OV9

I will use ladders.

I have become relatively comfortable using ladders.

I do not like ladders.

It’s a well known fact that all ladders have a minimal downward multiplier of 3. Climb a ladder to a point 4m above the ground and when you look down you shall be at least 12m above the ground. It’s quite annoying.

Today I put up another couple of bird boxes. Each was about 12m up. Now the additionally annoying thing about doing things like this is that you need at least 4 hands. One for the bird box, one for the drill. Screwdriver shoved into back pocket, holding screws in my lips. Safety first guys. This leaves...well..... zero hands for holding onto the ladder. I find this to be sub-optimal.

It was at this point I remembered that radio-antenna bulb-changing video that makes you feel like vomiting. The climber had his tools on a belt/cord swinging below him. Clever man

I tied my drill to my belt. This would allow one hand to hold on to the ladder. I find this to be a bit better than sub-optimal.

I tried climbing a few rungs. This is unpleasant. My drill is swinging around beneath my feet. That drill bit is going to snag and snap ffs. Shortened the connection so it was around my feet. Jesus that’s going to trip me. I will fall 12m back to earth. No.

But I am not stupid - took another 30cm out of the connecting substance. Now bouncing off my knee. Still not very nice, but I climbed 4m upto the 12m height, used my left hand to hold the nest box in position just above my head - looks good. Using my right hand I manage to pull the connection and lift the drill into my hand. Here we go. Lifted it to about shoulder height..... oh you fucking dick. Remarkably a ropey connection that holds a drill on your belt dangling around your knees doesn’t then allow you to drill a hole just above your head. I manage to wedge the nest box between the ladder and the tree so I can untether the drill. No hands left. I am held in place by fear alone.

Eventually I got there after eleventeen shakey moments.

I am not putting up any more nest boxes.

I replaced the guttering on my old house. I bought a new set of ladders, got them home, put them up, climbed up to the top, then climbed back down again, took the ladders down, put them behind the shed and went back inside to find a company that hired aluminium towers.

I meant to use them for other lower tasks, but I didn't even take them with me when I moved!

Wise is Rich.

Mucho correctness all round in this thread.

I hired a contractor to take down a TV aerial from a chimney breast because I can’t do ladder heights.

Knife edge mountain ridges with 1000 feet in either side are no problem. I’ve abseiled in free hanging space from about 45m - Great fun. But above about 6 or 8 rungs on a ladder and I get really wobbly. Can’t do it.

As a sign maker, I very much feel your pain. 12m for any work from a ladder other than inspection is going to be dicey for anyone except Fred Dibnah, so don't feel bad!

I used to fit 8'x4' signs from a ladder when I was younger, which is hairy when you get to the top as you're balancing the sign on top of the ladder whilst drilling a hole through brick. I found my feet would turn into talons at that point!

It's too easy to do a Rod Hull, so just hire a tower now. I find the MiTowers very easy to assemble and are cheap too.

Ladders suck. I bought a 4.8m multi purpose ladder. I only use it as a 2.4m A frame as anything else is wobbly and horrible and can GTF!!

Awful things!!

Yup, those safety devices for ladders are exactly what you need:

I just looked out of the window and there was a blue tit investigating one of the new boxes. We put up 2 last year and one was used so this is encouraging. Hopefully the fear was worth it....

Hey Mik, I'm gonna tell you something that's going to annoy the piss out of you.

Birds build their own nests - you don't need to make affordable housing for them.

HTH, XOXO
Beany

Interesting premium attached to 'can use ladders'

Take for example the ashfelt flat roof my mate had replaced - cheapest quote was £1450 for 4x3.5m

Less than £150 in materials and 6 hours work, half of which seemed to be clearing up

See roofers : Scammers of the extreme.

Booked up weeks in advance, not a bad gig.

Doesn't look complicated so long as you don't mind heights.

Massively weather dependent though. A week of rain means a week of no money.

Then again, the youngest son of a family roof company across the road when I grew up had a e36 M3 evo when they were current...

I've always been fine with heights, did rope access work on buildings and forestry when I was younger but I hate ladders. Any more than 6 feet up and I start feeling like I'm going to fall.

Fortunately being a tall one, I rarely need to go much higher than that

I use a long chisel I have in this manner- hang a bucket off the side of the ladder and use it to put tools in

I too bought a nice extendable aluminium ladder, went about 3ft up it to put up a hanging basket, realised I'd never climb any higher up and it's neatly stored in the garage out of the way now

It depends, if I can stick the ladder into soft ground where its rock solid that's fine. I hate ladders on pavements but on some parts of the house where possible I will use those Irwin clamps and clamp the top of the ladder to an overhang of the house. If it's hard ground and no clamping possible then yeah, I just use this wide stable ladder which is only 6ft tall but that's good enough for most instances.

I painted my whole pebble dash house, that’s 3 coats and obviously half of that was up a ladder.

What helps is my friend is a window cleaner so has a silly expensive ladder he hardly uses. I’ll run up and down that all day long to the gutter height. It has feet which fold out and you extend it on a rope.

A normal ladder which I bought was like a boingy catapault when I was 18 stone and although the height wasn’t scary, it certainly didn’t feel safe even though I knew it was.

So, spend a grand on a really nice ladder, befriend a window cleaner or just pay someone

Dave!

Aluminium towers are an absolute joy to work off. I'd scamper up and down them all day long!