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NBwcs

  • Posts: 880
Had to be seen to be believed!
« on: March 28, 2006, 07:47:11 pm »
I stopped cleaning the upstairs windows just after dinner today as the wind was getting pretty rough. It got worse so much so that the police closed one road in town because a pub sign was hanging off on one hinge. It was one of those days when if you were in the path of the wind when sqeegeing, it just picked up the water and threw it back on the glass being worked on. Anyway, took the sensible option and only cleaned bungalows for the rest of day.
                     I pulled up to one job and couldnt believe my eyes. A local wc was stood , THREE RUNGS from the top of his ladder which was held off the wall with a stand off, one hand leaning on the frame , the other busying cleaning, with no other support whatsoever!!!This is dangerous at the best of times but today it was pure madness. The best part of it though is that this bloke is 72yrs old,yes 72!!!!!!. How hes reached that age, God alone knows.His wife was busy cleaning the bottoms and quite oblivious to it all, while his customers said nothing too. I wish I had a camera phone, it was one of those moments that could easily be added to the shocking pictures already published in the Pro..wc magazine.
                Two weeks before this, I witnessed another local wc using an ancient wooded ladder that  had no rubber stops on the feet, which he climbed up at an angle of 45 degrees (this is not an exaggeration),which was placed on pavers with no safety device of any description. The ladder was literally resting on the very edge, possibly 2mm contact of wood to floor!!!!
                 I hear people talk about professional and cowboy wc's, but both these would regard themselves as pro,s particularly the old chap. In my book theres two type of wc, the ones with brains and the ones without, and there seems to be no shortage of the latter.
                                         Cheers Nick
                                     

Sir Squeaky

  • Posts: 8341
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2006, 08:09:33 pm »
Oh well, let them get on with it....

I did bungalows today too.
Not sure I've got enough left for tomorrow though. ;D

gaza

  • Posts: 1642
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2006, 10:31:47 pm »
squeeky take the rest of the day off,while I clean 35ish windows upto 3 high in half hr for 38 squid,then 76iish windows for 85 squid 2/3 high for 2 /3 hrs while your trying to get blown of your perch,thats why im wfp

  gaza
IM AT THAT AGE MY BACK GOES OUT MORE THAN I DO

carl stanton

  • Posts: 818
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2006, 10:38:31 pm »
so whats wfp like in the wind, begs to be asked! maybe a new post!  ???

gaza

  • Posts: 1642
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2006, 10:45:49 pm »
I FIND IT NO PROBLEM UP TO 45FT WOULDNT DARE GO ANY HIGHER,DANGEROUS TO LEAVE POLE STOOD UP ON ITS OWN.
  GAZA
IM AT THAT AGE MY BACK GOES OUT MORE THAN I DO

carl stanton

  • Posts: 818
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2006, 10:48:10 pm »
thanks gaza  ;D so are you shouting to be heard over the wind!! :)

brett walker

  • Posts: 1943
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2006, 10:55:22 pm »
so whats wfp like in the wind, begs to be asked! maybe a new post!  ???

Dont laugh  ;D

one windy day i went up on a flat roof my ladder blew over and i was stuck on the roof :'(

I was talking to a wfp guy the other day and he says its a lot safer with the wfp in the wind than on ladders which is obviously really, but as Gaza says best not leave your pole up high.

The wind is very dangerous to work in doesnt matter if your wfp or ladders anything could blow off a roof and hit you

The best thing i found about the wind it makes my van go faster down hill ;D

Brett

carl stanton

  • Posts: 818
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2006, 10:58:30 pm »
 ;D  sorry brett!

brett walker

  • Posts: 1943
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2006, 11:06:36 pm »

AuRavelling79

  • Posts: 25383
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2006, 11:11:06 pm »
squeeky take the rest of the day off,while I clean 35ish windows upto 3 high in half hr for 38 squid,then 76iish windows for 85 squid 2/3 high for 2 /3 hrs while your trying to get blown of your perch,thats why im wfp

  gaza

Please! Do not wind up the Squeakmeister! Even if it's wind rhyming with "lined" and not rhyming with "binned!"
It's a game of three halves!

macc

Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2006, 12:44:29 am »
especially as hes already been called a goon today

Sir Squeaky

  • Posts: 8341
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2006, 08:02:50 am »
squeeky take the rest of the day off,while I clean 35ish windows upto 3 high in half hr for 38 squid,then 76iish windows for 85 squid 2/3 high for 2 /3 hrs while your trying to get blown of your perch,thats why im wfp

  gaza
Don't worry Gaza I'll enjoy the time off while you're still slaving away.
I haven't got your overheads. ;)

especially as hes already been called a goon today
I like this...
People obviously didn't notice that I started it by calling someone a goon in the first place. ;D

