Climbing Balcony Railings

[Bibi]

We have a window cleaner at our Estate who uses a ladder and then climb over railings to gain access to the resident's balconies windows. It seems quite risky but the only other option would be to entering units to access the balconies, which is also highly impractical and some residents would not want contractors inside their premises.

Is there any piece of legislation which prevent such practice? How to minimise risks?

 

[ched999uk]

Technically no - he is using the ladder to access a safe place to work. As for the risk, he should have carried out a risk assessment and mitigated as much risk as possible. It also depends if he is employed or self employed. Employees have to be 'protected' from risks, a self employed person might take more risks!

I'm not a H & S expert so I may be wrong but the above is my understanding.

May I ask why you are asking? Is it just that you are worried about the window cleaners safety?

 

[Part Timer]

If the ladder isn't secured or at least footed when he falls the residents and PM company will more than likely be fined. Just because you go through a PM company, or it's a RTM, then this doesn't protect you from H&S incidents, if you have witnessed someone working on your property unsafely and did nothing about it as ignorance is no plea in law .

 

[spruce]

It's up to the residents themselves to clean balcony windows we can't reach. This is what must be made clear and agreed before any work is started.
Each balcony will have a protective railing around it. Climbing off the ladder and over the balcony railings is asking for trouble.

When we first did our local school, we ran into trouble with balcony windows and doors. We gain access to the balcony from inside the school building, and I passed my son the pole on the outside by extending it until he could reach it.
He cleaned the windows as required, but later discovered that the building contractors hadn't sealed the floor properly, and we flooded the downstairs classroom.

The school caretaker sorted the clean-up and called the contractors back to seal the floor properly, but that was a lesson learnt.

 

[Pjj]

We won’t climb over balconies anymore, we used to but I don’t feel it’s safe for staff to be doing that with the H&S now .

 

[Marko067]

I had an accident some 24 years ago that involved climbing in and out of a balcony to clean a set of French doors. I'm not going into detail but suffice to say it cost me a badly smashed up ankle and 20 months off work in total all for the sake of taking what I considered at the time to be a small risk to clean two windows which probably earned me about £2. It totally changed my view of taking any kind of risk just for the sake of cleaning a window.

 

[AW Services]

We have a window cleaner at our Estate who uses a ladder and then climb over railings to gain access to the resident's balconies windows. It seems quite risky but the only other option would be to entering units to access the balconies, which is also highly impractical and some residents would not want contractors inside their premises.

Is there any piece of legislation which prevent such practice? How to minimise risks?

I wouldn't let others activities and methods of work consume your life
Their risks Their lives

 

[Peter J]

I go in the house and trad the windows from the inside. If they’re not happy with me doing that I just charge for the windows I can reach without doing anything silly. There’s enough risks in this job without creating new ones for yourself.

It’s the glass Juliet balconies I don’t like. Half the people look at me funny when I tell them I’d have to do it from the inside. What do they expect me to do? I’m not a magician.

 

[ched999uk]

It’s the glass Juliet balconies I don’t like. Half the people look at me funny when I tell them I’d have to do it from the inside. What do they expect me to do? I’m not a magician.

Some Juliet balconies can be done with a wfp, if you switch your brush to vertical then they are easier. The problem is the extra time they take has to be included in your quote, I generally quote the ones I can and say to the customer I can do the Juliet balcony and it would be an extra £x - their choice.

 

[spruce]

I had an accident some 24 years ago that involved climbing in and out of a balcony to clean a set of French doors. I'm not going into detail but suffice to say it cost me a badly smashed up ankle and 20 months off work in total all for the sake of taking what I considered at the time to be a small risk to clean two windows which probably earned me about £2. It totally changed my view of taking any kind of risk just for the sake of cleaning a window.

Sorry to hear that. The irony is that while you were off recovering, did the customer get another window cleaner?

 

[Marko067]

Sorry to hear that. The irony is that while you were off recovering, did the customer get another window cleaner?

Yes they did!

I often use this now when customers get a little off with me because I won't do something they consider should be easy but I consider too risky, like cleaning a shallow sloping conny roof by using the pole whilst standing on a ladder.

I just say, 'It's ok for you if I fall and seriously injure myself. You'll just grab another window cleaner. Meanwhile my family could be left without a husband, father etc. or caring for a invalid.'

 

[Patrickr]

Use to do it but. You’re 100% doing dodgy movements. Anyone with this sort of thing don’t get the doors done unless theyr home. If home charge few quid extra. I thru the house and clean mop and blade

 

[Bell Pallisey]

Far FAR better to go thru the property and not only for safety. Oh iv climbed balconies ,who hasnt? -but youre missing out on the gold if you do that. One of my workers goes thru the apartments instead and builds a real rapport "heres showtime!" , that over time you get the trust he sometimes does the insides ad hoc and i let him keep any money from it .

 

[Iron Giant]

We won’t climb over balconies anymore, we used to but I don’t feel it’s safe for staff to be doing that with the H&S now .

On one estate I clean they built a few 3 storey townhouses with a terrace on the first floor above the lower lounge so on the roof if you like it required a ladder to gain access and I needed to climb over the railings not so easy for a short a$$ like me, a few years ago I stopped climbing on the one job I had and now refuse all those jobs.

 

[A D]

We have a window cleaner at our Estate who uses a ladder and then climb over railings to gain access to the resident's balconies windows. It seems quite risky but the only other option would be to entering units to access the balconies, which is also highly impractical and some residents would not want contractors inside their premises.

Is there any piece of legislation which prevent such practice? How to minimise risks?

1, insured for climbing off a ladder, probably not.
2, Life changing injuries
It really is not worth the risk.

 

[Marko067]

On one estate I clean they built a few 3 storey townhouses with a terrace on the first floor above the lower lounge so on the roof if you like it required a ladder to gain access and I needed to climb over the railings not so easy for a short a$$ like me, a few years ago I stopped climbing on the one job I had and now refuse all those jobs.

I had some like that on a new estate a few years before I switched to wfp, and I remember feeling completely safe climbing over them until one day, as I was climbing over one, the rail came out of the wall. It was cemented in, but only by about 2-3inches. I was gobsmacked that there was nothing tying it to the wall with so little in the wall and only cement holding it in. Thankfully I didn't have my full weight on it when it happened, but it sure gave me a fright. Knees like jelly when I got down.

 

[dazmond]

I used to do all sorts of crazy, dangerous things to clean a window when I was trad for 17 years including climbing on balconies,all sorts of sloping roofs,etc even with snow on them!

Now I won't even get on a flat roof at 52 years of age.everything is cleaned from the safety of the ground.if i cant reach it with the pole they don't get cleaned....

 

[THL4KEL]

I went to climb over a back wall recently. As I went to pull myself up I noticed that the whole brick wall moved... It was ready to come down.. Just left the back windows in the end.. It's not worth climbing over stuff because if it breaks we're going to be footing the bill and you know its going to cost a lot more these days to have things repaired/replaced than what they used to cost...

 

[Iron Giant]

I went to climb over a back wall recently. As I went to pull myself up I noticed that the whole brick wall moved... It was ready to come down.. Just left the back windows in the end.. It's not worth climbing over stuff because if it breaks we're going to be footing the bill and you know its going to cost a lot more these days to have things repaired/replaced than what they used to cost...

If it's a single skin brick wall even I wouldn't climb it but it's a decent depth with a soldier course and it's moving you're potentially talking £1,000 for it to be rebuilt depending on the size and the number of bricks required