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Suitable size of ladder

D

Donal

I am looking to go into gutter cleaning, as an add on. For your normal size three bedroom house, what size ladder would be best.

I am looking at using the ladder mate as well, so it has to be high enough for this.

Also I have done a couple and noticed that people have asked me to clean the facia on the side of the house, which go to as high as the top of the roof. So I assume the ladder would have to reach this height as well. I guess this is around 40 foot high.

 
This is the setup I use

12 rung combi triple from bps that I use mostly as a normal ladder http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/7-12-Rung-Combi-Combination-Extension-Triple-Treble-3-Section-Multi-Step-Ladder-/310701016266?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item48573944ca

The ladder is fitted with an ankalad that stabalises the ladder and folds in to the stiles when not in use. Cuts out backward slip at the botton & sideways slip at the top of the ladder

I also use a microlite standoff when wanting to reach the roofline as it can rest on roof tiles so is a lot safer and easier to work.

This ladder set up I've found to be the safest and makes gutter clearing much easer to do espesialy doing pool work using progutter tools.

Example pic of the ladder setup

View attachment 3929

For higher work cleaning plastic etc like apex cleaning and/or on really awkward gutter, sofitt, fascia cleaning jobs like in the pic I use a wfp & chems if need be to reach over consevatories and pitched roofs etc.

The guttervac also is used on awkard parts I cant get to safely by ladders

 
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Smurf, how do you get the standoff over the roof overhang and onto the tiles without dinging something? Do you extend away from the wall, lower onto roof, walk base out, or another way around? Like have it next to house, extend up half way, walk it out, pull out extend...

I'd just add that a single man ladder to get to the apex safely (9m?) might be a tad heavy, make sure you're happy with the weight Donal!

 
I place the ladder roughly where I want it to be and hold it vertical to extend it then lower it gently onto the roof.

 
Ok smurf I'll make sure I try that next time. Got a gutter clear Monday, I'm hoping to just use vac but...

I think I'm setting up too close to the house currently, thought the stand off wheels were for rolling up the wall?

If you can't get your ankalad deployed through lack of space, do you set up anyway or try to avoid that?

 
Mind you after saying that I've had plenty of practise. That is what you need to do... practise makes perfect as they say.

You will soon figure out how to set the ankald legs out in a confined space too as they don't have to be opened full width to still work. However If you think the ladder set is too dodgy then don't use the ladder.

 
I'm finding rarely is there not a wall, step bush etc in the way. I might just use the ladderm8s sometimes when the brace can't come out at all on the cross beam base section. I think my brace might be a bit harder to use perhaps cause the middle brace bar seems a bit tricky too at times, seems to want the big splay and even footings.

Being a novice to this, the ladder placement stuff has been the hardest to get my head around...

 
I never use the brace bar..the strap will stop the legs spreading and the bar is flimsy plastic ends so doesn't do anything more than make sure the legs are at a certain width which is no good for some jobs i do like smurf said to avoid obstacles etc

 
will have another mess around with the brace, seems unreasonable to go for 'textbook' spread every time, how often is there 8ft clear, flat in 180degree area?

My bar isn't flimsy though davey, it's one piece metal, no plastic. If anything I'd say the bars are flimsy, but then they're strong on their ends like bones

 
View attachment 3939 i use a triple 10 rung for gutter clean out -i personally put my ladder higher than the gutter and lean on the gutter with a gutter clip close to one side. i know some may say thats wrong wrong wrong but i find this to be MY safest method , dont set the ladder truly straight ,instead i usually set the ladder so its slightly leaning to one side by a few degrees ,towards the clip. i also make sure foot of my ladder is set nearer to the house rather than away,thereby reducing bending in of the gutter

for facias at the peak point of a house i always use a trad pole -bust out the unger teleplus , that reminds me i must order new thread inserts for my telepluses . the teleplus is universally hated by all ,for good reason,its so heavy youll be in hospital within 5 yrs if you use it regularly. i dont use it regularly probably 2 or 3 times a week . for lower work use Harris poles , thats summat else i must remember buy new harrises ours are in their twilight years

i carry 2 telepluses and 2 harrises in a pole tube on top of my van . the ladders sit either side of this tube. this set up is for 4 workers all working from one van

 
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A trick of the camera... Maybe. I don't know why it looks so straight. iPhone camera?

The ladder placement in my example angles to the wall higher up pretty much same as the wall at the base. I stand straight with toes against the footing and arms straight touch the ladder to check angle.

 
How can that be a safer method than using the proper gear for the job @boarcity when you run the risk of the guttering giving way and/or the ladder slipping sideways?

Old school bad working practices spring to mind... each to their own I guess :rolleyes:

View attachment 6082 i use a triple 10 rung for gutter clean out -i personally put my ladder higher than the gutter and lean on the gutter with a gutter clip close to one side. i know some may say thats wrong wrong wrong but i find this to be MY safest method , dont set the ladder truly straight ,instead i usually set the ladder so its slightly leaning to one side by a few degrees ,towards the clip. i also make sure foot of my ladder is set nearer to the house rather than away,thereby reducing bending in of the gutter
 
How can that be a safer method than using the proper gear for the job @boarcity when you run the risk of the guttering giving way and/or the ladder slipping sideways?
Old school bad working practices spring to mind... each to their own I guess :rolleyes:
im pretty sure that in a lot of cases putting up that extra framework would be impossible due to bushes and small walls down below. what happens then? i agree that your framework is the safest option. what im getting at is that when somebod goes mountaineering you take the safety ropes and and those Drings that the rope goes thru [ i know thats not their real name,but cant think what theyre called,enlighten me?] but what about the guy who has to go up first? how did he get up there?? this analigee isnt really applicable to gutter cleaning, iv drifted off into jus wondering how the 1st guy gets up the mountain to drive in the hoops in the rockface

 
@boarcity you are taking about resting the top of ladders on stuff that can give way/break like plastic gutters etc. In my book I class that as bad working practice when there are safer ways to go about this.

View attachment 3943

For me I chose to use of a microlite standoff I find gives very good stabality at the top of the ladder be it resting on walls, flat roofs or pitched tile roofs. It's a simple and vey effective lightweight safety device that I could not recommend highly enough to anyone for roofline work.

The ankalad is what I prefer to use to stop the ladder slipping backwards, sideways, and cuts out ladder bounce too.

 
It is called a caribener boar

I would at least use a microlite if i couldn't set up the ankalad

 
Yep me too as you don't have to use the ankalad all the time if you don't want to as if folds in to the the sides of the stiles. Then I could still use another method to stabalise the ladder at the bottom like ladder spurs or any other safety device I want to use.

 
On some places i would be happy to just use the microlite to run up and have a look in the gutters or clip a piece back in

But wouldn't just rest on the gutter

 
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