Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.

--
AnthonyL

Why do scientists need to BELIEVE in anything?

On 11/08/2020 12:55, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.


I worked extensively with ladders all my life and to be honest your post
worries me. Certain elements seem to add to a disaster scenario. You are
obviously working very high if your other ladder won't reach. Sounds
like you might be struggling to reach even with the wooden ladder.

"Old extension ladder rarely used" Alarm bells!

"Woodworm? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment."
Yes they will. They snap suddenly, even though they seem OK.

You're struggling with a rusted screw at the top of a dodgy ladder.
Alarm bells!

Regarding the light, rip it down and fit a new LED one. They cost about
£25 for a top quality one. 30W is the equivalent of 100W!

One last thing. A bloke in the next village to here had his feet no more
than four feet off the ground to change the tube in a halogen flood. He
slipped over, hit his head, and died the next day.

Bill

Chris Hogg wrote:

AnthonyL wrote:

Old extension ladder
Woodworm?

I inherited one of those when my mother died

I inherited one with my house, it was ok for a few years, but when it
started getting ropey I put a circular saw through the rungs so I
wouldn't be tempted to use it "just once more"

lid (AnthonyL) wrote in news:5f32858d.14382093
@news.eternal-september.org:

Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.


Change to LED.

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 14:20:26 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

snip

I inherited one of those when my mother died: rungs full of woodworm
holes. I doubt that it would have creaked, just snapped at a critical
point, probably when I was at the top, and then unzipped all the way
down.

snip

Dad was helping an old friend who was living on a boat on the East
coast. He was a few rungs up the (wooden) ratlines and sort of testing
how sound they were [1] as he went when one snapped and he did exactly
as you said and came back down through the rest like a zip.

Luckily he was wearing gloves, holding onto the shrouds and didn't
hurt himself outside a few scratches.

*Only* a lighthearted tale because he wasn't hurt.

Cheers, T i m

[1] Whilst they were potentially fairly old (as the boat / barge was
itself and he had no idea if they had ever been replaced and if so,
when) there was no obvious sign that they weren't ok. No woodworm or
softness / flaking / rot etc.

On 11/08/2020 12:55, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? ..

Burn it. The damage is hidden and the rungs may fail without warning.



--
Colin Bignell

On 11/08/2020 14:19, williamwright wrote:
On 11/08/2020 12:55, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs.Â* Woodworm?
Treatment?Â* The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.


I worked extensively with ladders all my life and to be honest your post
worries me. Certain elements seem to add to a disaster scenario. You are
obviously working very high if your other ladder won't reach. Sounds
like you might be struggling to reach even with the wooden ladder.

"Old extension ladder rarely used" Alarm bells!

"Woodworm? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment."
Yes they will. They snap suddenly, even though they seem OK.

You're struggling with a rusted screw at the top of a dodgy ladder.
Alarm bells!

Regarding the light, rip it down and fit a new LED one. They cost about
£25 for a top quality one. 30W is the equivalent of 100W!

One last thing. A bloke in the next village to here had his feet no more
than four feet off the ground to change the tube in a halogen flood. He
slipped over, hit his head, and died the next day.

Bill






+1.
Wooden extension ladders for external use and stored in shed, garage
or outside need an appointment with the bonfire or log burner.

Exactly look what happened to Rod Hull, messing about untethered on a roof.

Ally ladders are not that expensive and usually lighter and more stable. I
remember my old wood ladder it had tie pieces below the rungs to hold it
together, made of metal, but the rungs can still break and tip you off.
Brian

--
----- --
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"williamwright" wrote in message
...
On 11/08/2020 12:55, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.


I worked extensively with ladders all my life and to be honest your post
worries me. Certain elements seem to add to a disaster scenario. You are
obviously working very high if your other ladder won't reach. Sounds like
you might be struggling to reach even with the wooden ladder.

"Old extension ladder rarely used" Alarm bells!

"Woodworm? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment."
Yes they will. They snap suddenly, even though they seem OK.

You're struggling with a rusted screw at the top of a dodgy ladder. Alarm
bells!

Regarding the light, rip it down and fit a new LED one. They cost about
£25 for a top quality one. 30W is the equivalent of 100W!

One last thing. A bloke in the next village to here had his feet no more
than four feet off the ground to change the tube in a halogen flood. He
slipped over, hit his head, and died the next day.

Bill

On 11/08/2020 12:55, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.


You've had a unanimous answer!

Bill

On 11/08/2020 14:19, williamwright wrote:

Regarding the light, rip it down and fit a new LED one. They cost about
£25 for a top quality one. 30W is the equivalent of 100W!

Possibly 10W or 20W LED flood will give adequate light levels. Most
halogen floods are a social nuisance by illumination half the houses in
a street.



