1 - Something dropping on your roof, such as (a) debris from a taller, neighbouring building or (b) an overhanging tree branch that has broken off, or 

 

2 – a small localised whirlwind which can ‘lift’ your roof slates/tiles. 

 

It doesn’t really matter how it happened, what matters is how are you going to deal with it! 

 

First, it’ll be a bit of a shock, discovering that you have a hole in your roof. 

 

Second, you think it’ll be expensive, time consuming and messy to sort out. 

 

Third, where do you start looking to solve your broken roof? 

 

 

Here at High Reaching Solutions, we not only supply tracked spider access platforms, with or without qualified and experienced operators, we also undertake works such as roof and gutter repairs and also gutter cleaning. The accompanying photos are of a property in Pickering, North Yorkshire where the owner had discovered that they had a hole in their roof, it could be seen from across the road. Their first call was to their ‘decorator/handyman’, who immediately suggested to them to call us, which they did. 

 

Selina, High Reaching Solutions, Platform Basket 22.10 EVO tracked spider was booked to attend site with a qualified operator, as although our client had their own qualified operators, they were not proficient with tracked spiders. 

 

To gain access to the work area Selina had to first pass through a narrow gap between a wall and structural equipment, so her tracks had to be placed in the ‘narrow’ setting and her basket removed. Her basket was then carried to where she would be sited. 

 

Having set Selina’s tracks to narrow presented another issue to overcome. After passing through the narrow gap and to allow her outriggers to be deployed on the wall side, she needed to be as close to the structural equipment as possible. This meant that one track had to climb up a concrete step whilst leaving the other track on the lower level. This wouldn’t be a problem in normal circumstances, however, being close to the wall meant that the sideways lean created climbing the ‘step’ with one track would cause Selina’s boom to come into contact with the wall. To rectify the lean our experienced operator drove Selina onto her outrigger spreader pads, which were placed under the ‘lower’ track as her ‘upper’ track climbed the ‘step’, lessening the lean angle. She was then driven toward the set-up area with one track on the higher concrete ‘step’ and the other track on her outrigger pads, moving the pads from front to back as we went. 

 

Recently High Reaching Solutions were asked to assist with an awkward glazing repair. The contractors needed a solution to reach the damaged glazing panels, which were on a curved walkway tunnel, safely and efficiently. 

 

 

High Reaching Solutions selected Lottie, our 20m tracked spider Lithium Hybrid, not for her high working ability, but for some of her other attributes; 

 

 

• Ability to get to the worksite through a narrow access opening. 

• Able to set-up in a tight, awkward and sloping area. 

• Reach up and over the tunnel to work from above. 

• To use her rotating basket to get as close as possible. 

• But most importantly, to use her quiet Lithium Battery power so as to not disturb those close by. 

 

 

 

We hope you like the photos and if Lottie or one of her sisters can assist you with a project then please get in touch via our contacts page and we will get back to you. 

Selina, our Platform Basket 22.10 EVO, using her adjustable leg settings in this situation and utilizing her 10m of outreach to allow contractors to gain access to a roof to carry out repairs. There was not enough room in the garden for a smaller tracked spider to get their outriggers down. 

 

She certainly impressed our client with her smooth and sturdy operation. Using her radio remote controls enabled our experienced operator, whilst working from the ground, to manoeuvre our client in the basket to wherever he needed to be safely and efficiently by allowing all-round visibility. 

 

The property hadn’t been decorated for some years due to the awkwardness of its location in the grounds combined with a ground floor extension on one side, conservatory on the opposite side and an old slab-paved patio in the middle, which also contained large and heavy stone garden ornaments. 

 

The only access to the side with the extension and to the patio area further on was via a narrow, sloping and twisting gravel path. 

 

Our client of several years had a project in Leeds to decorate the exterior of an apartment block. Most areas were easy to gain access to via a mobile boom lift, however the rear created somewhat of a challenge for them due to the restrictive narrow access. 

 

On realising the difficulties of the task they gave High Reaching Solutions a call and ask for Selina, our Platform Basket 22.10 EVO Hybrid. Having used her before they knew her 10.5 meters of outreach at 11 meters up and multi positioning stabilizer settings ensured that their experienced decorator would be able to get to the furthest point they needed to from the restrictive setup space. 

 

They also knew that she was very quite when using her Lithium Ion batteries.