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Foot the ladder

Elliot

Active member
Messages
337
Location
Yorkshire
Does anyone use em , are they as good as they look . I'm thinking of getting some , I'm 100% wfp on my windows !but I'm getting a few gutter and fascia jobs , I don't like using the pole on em . I like to get up and do em right by hand . But getting up to the roof line can be dodgy , so ou need to feel safe . Cheers el

 
I have myself come off a ladder and so have two friends of mine and the worst of it all was a broken wrist.

Anything that makes the use of a ladder safer is a must, it just aint worth risking life an limb for the price of a gutter clean.

 
I just use a good old fashioned sand bag, throw it on the bottom rung it is quite large, weighs a good 20kg but ladders have never moved

 
I'm WFP too but don't have gutter vac

I have 3x 14 with ankalad stabiliser plus levellers for adjusting for slope and getting spikes fitted which levellers can go past when spikes not appropriate ( Tarmac )

 
today i fitted my spikes[from off my old ladders] onto my new ladder sets

after having a fall [prior to getting spikes] i know firsthand how important an additional safety device is , especially so if you work alone.

iv never seen a foot the ladder but if it was my chosen device id make sure it was readily at hand-possiblly mounted on a bracket on outside of van door . you dont want it hidden below clutter inside van View attachment 6626

 
when i was trad if i was working on my own Ihad two choices

my large water bucket along bottom of ladders

second choice i had builders concrete block the really heavy ones it would never move kept it at the back of van

 
So how do the spikes work if your on concrete, won't they stop the bottom of ladder from touching the ground pos making it less secure?

 
when i was trad if i was working on my own Ihad two choicesmy large water bucket along bottom of ladders

second choice i had builders concrete block the really heavy ones it would never move kept it at the back of van
I used to do that in the early days until i forgot about it and stuck my foot in the bucket on a cold winters day.

 
Never seen spikes like that . The ones we use round here have 2 bolts holding the bracket , then the spike is round solid steel to a point which when fitted looks like it is coming out the centre of the foot . You also remove the plastic feet . They last years and can keep sharpening em up .

 
I wouldn't dream of using a double or triple ladder without spikes . They are easily the safest device . They grip into every nook and cranny and never had a problem cleaning windows with em . But when working the roofline I want something else as well . The spikes will obviously stay on . Double safety if you like . You can't beat your mate footing the ladder as well . As long as he is footing it correctly .

 
Does anyone use em , are they as good as they look . I'm thinking of getting some , I'm 100% wfp on my windows !but I'm getting a few gutter and fascia jobs , I don't like using the pole on em . I like to get up and do em right by hand . But getting up to the roof line can be dodgy , so ou need to feel safe . Cheers el
Learn to do em right with a pole ;-)

 
Yeh but every fascia job I do a gutter clear as well . And I'm not using a vac . I can do em faster with the tools and by hand . So I do the fascias the same climb . Besides my shoulders feel like there collapsing after 5 minutes using a pole on the soffits .

 
Christ I remember using my car tyreAt least I knew it would never move.

Hard driving round people's back gardens tho
I've still got a house that's got a dodgy window on a gravel drive. Always use my van to foot that one.

 
Always better to be safe than sorry remember about 23 years ago used to say that will be fine not that bothered and was at the top of the ladder and it went. slippery path luckily I was ok but makes you think after it has happened to you . Don't go up ladders much now but always check make sure it won't move and use foot the ladder if you have one. Stay safe.

 

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