly.
I have found that with bigger ladders it can be hard to get them back out of the turf afterwards, similar to getting a welly stuck . Soft well tended flower beds are probably the most problematic, if the soil is well turned and wet it can bury you ladder up to the first rung, but rarely any higher. ;)
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how do you trad guys cope with soggy ground? some lawns are like swamps at the moment.
stamp down the ladder so it did mot move, always worked for me in the past, now just get a pole out ;)
And before people start saying you cant do that. I did and told the customers this was for my safety 2 small holes (always used the same) none of them said anything worked that way for many years.
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how do you trad guys cope with soggy ground? some lawns are like swamps at the moment.
stamp down the ladder so it did mot move, always worked for me in the past, now just get a pole out ;)
And before people start saying you cant do that. I did and told the customers this was for my safety 2 small holes (always used the same) none of them said anything worked that way for many years.
one problem with stamping the ladder down is that eventuall you will break the bottom rung . I didithis a few years ago and forever afterwards i caught my shin on the next rung up.
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how do you trad guys cope with soggy ground? some lawns are like swamps at the moment.
stamp down the ladder so it did mot move, always worked for me in the past, now just get a pole out ;)
And before people start saying you cant do that. I did and told the customers this was for my safety 2 small holes (always used the same) none of them said anything worked that way for many years.
one problem with stamping the ladder down is that eventuall you will break the bottom rung . I didithis a few years ago and forever afterwards i caught my shin on the next rung up.
if that ever happen buy a new ladder it is far cheaper than your life IMO (or your shin for you)
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If anyones interested i have 2 ladders for sale,both made by WCS of byfleet in essex.1st is a double pointer 12-13ft closed and needs new feet as the ones on it are quiet worn,the other one is about 10-11ft closed and is nearly new and is a superb ladder,forget other ladders these are the best a WC can get.
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use a 'big grip ladder stabiliser' this evenly spreads the weight over a larger area and works on slopes too. You can remove the feet and put pegs in the 4 holes of each corner on grass, or on concrete etc use the rubber feet. prevents slipping too, works great for me, i dont use ladders much but when i do i feel much safer, and no dents.
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When I was trad I used to find reasonable sized stones to put down the holes if possible. Then tamp them down with the ladder and put some more in till they were just under the surface. I found this to work quite well for me. I've pulled muscles in my back on more than one occasion trying to pull my ladders free from the suction when they've sunk right down.
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Get a Rojak ladder stopper. Not only will it not slide but it will keep the legs even. Failing that I used to jump onto the bottom rung.
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I haven't found much of a problem with the safety feet I had put on the ladder when I bought mine. They seem to spread the load much better than the standard feet.
The pointer is always sinking into the ground though, so I put it on a couple of ladder mats.
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I just used to make holes. ;D
Got far less complaints than I do from wfp. ::)
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Squeaky, why did you change to wfp? I remember seeing a post saying you hadn't had any accidents with ladders, so was it safety related or another reason? Are you tempted to change back?
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how do you trad guys cope with soggy ground? some lawns are like swamps at the moment.
go wfp much easier ;D (joke joke for all of you who get offended by this)
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I'm trad, and wondered when that was coming... :)
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I'm trad, and wondered when that was coming... :)
I am both and was to wondering when that was coming ::)
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When we used to use ladders, we used to make holes in the soggy ground and use the same holes everytime. you always used to get one old git that would complain because he treated his lawn like a bowling green. :D
brett
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I just used to make holes. ;D
Got far less complaints than I do from wfp. ::)
I make holes too & use the same holes when i go back every time! ;)
tony
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I just used to make holes. ;D
Got far less complaints than I do from wfp. ::)
I make holes too & use the same holes when i go back every time! ;)
tony
That's what I used to do. ;D
Squeaky, why did you change to wfp? I remember seeing a post saying you hadn't had any accidents with ladders, so was it safety related or another reason? Are you tempted to change back?
I changed for the money, and it's easier.
I wouldn't change back, because it would be hard work for less money. :-\
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Very few said anything to me about the holes in their lawns till I stopped using the ladders. I have since had several customers say that the holes really annoyed them but they tollerated it because the alternative was not having their windows cleaned. They seem to be very happy with WFP. Others I suspect feel similarly about WFP.
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Thanks Squeaky. Just wondered because I know you keep saying you are losing customers, but I guess you are replacing with even better ones now.
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I just used to make holes. ;D
Got far less complaints than I do from wfp. ::)
I make holes too & use the same holes when i go back every time! ;)
tony
I used to use the same holes every time.
Then, in spring, when the ground dries out, I used to get a handful or two of earth from the flower bed and fill em in ;)
Customers were quite happy.
David
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Thinking about it, I used a couple of camping pegs to hold the feet securely a couple of months ago when the ground was a bit slippery.