What now?

grumpy_codger

MysteryMe said:

The OP stated 4th floor, no one is interested in whataboutery.

So, how do they repair balconies on the 10th floor?

The tradesmen who presumably have visited the site have stated how will undertake the work which includes scaffolding. 

Hopefully, they are not the only tradesmen around. And, possibly, the OP contacted some biggish companies that are notorious for either avoiding small jobs or artificially exaggerating them. 

I needed rollers replaced on my sliding patio door and  all companies, big and small, wanted to replace the entire door. I couldn't do this on my own and finally managed to find a handyman who helped me to find the replacements and to do the job. This was about ten years ago and the door is doing fine.

I notice you have failed to actually give details of these other appropriate safety measures so feel free to state what they are to assist the OP. 

FYI it's called safety harness and works fine where there is something to fix it reliably to. 

BTW your original post failed to mention any safety measures at all and just referred to a "handyman"  

I'm neither a tradesman nor a handyman, but I can do almost any building work and would do this job without any harness. I already posted this photo here in the past in some thread about scaffolding that was allegedly  necessary. And no, they weren't my friends, I was in my friend's house across the street.

This roof I repaired for for my friends - and I did use some harness:

daveyjp

As previously stated the first job is to read the lease and ascertain which party is responsible for repairs to the balcony, anything relating to damage by the occupant and the insurance exclusions the freeholder is relying on.

Herzlos

RAS said:

Looking at your photo, the beam adjacent to flat wall is comprised? 

That's what I was thinking, if that needs replaced or even reinforced then that's a bigger job.

Plus given this is on the 4th floor, and not decking a foot above the ground, I'm assuming the regulations will be a lot stricter. The span shown there is pretty concerning too given I can't even see the next joist. 

Was there any damage to the deck below?

Herzlos

grumpy_codger said:

I'm neither a tradesman nor a handyman, but I can do almost any building work and would do this job without any harness.

I've watched amateurs and tradesmen alike doing some pretty stupid things, and the fact they survived unscathed doesn't make it a good idea. 

MyRealNameToo

grumpy_codger said:

MysteryMe said:

Scaffolding to 4 floors is going to be very expensive and well into 4 figures.  

And what if it's 10th floor?

It depends obviously... in our friends place the building has a cradle that comes down from the roof for window cleaning operations but are also used for maintenance issues too. 

Depending on the lay of the land scaffolding or a crane may be the cheaper/safer option. 

Our last gaff was effectively a 7-8 floor set of buildings, the roof and windows all needed replacing, the quote for the scaffolding alone was more than £1m 10 years ago. 

Martico

Herzlos said:

grumpy_codger said:

I'm neither a tradesman nor a handyman, but I can do almost any building work and would do this job without any harness.

I've watched amateurs and tradesmen alike doing some pretty stupid things, and the fact they survived unscathed doesn't make it a good idea. 

Or insurance compliant / legal. Working From Height regs are rightly pretty strict

grumpy_codger

Herzlos said:

grumpy_codger said:

I'm neither a tradesman nor a handyman, but I can do almost any building work and would do this job without any harness.

I've watched amateurs and tradesmen alike doing some pretty stupid things, and the fact they survived unscathed doesn't make it a good idea. 

'Stupid' is very personal. I watched people crossing empty streets on red light while other people thinking they were stupid and waiting for green light.
In Europe (and most of the world) 'stupid' people have electrical sockets in their bathrooms while 'clever' English people don't.

sheramber

grumpy_codger said:

Herzlos said:

grumpy_codger said:

I'm neither a tradesman nor a handyman, but I can do almost any building work and would do this job without any harness.

I've watched amateurs and tradesmen alike doing some pretty stupid things, and the fact they survived unscathed doesn't make it a good idea. 

'Stupid' is very personal. I watched people crossing empty streets on red light while other people thinking they were stupid and waiting for green light.
In Europe (and most of the world) 'stupid' people have electrical sockets in their bathrooms while 'clever' English people don't.

Fine if it is only you who is at risk- your choice.

A flat that is let out brings with it responsiblity for the safety of those renting it.  Those doing work will bear that responsibilty.  Can you pay out a large sum of compensation if a person is injured because your repair failed, resulting in serious injury?

The OP has the choice of using a firm that use scaffolding or finding one that uses harnesses- his choice.

grumpy_codger

sheramber said:

grumpy_codger said:

Herzlos said:

grumpy_codger said:

I'm neither a tradesman nor a handyman, but I can do almost any building work and would do this job without any harness.

I've watched amateurs and tradesmen alike doing some pretty stupid things, and the fact they survived unscathed doesn't make it a good idea. 

'Stupid' is very personal. I watched people crossing empty streets on red light while other people thinking they were stupid and waiting for green light.
In Europe (and most of the world) 'stupid' people have electrical sockets in their bathrooms while 'clever' English people don't.

...

The OP has the choice of using a firm that use scaffolding or finding one that uses harnesses- his choice.

I agree, but unfortunately using scaffolding and charging more doesn't necessarily mean doing the job better. Correlation is very weak, if not non-existing.

bobster2

MysteryMe said:

Scaffolding to 4 floors is going to be very expensive and well into 4 figures.  No reputable tradesman is going to risk working on a compromised balcony floor without appropriate safety measures in place, regardless of how small an area that may be.  Their own insurance would be invalidated if something untoward took place. 

There are clearly a series of balconies above each other.

Surely the issue here is not scaffolding - but whether the immediate downstairs neighbour will let them have access and stand on their balcony (not compromised) to repair the one above.