[*thomas james]

a

[gary evans]

Thomas

We do 60ft & i think that is plenty enough, changing every couple of minutes with a 2 man team.

We use Tucker upto 45ft then ionics ergo lite to 60ft.

Tucker do say you can go upto 80ft with 3 man team, the third man has to be on roof with rope around top of pole to assist other two with poling. I personally would not like to go above 60ft without major assistance fom supplier & training to ensure h&s is ok & no major injuries to staff could occur.

The other option is to reduce the size of cherry-picker then pole from that, but same again check with suppliers on max. height. Look on Tucker sitethey have a couple of jobs where this has been done, but, you would need a banksman on the ground permanently throughout job to assist, so thats additional labour.

Hope this helps.

Gary

[steve k]

a risk assessment will qualify the use of a cherry picker due to the risk of injury to the pole users workng a pole at that height. They only want a pole used to cut the cost. I would suggest quoting with a cherry picker with a covering leter and copy of risk assessment explaining the potential short term risks from handling such a long pole at that height to the user and people in the work area...and also the long term risk of skeletal and muscular injuries to any user of a pole at such heights.
Also point out that a 3 man team would have to do the job and be factored into the quote and it will be slow job and results could not be guaranteed at that height.

[trevor perry]

i have a gardiner supalite that goes to 60ft and more sections could easily be added because it is modular the weight wouldnt be a problem as the 60ft one can be used all day with little fatigue , the only problem i see would be it would have to be a really calm day as these poles cannot be used in the wind they are just to light and are impossible to handle at that height if windy. Try speaking to alex at gardinerpolesystems he will tell you more.

[Count Phil]

Tucker do an 83 feet two man pole that needs to be helped by a rope from the roof to steady it and lift it. See their site. Hard work it looks...

[steve k]

bear in mind the safety requirements of a lone worker on a roof...
Is there a communication system in place, to not only liase about movement of pole but for emergency use?
Is guard rail in place on roof?
Is there a safety wire for worker to clip lanyard onto?
If the roof worker is not to be hanging over the edge of the roof to guide the pole head, how does he do it effectively and safely?

Trust me, cost is coming into this...why not just use a cherry picker if cost is not an issue?

Quicker, easier and safer at those heights...with better results.
Just say: "too high for poles...I will use a cherry picker...here is my quote!"

[shammy davis jnr]

why not ab seil it ?? our subby one in for a day  will prob be cheaper

[sair]

hi thomas do you have the 60 super light


how many more sections do you think you require? and is it a busy area? 

the problem is theres no guarantee from suppliers and manufactures at this height.
 there are many of us who do just have a go at our peril after evaluating the risks yes i use the 72-78 by my self, the issue is the wind, trajectory of the pole, where your working  all need to be taken into account and also the cost if it snaps on you.

sometimes its more can it be done than how much does it earn me

 
strengthen your pole from a carbon wrap company on outward joins and shorten the goose neck to add stability and if the sills are to deep don't bother. if you have picture of building e mail me and i ll take a look 

i think jeff brimble also does at 72,his a knowledge to talk to about the feather lights he uses 

i would nt go at 80 if theres too much of a outward positioning from the window 

hope thats helpful Thomas sorry didn't reply to e mail been very busy

tony
   

[sair]

i dont understand what you mean about the windows are 15 feet

i think the taper sectins are strong enough it just depends on the angle

a pic out of curiosity

[EasyClean]

Using a Tucker pole at 60ft is a real strain on the wrists and the back of the neck as it weighs a ton. I've done it once and would never do it again. I've used 'Gardiners' 60ft supalite pole and found the 2 main problems are picking a day with the least wind as these poles at that height will get blown around like a kite and you would have a hard time controlling it. The second problem being the long length of the gooseneck fitted. From 45ft -60ft the pole really starts to bend at the top if the brush is not resting against a wall or window. If working at 60ft or higher I would definitely recommend shortening the gooseneck to the minimum required and strengthening each connecting joint. Personally I would not go above 60ft with a supalite so anybody who does go higher has my respect.

[Chris A]

I've done a few aircraft control towers and It's not easy due to the angle of the glazing at that height but it can be done.

[Paul Coleman]

sair cant send a pic the client wont allow it, you probably can guess what type of site I am on.

imagine a window from 65 feet reaching to eighty feet, and you are pulling the pole downwards and out, you would push the superlite up the wall to get the height
and probably come out 13 feet to keep the angle narrower, but as you come down the window and the angle increases as you walk back, then i recon the pole becomes vulnerable from top to middle sections as the angle increases

just my opinion, i would love to be proven wrong

easyclean i know the tucker pole is heavy, but if i am going to get the client to include the cost of the pole in to the contract i need to give them some sort of guarantee that the pole works, and up until know tucker are the only people to guarantee 80 feet and put their name to it.At 80 feet the pole weights 18kg

it will become a manual handling problem, but then that is another problem to overcome later

thomasjames

Got you now.  The 15' length is actually 15' height.
I've never worked with a pole at anything like this height myself (only been to 36') but I will offer a thought on it as I now think I understand your problem.  Is it feasible to do say, go along brushing and rinsing the top half of the windows, get to the end, then drop a section or two from the pole and go along brushing and rinsing the bottom half (or even do it in thirds).  Would shortening the pole in this way enable you to keep the pole reasonably vertical and reduce the strain on the pole joints (and your own)?  I know these poles are very light so would it be possible to drop that section or two without laying it on the ground (i.e. while it's still vertical)?  I realise that there might be an effect on quality half way up the windows but perhaps if you overlap the sections of glass where you brush and rinse and make sure you rinse well this would not show up? Even if it does show up a bit on some windows, it's probably the best they would get from anyone working at ground level.  Sorry if this is impractical as I've not worked at that height but I have handled a superlight pole briefly at lower heights so know how light they are.

[EasyClean]

'Tucker' poles are the only ones who will guarantee their poles won't snap at this height using a minimum of 2man team (1 up top with the rope attached to the top of the pole to assist in guiding it) and 1 at the bottom doing the work. If you decide to use the Tucker with 2 men at the bottom swapping over after short periods of time then all I can say is that it will drain the energy out of them and they will be completely exhausted after the job is done and will dread the next time they have to go back to clean it again no matter how good an earner this job is.

[Pat Purcell]

can it not be abseiled

[Paul Coleman]

can it not be abseiled

Pat.  If you look quite a way up this thread, Thomas says that the customer wants it done from the ground.

[gary evans]

Thomas

One more thing if you go ahead with Tucker, make sure you have the new pennel clamps as this makes them more rigid.

I,ve used Tucker for over 4 years & personally prefer them over other poles.

I have tried Tucker upto 60ft & there was a lot of bend. To push the pole up the glass was very difficult, if there is rebates or lips to frames you will find it difficult.
Most poles you can move whilst holding, it,s easier to lower but to floor use foot & gently pull pole this eases it of frames & places no strain on body.

Hope this helps, but my opinion is i would not do it this way.

Gary