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Vacuuming roof

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bill

Has anybody used their guttervac to remove moss from roofs and is their an attachment to make it easier many thanks

 
Yes I have and I think you would be wasting your time trying as would take ages to do even a small area as moss is usually stuck on house roof tiles like superglue. You may find some lose moss up there but you would still need to scrap most tiles first to free the moss growth bond with each part of the tile including the tile edges and gaps then try sucking it up.

 
Still I find a vac very handy for various jobs around properties not just for house gutter clearing./emoticons/wink.png

 
I used mine to demoss a pitched garage roof. It was a lot slower going than the gutter clear, I had to scrape and suck each stuck on clod. I got about 80% that way. Wouldn't like to try on a first storey roof, or rather the quote would include scaffold tower and a day

A home made end piece with protruding filed down base scrape section would Prob make it easier, bent to the correct angle for the pole angle in operation

 
I have scraped/vacuumed the odd roof if I don't want to go on it due to safety reasons. I use the Wolfgarten patio scraper attached to a 4m pole and as long as the roof is fairly steep most of the moss will fall down to the gutters and I vac them out. I can also vac the roof (after scraping) from the top of my ladder using normal vacuum tools and a 3m plastic (waste) pipe plugged into a 75mm downpipe which is fixed to my ladder!! You need to be harnessed on though as you need to use both hands to do the job. (Or work off a scaffold tower)

Has anybody used their guttervac to remove moss from roofs and is their an attachment to make it easier many thanks
 
What kind of harness do you use @Utterly Gutterly ?

Do you harness for hand tool gutter clears or just the vac roof clears? Be good to see a pic of your ladder set up with the down pipe :thumbsup:

 
I have scraped/vacuumed the odd roof if I don't want to go on it due to safety reasons. I use the Wolfgarten patio scraper attached to a 4m pole and as long as the roof is fairly steep most of the moss will fall down to the gutters and I vac them out. I can also vac the roof (after scraping) from the top of my ladder using normal vacuum tools and a 3m plastic (waste) pipe plugged into a 75mm downpipe which is fixed to my ladder!! You need to be harnessed on though as you need to use both hands to do the job. (Or work off a scaffold tower)
Thanks utterly I'll order the scraper wit price do you charge for roof deck moss

 
I've scrapped the moss of one or two small pitched roofs before be it only ground floor height myself that I could easily get at from the ground using a stripped down wfp pole with a progutter tool fitted. Then attached a brush to the pole to brush the tiles down. Gets most of it off and is very time consuming to do but I say to the customer the moss will eventually grow back as you can't beat mother nature even treating the roof with chems afterwards.

 
Hi Bill, do you have a pic of the job? What type of tiles are they? Price varies according to the profile as flat tiles are easier to scrape/brush. Prices tend to range from about £250 (1day) for a small semi or terrace up to £500 (2 days) for a normal family detached house. Have done a large bungalow for £900. (3days) Charge extra for detached garage. And most of all, stay safe.

The USP of this type of work is no power washing, no chemicals and no painting afterwards and therefore a much cheaper price which the customer likes. As Smurf has said I am also upfront and do not offer any guarantees that the moss will not return as it inevitably will do so. I do not spray with an inhibitor as it only lasts 6 - 12 months and adds too much £££ to the job which would lose me the work. And there ain't a pressure washer in sight.

Meant to say wit price to demos roof thanks
 
Hey Jim, here's an old pic showing the d/pipe fixed to the ladder with the vac hose attached at the bottom. I then plug in at the top with the vacuums own tools. This is pre progutter tools as I would do it using them now. However, I still regularly use the vac set up and had to use it this morning on a job with seamless gutters above conservatory - see later pics. I might have been able to do the job with vac poles off the ground but I find it is far better to be up there seeing what you are doing. It took an hour to do the back of the house and I had to get the old boy to foot the ladder as I could not deploy Ankalad. Progutter would have been useless in this case confirming the opinion that you need both sets of tools (pro & vac)

I only use a harness on roof cleans (or 3 storey ladder jobs to make me feel safer) and I got my fall arrest safety harness off ebay. They start at about £30.

