John wrote:
I have a hall, stairs and landing to paint. The ceilings are 9 foot high so
the highest point of the landing ceiling is 16 feet from the stair tread
directly below it, if you see what I mean. Due to a bannister rail and
spindles I cannot get a ladder across the stairs from the landing area. I
am thinking of using ladders and a plank or two to reach this part. Will a
scaffold plank supprt my weight (14 stone) over a 7 foot span and also where
can I get a plank from without resorting to nicking one from a building site
;^)? I live in Leeds.

Use a couple of lengths of 4x2 with some ply, OSB or similar nailed
to the top. Cut to lenght so that there's only a small gap between the
support nd the stair riser and end wall. Nail or tape some padding to
the ends. Keep the thing in the garage or somewhere for future use.
You could even consider making a hinged contraption specially for the
job.