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is it worth a try?

DJT

Active member
Messages
192
Location
Stourbridge
Got a call today to price up a job. Clearing out the gutters of an old bank that's being reinvented. More grass in them than a footy pitch and looks like its been in there a while and therefore will be an absolute bugger to get out. 

Gut reactions? Give it a go and maybe waste time or pass. Its on a high street as well next to a bus stop! Photos should explain! 

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Yes as has been said do it either early in the morning or a weekend or evening time , it does  look well established growth , but with the combination of a gutter hook and decent vac I would be confident of being able to clear that , as has been said Do it after a lot of rain it will make it so much easier , if no rain can you give it a good soaking with  Wfp . Due to the location Ime guessing it will take a couple of hours or so and oviously you will have to sweep the pavement down , working in the Main Street like that it’s always useful to have someone else with you if that’s an option , nice little earner got to be worth £250 , go for it 

 
Personally wouldn't touch it unless I've had the camera up to check the gap between tiles and gutter. If the gap is good then a decent vac and spike will do it. No sign of any downpipes, on the higher gutters, which seems strange. 

 
I would price that at £500 and would do it on a Sunday morning with someone there standing by as safety person. Might be easier if its bone dry and less mess, place a large dust sheet down on pavement.

 
Why not just do it off ladders on a Sunday morning 2 hours work I reckon
Doubt the 30' ladders would get that, unless you think it's safe to put it just under the gutter on a potentially rotten bit of wood that looks a few inches wide. You would need a good standoff to be placed against the roof and I don't think standard ladders would go that high.

 
I wouldn’t want to be doing that job in the Main Street off a ladder asking for trouble , we have recently had a painter and decorator told by the local council he will be prosecuted if he continues to paint the two storey shop fronts from a ladder they are insisting all work like this has to be scaffolded , I don’t know if this is just our area or is starting to happen else ware, they  asked for copies of his public liability insurance ,and said the council owned the pavement that he was working on and they were not happy with the way he was working he was endangering himself and members of the public walking past , to be fair he didn’t have any sighnage and was working alone , ladder wasn’t tied off , they wanted a rams doing before he could continue working , all the shops now are being scaffolded for all painting and repair work if it’s two storey , anyone else experienced this type of thing ??? 

 
The only reason I got ladders out was to judge the height. I have a tripple motor 3000watt gutter vac so with a bit of muscle and patience it should come out. Will also look at making a more sturdy gutter fork for persuading. Got ro be worth £100 minimum plus a number two looking out

 
I wouldn’t want to be doing that job in the Main Street off a ladder asking for trouble , we have recently had a painter and decorator told by the local council he will be prosecuted if he continues to paint the two storey shop fronts from a ladder they are insisting all work like this has to be scaffolded , I don’t know if this is just our area or is starting to happen else ware, they  asked for copies of his public liability insurance ,and said the council owned the pavement that he was working on and they were not happy with the way he was working he was endangering himself and members of the public walking past , to be fair he didn’t have any sighnage and was working alone , ladder wasn’t tied off , they wanted a rams doing before he could continue working , all the shops now are being scaffolded for all painting and repair work if it’s two storey , anyone else experienced this type of thing ??? 
yeh think its all scaffold jobs now. still see the odd brave up on a ladder, third level up but pretty sure these were domestics. I cringed to see it. I do the odd bit of ladder work but if I feel in the slightest that theres danger, Im down.

 
The only reason I got ladders out was to judge the height. I have a tripple motor 3000watt gutter vac so with a bit of muscle and patience it should come out. Will also look at making a more sturdy gutter fork for persuading. Got ro be worth £100 minimum plus a number two looking out


Don’t  undersell yourself that’s worth £250 of anyone’s money , how else will they get it done , decent vac and gutter hook bit of rooting around and that will come out fine don’t let the customer benefit from your experience and  equipment charge well for it , that job is easy enough but needs doing out of hours , you have to get rid of the waist , you have to charge for that , I did a job in my town similar  10 meters of 2 storey guttering and 10 meters of 3 storey , took me on my own 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon charged them £250 they were happy and so was I , there was no other way to do the job without scaffolding that alone would have been over £400 so they got a bargain . 

 
Can someone point me in the right direction of ‘gutter hooks’ ? 
Gardiners site under pole fittings , it looks flimsy but I have removed and loosened some serious turf and plants out of gutters with this just make sure you di the angle adapter up really tight 

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I wouldn’t want to be doing that job in the Main Street off a ladder asking for trouble , we have recently had a painter and decorator told by the local council he will be prosecuted if he continues to paint the two storey shop fronts from a ladder they are insisting all work like this has to be scaffolded , I don’t know if this is just our area or is starting to happen else ware, they  asked for copies of his public liability insurance ,and said the council owned the pavement that he was working on and they were not happy with the way he was working he was endangering himself and members of the public walking past , to be fair he didn’t have any sighnage and was working alone , ladder wasn’t tied off , they wanted a rams doing before he could continue working , all the shops now are being scaffolded for all painting and repair work if it’s two storey , anyone else experienced this type of thing ??? 
I have been told something similar by a friend of mine a few years back, he said he had a warning of some sort (he’s a builder) was working on a main road doing some job or other and some official body or other didnt take too kindly to it. To be fair in health & safety texts it does

say ladder use should be only short duration where no other practical option is possible.

i think there is a bit more understanding regarding residential properties but any commercial building like this the eyes are gonna be upon you. Just think, ladder, bucket full of mud, heavily pedestrianised area, bucket falls, it’s cracked somebody on the head....

also regarding ladders theres no way you'd get a decent angle on the right side of the picture. Bottom of the ladder would be in the road blocking cars i imagine.

i dont like working on heavily pedestrianised routes anyway, you get too many odd bods with their snide remarks who just cant keep themselves to themselves. I had a typical “on the dole” type walk under the ladder once saying “if that ladder falls on my head i’m gonna sue you bruv” i was only using it to access a flat roof to clean 2 windows ?

thinking to myself “if that ladder falls on your head i’ll be surprised if you’re saying anything bud” ? 

just gotta weigh these things up sometimes. I’m sure if the banks being renovated then there’s money in the budget somewhere for a scaffold, or at least a cherry picker, that might be the ticket

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Probably a cherry picker best !




Yes that would be good but expensive when it can be done from the ground quite easily and you would need an iPaf licence , and apply to the council to shut and re rout pedestrian traffic whilst you use it , gutter spike and vac is the cheapest , and quickest option tk di that job , providing you don’t rip the guttering off the building ???

 
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