[windows_chepstow]

I've just remembered one that Wor Lass did that really made me laugh.

When she first started working with me, she actually placed her A Frames onto a front door to clean the window above it.

The door opened and Wor Lass squealed as she fell forward, but luckily enough the customer was a hefty girl who saved Wor Lass from damage by using her ample 'chest' to halt the forward momentum of 'my better half'.

Luckily enough there was no serious injuries or civil lawsuites and stangely enough; she's still a customer; albeit a wary one.

Wor Lass first said that she didn't think anyone was in, so felt safe leaning the A Frames against the door.  Later, after a copious amount of ribbing, she changed her story to 'My A Frame slipped from the 'door frame' when the door was opened'.

Liar, liar pants... etc!  I would say the fault lay with me for not instructing her in some basic safety rules; but I thought I'd covered the obvious stuff.  I'm sure there's an old army saying that if it's possible that something can be done incorrectly, like trying to put ammunition into a rifle the wrong-way-round, someone will do it in that way.  When teaching squaddies stuff, you have to instruct at the level of the thickest recruit.

But putting your A Frames on a door... I would blame it on her Welsh genes, but Ian_Giles will only delete this line.

[windows_chepstow]

I nearly had an odd-accident that could've been very nasty this morning.

I climbed a ladder to a bedroom window which was open.  As I closed it I saw just underneath the window, on the bedroom floor a baby with a mother on her knees changing its nappy.

As the window closed it pushed a large mirror from the inside window sill forward - and it was about to fall directly onto the childs face.

I screamed like a little girl, but luckily enough the kids mother managed to catch the mirror before it smashed down onto the childs face.

She said it was her fault for placing it there; but it gave me a fright.

I don't care who was to blame; it could've been nasty for the little lass.

[Ian_Giles]

The Welsh have thick skins, they are used to insults, can't be worse than Anne Robinson....can it?

I had an amusing one today, I had to clean inside and out for a squaddie at our local barracks who was being posted elsewhere today.
This isn't an accident for the window cleaner though, this one is for the unwary customer
He was in and out, along with the removal men, I had just done the inside of the patio door, and had started on the outside of  that side with the WFP.
I had let the customer (A 6ft 2in Squaddie) back in through the patio door.

2 minutes later there was a hell a BANG! On the patio door.....the squaddie had tried to walk out through it without opening it first ...sn****r
There was a big greasy spot where his forehead had walloped the glass, I could hardly work for laughing.
He came out muttering and calling himself a right t(rest of word censored by myself with modertor hat on )

He did see the funny side though....so did the 2 removal men and his neighbour who was waiting for him at  the garden fence lol lol

If it was a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and he had been Elmer Fudd, his ears would have grown and his head would have turned into a Jackass's head.

Sigh.....made my day that did  


Regards,


Ian

[dai]

A few years ago I hada very lucky escape.
One day my triple aluminium extension blew over in the wind. I had left it propped against the wall while I did the bottoms. [it was not extended at the time], I examined it for damage and was relieved to see I had got away with it appart from a small dent in the middle of bottom section.
Several months later I was coming down the ladder and something didn't feel right.
I examined the ladder and was horrified to find that it had cracked all the way round where the dent had been, it was only attatched by one thin strip. I went cold, I had used it on 3rd floor work the day before.
Another wc told me that he had an alloy ladder break on him and he was lucky to escape unhurt. He carried his ladders on a trailer with a ladder bar. He had not padded the bar so that every time he hit a bump his ladder was rattling against it.
Eventually this had caused a weakness, it was at this point that the break occurred.
It tought me a lesson, don't ignore small dents, examine your ladders regularly,
If in daubt throw it out.
I have used wooden ladders with alloy rungs ever since. I have one big alloy triple that I only use on one commercial job, but not for long, I'm switching to WFP. Dai

[rosskesava]

I do the ground floor window because I'm so short at 5 ft 7 odd. I use an 8ft pointed ladder.

Today we were doing a place that we've been doing for 3 years but last week they'd had the front garden dug over.

I put my pointed ladder carefully in between the plants, the groove at the top located what I thought was securly, and grabbed hold of the uprights as you do, stepped up 5 or 6 rungs and one side sank in the loose earth and my fingers on one hand got squashed between the ladder and the corner of the bricks because the top of the ladder moved due to the soft earth under one leg of the ladder..

I havn't explained that very well but the end result of putting a ladder with one leg under loose earth and the other under compacted earth was a cut to two knuckles on two fingers down to the bone which were trapped between the ladder and the corner of the bricks. I will wait till the morning to see if I need to see the A & E.

The problem was my weight on the ladder meant I couldn't get my fingers out from behind it. The other two who I work with were round the back and I couldn't  just watch the blood going down the wall so in the end all I could do was pull my fingers out. It hurt. What a daft situation to get stuck in and how obvious was it in retrospect.

Very painfull.

So be carefull of soft earth even if you have a pointed ladder with that groove bit at the top to stop the ladder moving. It can still move.

Cheers with very sore knuckles on my left hand

[Sir Squeaky]

Ross,  You're right about soft earth.

I was up on the second tier once doing a straightforward window when one side decided to sink.

Luckily it all happened so slowly that as it went over I just stepped off onto the ground.

Might not be so lucky next time though!

Roger.

[rosskesava]

Money ............. what money?

[Sir Squeaky]

What?

[Davindo Cleana]

Got a bit careless extending the double pointers this morning and looked away when suddenly the top section, which hadn't lock on, came down a bit quick - a Norman Wisdom moment but could have broke my skinny wrists

thanks to earlier input form shaun and gazza  - i think - re: timber decking and
the crafty 'plastic-under-bark' ( I think I used to go there for my holidays)
it wasn't bark but chippings, that nearly caught me out the other day - even though I have laid stuff like this before, I never gave it a thought until I suddenly remembered the posting
THANKS

[gaza]

Davindo : YOU SOUND AS THOUGH YOUR AN ACCIDENT LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO HAPPEN.

 you owe me and Simon a pint at this bash if the forum can get it together
 GAZA

[Davindo Cleana]

That's a done deal Gaza - you'll be able to recognise me, as I always have a couple of people to stand front and back holding up warning triangles

[gaza]

no plaster of paris and crutches ave you heard of this new thing that peeps are on about wfp? apparently it cuts down accident rates ? the onlyway to ave an accident with it is if you drop your wage packet on your foot
GAZA