[reah]

hi all i was out with my pal today and unfortunately the ladders slipped from under him. The ground was a little damp the ladders are only about 2 months old and the feet are already quite worn.we do have a ladder stopper that we are now using in these conditions.chris was cleaning the bedroom windows.He did go to hospital but thakfully is ok.we used the 1meter for every 4meters Rule. Can any one offer any more help like larger ladder feet etc.all advise greatfully recived as it was quite a scare. Thanks Reah.  

[matt]

we use a ladder stopper and a bag of sand, them combined is fairly good

the ladder has been more than 45 degree's before now

[reah]

Thanks in these damp conditions i will keep using the ladder stoppers.the sand sounds like great advise any to keep us working safely will help. thanks Reah.

[Rob_Mac]

Fit some flat feet, drill through them and peg into soft ground using screwdrivers. Never had a slip doing this

[reah]

i heard about spikes sounds like a good idea,thanks

[wrighty]

I bought some Titan  double pointers and they are awesome.

Not being cheeky but are your ladders - trade quality and what make are they?

Also have you thought about a WFP.

I am gettign one and safety was a big plus on my decision.

Best of luck as you will need it whilst is is comming cold and icey,

Craig

[WavieDavie]

Hi REAH

and the feet are already quite worn

Is that the rubber, factory fitted, at the ends of the ladder stiles, or non-slip grips fitted to the end of the stiles?

There's a world of difference - and I haven't been on any ladders, even helping out on a mate's DIY one, without non-slip grips being fitted.

See http://www.ramsayladders.co.uk/productpages/accessoryframe.htm?203a-320
and look at "circular ladder feet" as opposed to "rubber end caps" which are fitted as standard, but in my view should be abolished.

[dave0123]

I use the flat rubber feet called (articulated feet)  i use these on all ladders and all my ladders are trade they really do grip i was suprised when i first bought some also i have seen some spikes you can get for soft ground. you push them into the soft ground and a wing nut tightens up. i seen these at Screw Fix Direct http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?id=10870&ts=29943

[Ian_Giles]

articulated feet work really well, have never needed spikes on soft ground, I just embed the ladder feet in to the grass or earth.
Ladder slippage always a risk, the more safeguards you put in the more you reduce the risk, but then you have to balance that with the time it takes you to do your job.
The average window, once you are in place, will take you about 90 seconds to clean. Some of the things you can get to stabilise ladders are really first rate, great if you are a painter and decorator spending 25 minutes painting a window Not quite so functional when you are hoping to only take 20 minutes to clean all of the windows on the house

I rarely use the 1 for 4 rule, guess that after 20 years as a window cleaner and prior to that, 12 years on ladders as a decorator, you instinctively know what is safe and what isn't.
There are occasions when you need the ladder so steep that you need pitons to climb it
If the ladder slipped then it was not set steep enough for the conditions.
But the addition of articulated feet to your ladders will make an enourmous difference, and is possibly the simplest thing you can do other than have someone footing the ladder for you
Personally I always like someone footing the ladder for me...................meant that if I did fall off there was going to be someone there to break my fall and at 15 stone that takes some breaking!! :-/

Now I use WFP, so that isn't going to be a problem for me anymore

Ian

[reah]

thanks for the sound advice i will purchase some articulated feet it seems everyone is using them.

[Colin_Glenn]

Something I always used when I had ladders was a couple of hand held garden forks. I used those nylon/plastic ones so they wouldn't go rusty in my bucket.

I would set up the ladder and then push them into the grass behind the feet. They go down a good 4 inches and if you angle them witht the handle toward the ladder there is less risk of them being pushed out of the ground.

If I was on those wooden patios I had a couple of old metal snot very gooders without blades. They are slightly wedge shaped and usualy will slot nicely into the spaces between the planks.

I also had heavy duty articulated feet. Wont climb without them.

Colin

[NBwcs]

Will articulated feet fit on a splayed ladder or are they only any good on straight legs? I have a Ramsey pointer with a splayed base width of 575mm and obviously the feet point slightly out.  Cheers Nick

[Ian_Giles]

All my pointers have articulated feet, the angle of the upright sections of the ladder not a problem


Ian