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What kind of harness do you use @Utterly Gutterly ?Do you harness for hand tool gutter clears or just the vac roof clears? Be good to see a pic of your ladder set up with the down pipe :thumbsup:
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View attachment 4641

View attachment 4642

 
You defo need to use a microlite standoff on the roof tiles instead of trying to purch that type of standoff on fascias that can and do give way.

Hey Jim, here's an old pic showing the d/pipe fixed to the ladder with the vac hose attached at the bottom. I then plug in at the top with the vacuums own tools. This is pre progutter tools as I would do it using them now. However, I still regularly use the vac set up and had to use it this morning on a job with seamless gutters above conservatory - see later pics. I might have been able to do the job with vac poles off the ground but I find it is far better to be up there seeing what you are doing. It took an hour to do the back of the house and I had to get the old boy to foot the ladder as I could not deploy Ankalad. Progutter would have been useless in this case confirming the opinion that you need both sets of tools (pro & vac)I only use a harness on roof cleans (or 3 storey ladder jobs to make me feel safer) and I got my fall arrest safety harness off ebay. They start at about £30.

View attachment 6946 View attachment 6947 View attachment 6950 View attachment 6951
 
Myself I would have just used a guttervac from the ground on that one. To see what I was doing would use a gopro mounted on the guttervac pole connected through the gopro wifi app on my smart phone.

 
Hi Bill, do you have a pic of the job? What type of tiles are they? Price varies according to the profile as flat tiles are easier to scrape/brush. Prices tend to range from about £250 (1day) for a small semi or terrace up to £500 (2 days) for a normal family detached house. Have done a large bungalow for £900. (3days) Charge extra for detached garage. And most of all, stay safe.The USP of this type of work is no power washing, no chemicals and no painting afterwards and therefore a much cheaper price which the customer likes. As Smurf has said I am also upfront and do not offer any guarantees that the moss will not return as it inevitably will do so. I do not spray with an inhibitor as it only lasts 6 - 12 months and adds too much £££ to the job which would lose me the work. And there ain't a pressure washer in sight.
Thanks utterly that's everything I need to know brilliant

 
I have a microlite but I can't get on with it. I don't like the wheels, they don't always collapse if one is on a spoke and it unnerves me when used against a wall and you have to feel comfortable. This ladder doesn't always reach above gutter level to sit on a roof. I also have the same 3 section ladder as you which I could use but when you add ankalad and microlite to an already heavy ladder I struggle to manoeuvre it safely as it is a bit of a beast. I risk assess the fascias and will lean against a wall if I'm not happy with them (although I couldn't with that job)

You defo need to use a microlite standoff on the roof tiles instead of trying to purch that type of standoff on fascias that can and do give way.
 
im glad it's not just me who struggles with the loaded triple. It's a great kit but I find the set up can be very difficult with split levels, walls, cladding, pebble dash, all sorts of problems and obsticles. Last few I did with vac alone to avoid ladders.

 
The ladder in the pic you are using @Utterly Gutterly will be light compared to a 12 rung triple as seems only an 11 rung double ladder. I'm not supprised at all you can't use your micriolite standoff on the roof as the ladder is too short for the task.

If I'm honest I think you both need to gain more confidence handling a 12 rung triple ladder safely as they are not that difficult to handle on your own. That's even with the added weight of the ankalad and microlite standoff fitted.

Why make the job more risky when you have the right kit at your disposal

I have a microlite but I can't get on with it. I don't like the wheels, they don't always collapse if one is on a spoke and it unnerves me when used against a wall and you have to feel comfortable. This ladder doesn't always reach above gutter level to sit on a roof. I also have the same 3 section ladder as you which I could use but when you add ankalad and microlite to an already heavy ladder I struggle to manoeuvre it safely as it is a bit of a beast. I risk assess the fascias and will lean against a wall if I'm not happy with them (although I couldn't with that job)


im glad it's not just me who struggles with the loaded triple. It's a great kit but I find the set up can be very difficult with split levels, walls, cladding, pebble dash, all sorts of problems and obsticles. Last few I did with vac alone to avoid ladders.
 
I can move it from A to B ok, eg van to back garden, it's the faffing around in tight spaces, around parked cars, hedges. Wouldn't like to walk more than 50m with it. I guess it's growing on me. I wouldnt like to not have it all and have to get up to roof line (on a smaller ladder without safety features)

 
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