Using a ladder 'stand off' - any good for this task?

[Keith (Dorset)]

Hi,

I need to do some external tidying up to the exterior walls of the house. This involves loosening and chipping away paint and a sort of rubberised membrane from the Portland stone. (SDS + chisel and angle grinder) Thankfully the stone is very well faced and the pointing, for the most part, is in excellent condition. (Damp proofing / sealing is never used nowadays, even on bare stone, - except apparently in London on similar, on St Pauls etc. and other buildings, where it is subject to damage by traffic fumes... so I won't have to replace it). The local grit blaster bloke won't come here because hae does not get on with someone down the road!

Are those 'stand off' things, with a kind of tray, that fit to the top of the ladder, worth bothering about. Scaffolding towers are expensive and the council require the purchase of a weekly license if one is to be used on the pavement.

Any comments would be most welcome.

Thanks,

Keith

[andrewpreece]

I used a standoff to work on my eves/guttering. It is very useful there as the overhang makes life very tiresome if you aren't stood off enough. For what they cost I suspect you would be best off getting one. Working up a ladder is very tiresome and any help is worthwhile.

Andy.

[Mary Fisher]

I agree. The family once bought Spouse one, not knowing what it was but it looked workmanlike. He was a bit doubtful too but used it to please us and has never looked back. He rarely uses a ladder without it now.

Mary

[Set Square]

If you're working on a ladder, many jobs are more convenient and safer when using stand-off brackets. However, I would caution against doing anything of extended duration - or involving power tools - without using a proper tower. If you were earning your living doing it, you wouldn't be *allowed* to do it on a ladder for Health and Safety reasons.

[Anna Kettle]

There are two for sale in the Screwfix catalogue. Get the clip on one, which costs a bit more, not the wingnut fixing one which is a PITA. I bought the wingnut and have been cursing it ever since

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Set Square]

I can understand that the wing-nut variety may be a bit fiddly.

But I have a clip-on one (Focus - not Screwfix) which is good but has some rather strong springs - and is sometime a bit of a struggle to stretch the clip over the next rung.

[bigcat]

definitely makes things easier. Youre in a semi sensible position rather than having nose pressed aganst the wall, trying to hold a drill half behind you. Ive got one permanently fixed on one of the ladders.

I would question how youre doing th work though, youre lucky the blaster said no.

NT

[Lobster]

And you have to collapse it every night or someone will nick it!

Seconded (I have the superior version myself - doesn't actually clip on though, it has a single large handwheel nut thing which clamps it rigidly in place. Item 32096 at Screwfix)

This is the same item on the mfr's website, showing more details:

swear by it; it positions you far enough away from the wall to use tools comfortably; it makes the ladder much more stable because it's resting on two big lugs which are about twice as far apart as the normal ladder width; and it provides you with a working platform in front of you which you can plonk stuff on.

I would add to the caution of others though, it's not perhaps suitable for heavy-duty work, all day long, for safety's sake - but that's a judgement call for you to make.

David