Hello everybody

[ksp]

 
Yeh I understand that mentality. But I dont  think that would have worked for me I would have claimed benefits and panicked and looked for a job. But then that's all i know. I've never been self employed before. Now that I've done it I can say yes sack the job off and go for it but coming from an employee mindset it's different. Its easier to look at things differently in hindsight.

I'm in that situation currently. I started working self employed part time whilst I build my round up and I have a part time job at Aldi. I know with no back up job the impetus would be on me to drive more for work but the fear of not making enough to cover the mortgage, bills maintenance means to my mind it's too big a risk.


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[Mark Davies]

No idea on ladders but best all round brush I've used is a gardiners sill. Great for everything Inc fsg and they last ages. Had mine a year used everyday.

Thanks Adam , will have a look at this sounds ideal for what i need .

Purchase a set of Lyte ladders for a tradesman

Look on ladderstore or other sites (ladderstore were great service for me)

The lyte elt range are what you want

Trade rated but not expensive

I had the elt 8.5m ones (12 rung triples) for high work but heavier being triples

The 2 section ones are lighter for everyday use

Cheers fellas , i've heard good things about Lyte ladders in various places . Didn't know about Ladderstore either , looks a good site , plenty of accessories as well , keen prices always good )  Think i may go for the triples to hopefully cover everything , i can always take a section off . I need roof bars too , and a lock , and clamps ... soon mounts up eh  and a stand off maybe and a ladder m8rix....

id say a 22ft hybrid pole (either gardiner clx or water genie barracuda, both well built light poles that won't break the bank) and a gardener superlite sill brush. Ladders wise a 7m triple will do the job, I use a 6.92m abru triple from b&q cost around £95, then take the top section off for 99% of work. For trad tools id suggest unger or moerman tools. As for trolleys I wouldn't know, I use a water genie backpack which costs just over £80. The 1st thing you will need if getting a pole is a decent tds meter. Don't get a cheap one off eBay, pay around 15-20 for one off a wfp supplier. Once you know your tds reading you'll know the options for making pure, over 100 RO is advised, under that DI only will do (and cheaper to set up).

Cheers pal really useful info . I had a look at those ladders in B and Q yesterday , i got some Abru small ali steps somewhere too , seem ok . I'm in two minds whether to go backpack or trolley to be honest . Don;t think that weight on my back would bother me that much , unless i get shed loads of graft but i'm just starting up so i can always look at it again if that ever happened. They have some trolleys in the shop too , looked good but they have a curved back so maybe a straight back would be better to fix boxes onto , but the trolley felt sound .

Trad stuff i've been looking at Unger , no real reason other than not many people seem to have a bad word to say about it .

 

[Dave B]

Thanks Adam , will have a look at this sounds ideal for what i need .

Cheers fellas , i've heard good things about Lyte ladders in various places . Didn't know about Ladderstore either , looks a good site , plenty of accessories as well , keen prices always good )  Think i may go for the triples to hopefully cover everything , i can always take a section off . I need roof bars too , and a lock , and clamps ... soon mounts up eh  and a stand off maybe and a ladder m8rix....

Cheers pal really useful info . I had a look at those ladders in B and Q yesterday , i got some Abru small ali steps somewhere too , seem ok . I'm in two minds whether to go backpack or trolley to be honest . Don;t think that weight on my back would bother me that much , unless i get shed loads of graft but i'm just starting up so i can always look at it again if that ever happened. They have some trolleys in the shop too , looked good but they have a curved back so maybe a straight back would be better to fix boxes onto , but the trolley felt sound .

Trad stuff i've been looking at Unger , no real reason other than not many people seem to have a bad word to say about it .

Trad i would personally go moerman but unger is solid reliable stuff

Backpack you don't wear on your back.. you will end up causing an injury

The gardiners backpack and some others have a nice carrying handle and you only need to walk to the side gate of a house with 20m of hose attatched to clean a whole house without touching the backpack

 

[Gazz]

Trad stuff i've been looking at Unger , no real reason other than not many people seem to have a bad word to say about it .

Unger equiptment is great it's the brand I opted with when I started learning. Although I'm starting to convert to moerman. I have 2 liquidators 10" and 14" channels, I'd highly recommend using moerman. 

If you do make the decision to go moerman don't get frustrated with it like I did. Keep practicing and switch rubbers about. The moerman soft you get with the liquidator ain't for me. I ended up trying the moerman hard with unger end clips and it works perfectly.

There is plenty of videos online for you to learn from.

 

[Mark Davies]

Trad i would personally go moerman but unger is solid reliable stuff

Backpack you don't wear on your back.. you will end up causing an injury

The gardiners backpack and some others have a nice carrying handle and you only need to walk to the side gate of a house with 20m of hose attatched to clean a whole house without touching the backpack

Ha ha , I actually thought you carried it round like a big rucksack ! Hmm so i see then , it's a backpack with a length of hose , just carry it into position then on you go but you'd have to fill it up a few times during the day or the trolley , wheel it to where you can and just fire away with barrels you've already got made up . Probably be easier to get a backpack out of a car wouldnt it . I'll think on that one.

Unger equiptment is great it's the brand I opted with when I started learning. Although I'm starting to convert to moerman. I have 2 liquidators 10" and 14" channels, I'd highly recommend using moerman. 

If you do make the decision to go moerman don't get frustrated with it like I did. Keep practicing and switch rubbers about. The moerman soft you get with the liquidator ain't for me. I ended up trying the moerman hard with unger end clips and it works perfectly.

There is plenty of videos online for you to learn from.

Thanks Gazz , great info again . Guess i'm going to have to get some and see how i go with it . That's a couple of votes for Moerman there though .

I've been looking at Youtube for allsorts , really interesting stuff on there . I'll have to do lots n lots of practice first , whatever gear i choose .

 

[Dave B]

Use this 30m hose as it is light as a feather and hand coil it when done and there won't be many normal houses you can't do by just dumping the backpack on the driveway and cracking on

gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/all-products/pump-hose/hoses/pole-hose/green-flexible-pu-hot-water-pole-hose-5-5mm-id-8mm-od-300m.html

 

[Mark Davies]

Use this 30m hose as it is light as a feather and hand coil it when done and there won't be many normal houses you can't do by just dumping the backpack on the driveway and cracking on

gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/all-products/pump-hose/hoses/pole-hose/green-flexible-pu-hot-water-pole-hose-5-5mm-id-8mm-od-300m.html

Cheers Dave . Another on my 'to get' list . :5_thumbsup:

 

[Clisty1989]

could always get a water genie backpack, has wheels and a trolley handle, I use it like a trolley all the time, highly recommended

 

[Mark Davies]

could always get a water genie backpack, has wheels and a trolley handle, I use it like a trolley all the time, highly recommended

Cheers pal , sounds like a good compromise . On a general point , i ve noticed there seems to be a fair amount of gear on a few websites out of stock at the moment , particuarly the WFP items . Maybe it's the time of year , i don't know . Not really a problem for me though , still plenty to do before i get started .