Something about a journey

[Sarah87]

The three points of contact rule for ladder use is the one that most people know and then immediately ignore once they start a task. Both feet and one hand, or both hands and one foot, at all times. The moment you free both hands to hold something is the moment the ladder becomes dangerous

[VB]

Working at height is the single most dangerous category of DIY activity in UK homes and also one of the most common. From painting external walls and clearing gutters to repointing chimneys and fitting roof tiles, thousands of UK homeowners attempt height work each year with equipment that is inadequate for the task. The Health and Safety Executive records that falls from height account for the majority of fatal accidents in domestic settings. Understanding the options, costs and safe working practices before you start is not bureaucratic caution, it is what separates a completed weekend project from a permanent injury.

For most DIY work up to two storey height the three practical options are a decent ladder used correctly, a tower scaffold, or a hired cherry picker. A quality fibreglass or aluminium combination ladder that extends to five metres costs between £80 and £150 from manufacturers including Werner, Hailo and Lyte, and a properly footed and angled ladder used with three points of contact is adequate for short-duration tasks. For longer duration work or tasks requiring both hands, a low-level platform or step tower is significantly safer and more comfortable. The Youngman and Zarges folding mini towers starting around £200 are the standard recommendation for up to three metres.

For external work above three metres, hiring a scaffold tower is the professional approach. A week's hire of a suitable tower from a plant hire company typically costs between £80 and £200 depending on height and your location. The tower needs to be erected on firm, level ground, secured to the building if used above one section's height and inspected before use. For chimney work or anything above three sections you should seriously consider professional scaffold rather than a hire tower. Cherry picker hire at approximately £250 to £350 per day is the option that trades cost for safety and speed and is genuinely worth considering for full-day external painting jobs.

Ladderswww.hse.gov.uk

[Coder22]

Tower scaffold hire at £80 to £200 for a week is the expenditure that most homeowners resist and then wish they had made after spending a day awkwardly reaching from a ladder. The comfort and safety improvement is not marginal, it is transformative