Ian_Giles

  • Posts: 2986
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2006, 08:07:44 am »
Squeaks says to let them get on with it, I am not sure what we could do about it anyway, but unfortunately it is fools like this that increase the risks of ladder bans coming along.
The sensible window cleaner working off a ladder will draw no attention, it's the brainless ones taking outrageous risks that stand out from the ground.
Fingers get pointed and these idiots are then used as examples of why working off ladders is so dangerous and why they need protecting from themselves >:(

I was lucky yesterday, the house I was cleaning was completely wind free and it was 3 storey too :o
The last time it was cleaned it was down by Squeaks when he worked for me, and that was a few years ago now.
A very old house with really ancient window frames and absolutely minging with cobwebs and grime, half the windows needed repainting too :'(
Some were oxidized, some weren't.

Using my WFP the bristles were coming off the glass full of old cobwebs, pine needles, leaves, bits of dead insects.
I was dreading what the final finish was going to look like :-\
A couple of the windows the oxidization was so bad it looked like I was washing them down with milk!! :o
But after two and a half hours and after cleaning an attached office (a converted barn) I checked them over and apart from a few panes here and there they had come up really good.
A couple of panes on the badly oxidixed frames needed touching up, and there were a few other spots here and there but I was relieved and surprised they had come up so well.
All the frames were also washed down, the difference was amazing, I wish I'd taken some before and after pics.

Now if this place had been the other side of the hill and exposed to the wind I don't think I'd have stood a snowballs chance in hell of getting a good job done, trad or WFP.
Before doing this place I did a few local shops, did them trad but as it was so windy I squeeged them off.
By 3pm they were spotty and in need of cleaning again :-\
Was so windy that muck was being blown on the glass, and if I hadn't squeegeed them off afterwards I would have looked at them and blamed myself for not doing a proper job with the WFP because of the spots :o

So just because you are working trad it doesn't mean you won't get spots!

Very heavy wind mixed with showers is bad news for both methods, whether you are doing bungalows or not it makes not a whit of difference.

You may well be able to work at height with your WFP, but in those conditions you shouldn't because there are always going to be some windows that are going to be mucked up because of the weather.

It's a catch 22 position isn't it?
The wind doesn't stop you working quite safely at heights that would be really dangerous off ladders because of the wind, but the severe conditions make it a waste of time cleaning the windows anyway :'(

Still, I had a £100 house done out of the wind, so I got lucky ;D
And had a lovely flash of a lithe, shapely 22 year female bum in the process :o 8)

Ian
Ian. ISM CLEANING SERVICES

petetaylor56

  • Posts: 175
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #13 on: March 29, 2006, 02:43:06 pm »
 :)ian you lucky so and so  ;)the only naked person i ever saw was about 92 : :o i nearly fell off my ladder :'(
today i be mostly wfp

NBwcs

  • Posts: 880
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #14 on: March 29, 2006, 08:12:11 pm »
The only thing ive ever seen was two blokes together in the bath!!!!!, and im still nervous each time I go back. Not something I ever want to see again.

marc al

Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #15 on: March 29, 2006, 08:59:04 pm »
  Nick

   I bet you didn't go and stop them just incase he did fall and land on her and do us all a favour!!

  Does she always glare at you like you'd just relieved yourself on her xmas dinner?? She does me, don't know what I've done to wind her up though.

  Marc

Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #16 on: March 30, 2006, 11:56:50 am »
:)ian you lucky so and so  ;)the only naked person i ever saw was about 92 : :o i nearly fell off my ladder :'(
a very unfortunate incident occured when i was abseiling a residential block in central london--4th floor bedroom, dropped down in front of the window to see a bloke with a magazine in one hand,  himself in the other with trousers round his ankles :o
he screamed so loud out of shock, got up,fell over, and just as he ran into his living room i saw one of my mates at that window ;D ;D
nearly fell off my ropes with laughter, bet he draws his curtains now, or hides in a cupboard ;D

Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #17 on: March 30, 2006, 03:32:46 pm »
to see a bloke with a magazine in one hand,  himself in the other with trousers round his ankles :o

I've had a similar experience - a big lad too - but after I finished cleaning, I didn't knock for the money.

I just put a 'chit' through the door and collected the money from his Mother on Friday evening.

Wor Lass was cross she didn't catch him.

NBwcs

  • Posts: 880
Re: Had to be seen to be believed!
« Reply #18 on: March 30, 2006, 11:15:12 pm »
Marc,
         Ive spent the last 2 yrs waving at them each time I pass and they've only ever returned an acknowledgement once, and that was him. Glad its not just me.  Cheers Nick