--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 21:41:59 +0100, alan_m wrote:

Possibly 10W or 20W LED flood will give adequate light levels.

We have a 10 W one, enables you to put the rubbish out without
falling over the car. Nearest street lights are over a mile away and
on cloudy moonless night it is dark out there, disturbingly dark.

Most halogen floods are a social nuisance by illumination half the
houses in a street.

Not helped by the majority of fittings having huge beam angles and
people installing them without checking where the spill is going.
Ours is as close to horizontal/pointing at the wall it is on as it'll
go and it still spills direct light further than I'd like.

IMHO Domestic flood lights should be limited to 60 degree beam width
and be constructed so they can't be tilted up very far.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On Tuesday, 11 August 2020 at 12:55:36 UTC+1, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.

Re screws in outdoor lights, if you fit them they will rust. Ali + steel screw + water = major corrosion. Other fixings can be used in lieu.


NT

On Wednesday, 12 August 2020 02:11:38 UTC+1, Nick Cat wrote:
On Tuesday, 11 August 2020 at 12:55:36 UTC+1, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.

Re screws in outdoor lights, if you fit them they will rust. Ali + steel screw + water = major corrosion. Other fixings can be used in lieu.


NT

But it isn't that fact that they are screws! Stainless is somewhat better. But ali will corrode almost whatever you do.

On Wed, 12 Aug 2020 01:15:48 +0100 (BST), Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 21:41:59 +0100, alan_m wrote:

Possibly 10W or 20W LED flood will give adequate light levels.

We have a 10 W one, enables you to put the rubbish out without
falling over the car. Nearest street lights are over a mile away and
on cloudy moonless night it is dark out there, disturbingly dark.

Most halogen floods are a social nuisance by illumination half the
houses in a street.

Not helped by the majority of fittings having huge beam angles and
people installing them without checking where the spill is going.
Ours is as close to horizontal/pointing at the wall it is on as it'll
go and it still spills direct light further than I'd like.

IMHO Domestic flood lights should be limited to 60 degree beam width
and be constructed so they can't be tilted up very far.

Mine are 120 deg. R63 LED pointing straight down. Can be seen from just
above horizontal but there's no dazzle from well below that. I could fit
GU10 120 deg - 60 deg. would be far too narrow and I'd need 2 in place of 1
to for the same area.
An R63 is very easy to limit by simple adding a 'skirt' if necessary.
--
Peter.
The gods will stay away
whilst religions hold sway

On 11/08/2020 16:20, nightjar wrote:
On 11/08/2020 12:55, AnthonyL wrote:
Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs.Â* Woodworm?
Treatment? ..

Burn it. The damage is hidden and the rungs may fail without warning.



Yes it's done for.

A firm near Billingshurt made wooden ladders for scaffolders, the
softwood poles arrived from abroad with bark on so the local forestry
officer would undertake a phytosanitary check at the dock. The poles
were then turned and split to form the two rails. Ash rungs from local
wood were turned from quarter cleft wood and every 4th IIRC rung had a
wire reinforcement underneath. I guess they went out of business in the
late 70s though I did supply some ash prior to that.

Ash borer is active above 17% moisture content but survives in the wood
down to 12% so the wood is never resistant to attack.

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 14:20:26 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:55:34 GMT, lid (AnthonyL)
wrote:

Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.

I inherited one of those when my mother died: rungs full of woodworm
holes. I doubt that it would have creaked, just snapped at a critical
point, probably when I was at the top, and then unzipped all the way
down. Wasn't prepared to risk it, and as I had an aluminium one I just
dumped it.


mmm - electrics, top of ladder. Wood sounds better.

--
AnthonyL

Why do scientists need to BELIEVE in anything?

On 12/08/2020 12:20, AnthonyL wrote:
On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 14:20:26 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 11:55:34 GMT, lid (AnthonyL)
wrote:

Old extension ladder rarely used as the aluminium one reaches most
parts I need but a light at the top of the gable (bungalow) has gone.

Noted that there are seem small neat holes in the rungs. Woodworm?
Treatment? The rungs seem robust enough at the moment - well I got up
and down a couple of times without any creaking (of the rungs - I
creak at the best of times).

Bloody screw to open the halogen spotlight has rusted on so well oiled
it and hope I can wiggle it loose in a few days time - Philips head of
course.

I inherited one of those when my mother died: rungs full of woodworm
holes. I doubt that it would have creaked, just snapped at a critical
point, probably when I was at the top, and then unzipped all the way
down. Wasn't prepared to risk it, and as I had an aluminium one I just
dumped it.


mmm - electrics, top of ladder. Wood sounds better.


I used a GRP ladder when working near enough to overhead wires for there
to be a risk I might touch them when moving the ladder. However, for an
outside light, the circuit should be isolated before you start working
on it.

--
Colin Bignell