What can I stand on when working at height?

[VegemiteSandwich]

I hope to do some work on our sash windows. Some of them are painted shut, some of the panes are cracked, some of the woodwork is rotten and they need painting.

Sod's law means that all the ground floor ones are fine - it is only the upstairs windows that have the problem.

I don't much fancy doing this sort of thing off an extension ladder. I'm not keen on hiring anything as I feel that this project is going to take AGES. I'm happy to buy something - either second hand or new - as I can always sell it on afterwards when I'm finished/give up and pay someone else to do it.

I reckon that to reach the top of the upstairs window I will need to have my feet about 3.2 metres off the ground. I don't know what I'm looking for though. What should I be typing into google and ebay? I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

 

[Burnerman]

A mobile scaffold tower is what you are looking for - the type which you erect and dismantle yourself. For that sort of height you're looking at a professional one though.
Most have adjustable feet for uneven standing, some have bogey wheels etc.
John

 

[VegemiteSandwich]

Wow, pricey!

OK, perhaps hire doesn't seem so bad after all.

 

[Diyisfun]

Wow, pricey!

OK, perhaps hire doesn't seem so bad after all.

Dont pay their list price, tell them you have lots of stuff to hire over the next few months, you should expect a discount on tower of up tp 50%

 

[Symptoms]

Vegy - you can do all the repairs/renovations to sash windows from the INSIDE, infact it's the preferred method.

 

[stevethejoiner]

look at the Mighton direct website. They have dedicated video tutorials with regard to sash window restoration. http://www.mightonproducts.com/article/14/sash-window-tv

You will see that its all done from the inside. However if the outer box frame is rotten and you have to do repairs to the cill or outer faces of box frame sections then you will require a working platform.

 

[stevethejoiner]

look at the Mighton direct website. They have dedicated video tutorials with regard to sash window restoration. http://www.mightonproducts.com/article/14/sash-window-tv

You will see that its all done from the inside. However if the outer box frame is rotten and you have to do repairs to the cill or outer faces of box frame sections then you will require a working platform.

In addition to what I said above I would do the following.

Remove the internal staff bead all round, take out the bottom sash (look at the video tutorials by mighton to find out how to do this so you do not drop the weights down into the bottom of the boxes)
Remove the parting bead and then remove the top sash.
Now board the frame up with ply by cutting it in between the box sides, top, and cill.
Retire to your shed, garage or lounge floor with the two sashes and take your time and restore them.
When they are done and refitted, move onto next window.
That way you spend as little time as possible on the steps and have more control of your project.

 

[VegemiteSandwich]

Thank you for the link to the website - it looks like it might be very useful.

I guess I thought that I would do one stage a time - I mean, replace all the broken panes, then do all the minor repairs, then sand and paint them all. For some reason it hadn't really occurred to me to just focus on doing everything on just one window at a time.

I can see that I can probably do more from the inside than I had imagined. I THINK that the outer box frame is OK, just needs sanding and painting - maybe a small enough job to manage from an extension ladder.

I'll try to haggle on the hire price. I hadn't realised that there could be any flexibility there. But hopefully I won't need to hire anything

I reckon the hard part for me will be getting the sashes out of the frames (but that should be easier thanks to stevethejoiner's link!) However, since a few of the cords are missing I have to learn how to do it anyway.

I'll wait until the warmer weather comes, but I'm feeling more confident about it now! And luckily I know a great kitchen/bathroom/wardrobe/handyman who I wouldn't be too embarrassed phoning up halfway through the project if I find halfway through that it's all too hard

 

[foxhole]

I bougt a 4X6 tower to use on my renovation project, £150 delivered, not on wheels though.