UPVC window strength

[ShadownINja]

Not sure where to post this - here or in the sports section.

I want to clean the gutter and was thinking about safety. I will wear a climbing harness and attach myself to the house somehow. Two ideas spring to mind:

1) Using the UPVC window frame to support a rope or sling - so I open the windows a bit and tie the rope round the frame. Or use a sling connected together with a carabiner that links to my harness. Will the window frame hold my weight?
2) Loop a 3m sling round doorhandles connected to a quickdraw then another sling to carabiner to harness. Will doorhandles hold my weight?

In either case, the climbing gear will hold my weight so it's just the house that I am concerned with. Should the ladder fail or I slip, I should only fall halfway down the house and get a grazed elbow/face rather than needing a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I guess if both are likely to fail under weight, it should break my fall so I only fall one floor and in theory (because of the design of the harness) onto my feet... also if both fail, I'd rather replace door handles than a window frame.

Thoughts?

[andy43]

3) Hire scaffolding
4) Hire helicopter
5) Pay someone else
6) Live with dirty gutters
Bearing in mind I've seen fitters fit plastic windows with nothing more than an aerosol of expanding foam, I suspect options 1 and 2 may lead to injury, Ninja-style

[JR]

Secure a beam/pole/frame/something solid across the window opening on the inside of the house, open the window and attach to your beam/po...

[ShadownINja]

Oh. "Pay someone" is another option. I like "helicopter" the best. Mission: Impossible style, cleaning the gutter.

[rsv gone!]

just hire a cherry picker. you get to play with a new gadget!

Edited by rsv gone! on Thursday 23 September 15:55

[ShadownINja]

Ok, another idea...



I open all windows, run rope out one window and through another in another room so a brick wall supports the weight. Yes, I have enough rope.

[JR]

rsv gone! said:

just hire a cherry picker. you get to play with a new gadget!

Excellent and you can hire a helicopter to move it from one side of the house to the other!

[rsv gone!]

ShadownINja said:

Ok, another idea...



I open all windows, run rope out one window and through another in another room so a brick wall supports the weight. Yes, I have enough rope.

Although if your pointing is bad then you could pull the facework out. (Unlikely, but brickwork and blockwork is weakest in tension).

OR attach rope to the towing eye of your car, up through the front window of your house and through to the back??

[andy43]

ShadownINja said:

Yes, I have enough rope.

Are there, by any chance, two blocks of flats near your house, ideally one block either side with your house in the middle?

[g4ry13]

I think "hire someone else" is the best option. "don't fall" being second best option.

[ShadownINja]

rsv gone! said:

ShadownINja said:

Ok, another idea...



I open all windows, run rope out one window and through another in another room so a brick wall supports the weight. Yes, I have enough rope.

Although if your pointing is bad then you could pull the facework out. (Unlikely, but brickwork and blockwork is weakest in tension).

OR attach rope to the towing eye of your car, up through the front window of your house and through to the back??

Hm, good point.

I like the car idea... I could throw the rope over the house and get someone to drive away so dragging me up the house.

[ShadownINja]

andy43 said:

ShadownINja said:

Yes, I have enough rope.

Are there, by any chance, two blocks of flats near your house, ideally one block either side with your house in the middle?

I don't have that much rope!

[JR]

ShadownINja said:

andy43 said:

ShadownINja said:

Yes, I have enough rope.

Are there, by any chance, two blocks of flats near your house, ideally one block either side with your house in the middle?

I don't have that much rope!

No problem: http://www.steelwirerope.com/GeneralWireRope/Stain...

[ShadownINja]

JR said:

No problem: http://www.steelwirerope.com/GeneralWireRope/Stain...

Given the static nature of that rope, if I fall, the ground will be the least of my worries. Being torn into 3 at the waist will be my more pressing concern.

[andy43]

I think the easiest and safest thing to do is replace the windows with stronger ally ones.

Now, will those gutters take your weight while you swing from them on a rope with a window in one hand and a can of expanding foam in the other...

[ShadownINja]

Ok, my mind's made up. I'm gonna move house.

For sale: 3 bed house in SW London; guttering need clearing. 50p, no offers; price reflects need to clear guttering.

Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 23 September 16:30

[andy43]

ShadownINja said:

Ok, my mind's made up. I'm gonna move house.

For sale: 3 bed house in SW London; guttering need clearing. 50p, no offers; price reflects need to clear guttering.

Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 23 September 16:30

I'm interested. Sounds good. Have the windows and patio been replaced? I hear the old frames have rope burn marks and the patio paving's all cracked...

[ShadownINja]

andy43 said:

ShadownINja said:

Ok, my mind's made up. I'm gonna move house.

For sale: 3 bed house in SW London; guttering need clearing. 50p, no offers; price reflects need to clear guttering.

Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 23 September 16:30

I'm interested. Sounds good. Have the windows and patio been replaced? I hear the old frames have rope burn marks and the patio paving's all cracked...

[nick_bbb]

I paid my window cleaner £10 to clear our gutters

[neilsfishing]

ladder and some one to foot the ladder