[michael papworth]

Got a new customer today. Nice couple with two young kids just moved into a nice old house. The house had been empty for a year so the windows were pretty bad and they wanted their long, thin conservatory doing as well.

It's one of those with a box gutter so it was a real pig doing the back roof section. Thought my arms were going to drop off!. (Still - it was well priced so I didn't mind.)

Got round to doing the side and front section. The roof was coming up nice but the finial and ridge capping were really bad - algae baked on good and hard.

Anyway, got it done and started on the sides. All going nicely, Missis brings out a cup of tea so I had a break and spotted a bit I'd missed on the ridge capping just behind the finial.

Finished off the sides and then just went back to get the bit I missed. Gentle scrub to get into a narrow space. Two minutes work and then I'm finished for the day ...

... and then the finial jumped out of its socket and hurtled across the garden.

Promised to go back tomorrow and re-fit it.

So how the blazes do I re-fit a finial?

Not looking forward to this!!!!

[ftp]

Looks like you'll be climbing on the roof. 

[actualcleaning]

Yep...conservatory ladders up on the roof for you then.

[ftp]

Shame that health and safety bloke isn't on here any more - i'm sure he could help.
Probably tell you to hire a cherry picker 

[Central Window Cleaners]

I did this once and used my unger clamp to fit it back using my pole.

http://www.ungercleaning.com/product-8993-Fixi--Clamp.aspx

[michael papworth]

Hiyya Tony,

How long did it take you? Did it just slip into place first time or did you take several attempts?

I've just been into the garage and dug out my old litter picker.



I'm hoping that I can reach with this off the ladder. I don't want to climb on a roof! Not at my age.

[billy08]

I've done that before.

 I used something similar to that and silicone to bed down the finial,went in to place straight away and its still there 2 years on.

[AuRavelling79]

I did this once and used my unger clamp to fit it back using my pole.

http://www.ungercleaning.com/product-8993-Fixi--Clamp.aspx

I've used one of those to put a finial back on. Stick it to the clamp with a bit of gaffer (about a quarter on the finial and three quarters on the clamp) but not too much so that you can firmly put it in place and then pull away in a different direction making sure that the gaffer pulls off of the finial.