The ladder industry

[Mike]

What's the Archers ?

:-)

[Mary Fisher]

Ohhhhhhh ..........

It would take fifty years to tell you everything ...

Just remember about scaffolding and you'll be OK.

Mary

[Alan]

In message , Mike wrote

A patronising radio soap opera for the middle classes used for Countryside Alliance propaganda.

[Derek *]

Are you by any chance thinking of "The Starchers, an everyday story of laundry folk". ;-)

An unbelievably badly written stream of turgid dross, with throw away one line topical/PC references pasted in out of context, at random.

DG

[raden]

In message , Alan writes

You're DIMM and I claim my £5

[N. Thornton]

Given that one can make a 15' ladder for £10 in parts, 2 hours labour, it makes ya wonder.

NT

[BigWallop]

All together now. Rum tee tum, tee tum, tee tum. Rum tee tum, tee ta ta. :)

[Mary Fisher]

My Archers mug which I won at the Royal Show years ago for knowing that Eddie Grundy was banned from the Cat and Fiddle for being sick in the piano says: Dum di dum di dum di dum etc.

That's The Definitive Version :-)

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

But is it going to be legal to use them?

Mary

[John Rumm]

IIRC, that is what Billy Connolly suggested should be used as the new national anthem, on the grounds that it is far more cheerful and hence better to march to at Olympic ceremonies, and the words are simple enough that the illegal immigrants could learn them on the bus on the way in!

[N. Thornton]

Its legal to climb on whatever you want. To answer the real question, yes theyre solid, strong, and as safe as any other ladder - for what thats worth.

NT

[Mary Fisher]

I thought I'd read here - the font of all wisdom - that if you're doing a job over 2 metres (or whatever) you have to use scaffolding.

I could be wrong - it has been known :-)

Mary

[sylva]

This may refer to the interpretation of the requirement for the health and safety at work act put on by the new working at height regulations. I don't think they affect people not working for gain on their own property.

Even so you can still comply with working from ladders subject to risk assessment and other precautions but you may have a problem justifying use of a non CE marked ladder that had not been independently checked, if something went wrong at work.

AJH

[Badger]

You should use suitable/fit for purpose access equipment, with fall arrest equipment being used for over 2m where suitable. One job recently meant buying a 4m sectional (1m sections) just to get it behind a false wall with no room for any other safety gear possible, another working at

5m high from a ladder at 75 degrees as no room for proper angle, wearing full fall arrest gear. The major building firms are very much going scaffolding/access platfoms/cherry pickers to avoid problems. I inspect all our ladders/step-ladders at work, any with problems are scrapped, nothing below class 1 is acceptable as anyone may borrow and use, from lightweight female students to burly builders with tools....

I have several sets of steps and a 9m sectional ladder as a result, perfectly safe, but not enough load rating being "cheap" domestic ones, several other techs have also gained useful, but not suitable for work sets as well (I like to share things around).

Niel.

[Mary Fisher]

So are ladder makers going to be looking for new jobs?

What about DIY?

You're apparently a responsible and caring employer. But a (domestic) window cleaner couldn't cart scaffolding or the rest around.

I'd be quite happy if some folk weren't allowed to climb a ladder to 'decorate' their houses at this season but that's another matter!

Mary

[Mike]

A friend was arrested for climbiug on the Menai suspension bridge. Mind you they waited until he got to the other side before doing so.

[N. Thornton]

If you're sending someone else up there, your access equipment had better meet various assessed and approved standards. But if youre going up it yourself, use what you want. Of course wisdom says make it safe, but the law doesnt say anything. Fred Dibnah would be a famous example of that. Had he paid an employee to go up those chimneys it would have been a whole different matter.

NT

[bigcat]

now theres newsgroups for you :)

NT

[Mary Fisher]

So the window cleaner's employee can't use a ladder for other than ground level windows? The gutter fitters can't use a ladder? There must be lots of examples and I'm confused and concerned.

Of course.

Really? That's what my question was really about, I was sure I'd read that there was new legislation. It would be comforting to know that things hadn't changed.

Thanks,

Mary

[Brian Sharrock]

FWIW; I had gutters replaced some years back ... the fitters, two of them, used thirty-foot extending ladders [I was impressed that the ladders had a vee-shaped stand-off thingy at the top which enabled them to prop their ladders up onto the corners of the house.] ... a neighbour down the road has his gutters replaced last month ... his house was surrounded by scaffolding up to the roof level. The fitters, (God only knows how many) worked at waist level. It took one day for the scaffolding to be erected and one day for it to be dismantled (God only knows how many scaffolders)...