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When Is A Home-Made Ladder The Solution

wendy Rudd August 27, 2020 1
We would never recommend using a homemade ladder for any purpose where you intend to bear weight on it, but desperate times call for desperate measures, like for the inmates at Thane prison in India.  Nine inmates collaborated on an escape plan to flee the jail, with a handmade ladder intended to provide an escape route.  The gang had been building a ladder from iron pipes, believed to have been stripped from the plumbing system, bound together with elastic that had been taken from underwear.  The ladder was discovered in a construction area by prison guards who had been tipped off to the escape attempt. Also in India, residents in Bedam village by the Konar river collaborated on building a wooden ladder to access a bridge, part of which had been blown up 5 years previously, cutting off se...
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Upgrade Your Loft Ladder

wendy Rudd August 20, 2020 0
Few of us are in the financial position we expected to be in at the start of 2020.  January seems like a very long time ago, and a lot has happened in the last eight months, with more changes to come.  Some people may have lost their jobs or their businesses due to the pandemic, while others who can work from home may have saved money by not commuting or buying lunch every day.  If you booked a holiday for 2020 you may have lost money if it was cancelled or you decided not to go, while those who didn't book anything, hoping for a last minute deal, will have found they've been priced out, or there is no space left.  You may have also scaled back holiday plans, staying in the UK rather than travelling abroad and risking having to quarantine for two weeks on your return, If you're in the luck...
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How You Can Be Sure You're Buying A Quality Ladder

wendy Rudd August 13, 2020 0
One sure-fire way of guaranteeing you are buying a quality ladder is to purchase from Midland Ladders.  We're experienced in the rapid supply of all types of ladders to all industries, from window cleaning to HVG cleaning, from the domestic market to professional roofing ladders.  In many cases we work directly with the manufacturer to ensure you're getting the lowest possible price and not paying several intermediaries when you buy a ladder from us. You might think that ladders aren't affected by fakes, after all, they're not an everyday purchase and the market for ladders is nowhere near the scale as the market for food and drink – both things which are often adulterated, faked or stolen for a quick buck.  Ladders are actually subject to fakery too, as Trading Standards Officers in Suffo...
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When I'm Cleaning Windows

wendy Rudd August 06, 2020 0
There are many different types of ladder for all sorts of different jobs.  The average person could probably name an extension ladder and step ladder as types of ladder, but the reality is there are many more variations on the humble ladder than you might think.  Roofing ladders are designed to hook over the roof ridge and have spreader bars along the back to prevent damage to the roof surface.  Staircase ladders are designed to be set up across stairs and uneven surfaces, while multi-purpose ladders can be used as staircase ladders, straight ladder, step ladders and more.  In warehouses you would find podium steps – sturdy stepladders designed for use when picking orders with a large platform to make them comfortable to use for long periods, and wheels to make them easy to manoeuvre aroun...
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Ladders Made For Combat

wendy Rudd July 30, 2020 0
For most of us a ladder is a way to achieve the height we need for a particular task, such as changing a light bulb, clearing a gutter or putting things away in the loft.  Obviously, we need to be as safe as possible when we use ladders to avoid accidents and injury, but there are some ladder users for whom personal safety is a secondary concern – the police.  Police units and military forces use ladders to gain access to criminals and places they need to attack in the name of public safety, with less regard for their own.  In the heat of a police raid or a military attack the objective is paramount; everything that happens before the event, during, and after it is geared towards capturing the suspect so the ladders they use need to be extremely durable, stable and of a high quality capabl...
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Tips For Easier And Better Ladder Use

wendy Rudd July 23, 2020 0
Even the most experienced ladder users can learn something new about better ways to use their ladders, and it's often these old hands who come up with new safety devices and accessories for ladder users because they have literally been there and done it. We particularly like a tip from Reuben Saltzman, which is to use electrical tape on the parts of your ladder that will be rested against a house or a wall.  The electrical tape stops the ladder marking the surface it rests against, which is very important for tradespeople who regularly use ladders around a customer's home.  You could also use rubber or self-amalgamating tape to provide some grip, as well as protection.  Rubber tape can also be useful for adding grip to ladder rungs and for providing a softer edge with a better grip to tool...
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Unloading Vehicles Just Got Easier

wendy Rudd July 16, 2020 0
Loading and unloading goods vehicles can be heavy work, especially if the vehicle has no tailgate or items are to be unloaded from the side rather than the rear of the truck, where a hydraulic tailgate may make access easier.  Palletised items can be moved efficiently with forklift trucks, but there are a number of applications where cargo can't efficiently be loaded onto a pallet and where a single vehicle may be taking items to several depots, meaning some items must be removed from the middle or front of the vehicle. This poses a problem, especially for small depots which may not have a permanent loading dock from which to unload, but the answer lies in truck dock steps.  We carry models from two manufacturers; GPC Industries and Klime-ezee, with two, three and four tread models supplie...
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Keep Your Ladder Clean

wendy Rudd July 09, 2020 0
As the economy opens back up and people return to work the importance of maintaining social distancing and sanitary conditions is becoming more and more important to stop a second wave sending the country back into lockdown.  Although some construction work has been allowed to continue during the lockdown, and it was among the first industries to return, not all sites and jobs will have been able to abide by social distancing guidelines and this may still be a problem in some places. As construction workers return and other ladder using trades start to operate, it's vital that some new protocols are adhered to in the workplace, particularly around the matter of sharing equipment.  This should be avoided at all costs, so no-one should be using the same ladder or tools as anyone else on the ...
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How Ladders Keep People Connected

wendy Rudd July 02, 2020 1
Some time ago we brought you the story of the mountainside villagers in Atulie'er, China, who had been relying on rattan ladders to get to school and to trade supplies with the people living below.  After several fatal accidents and near-misses the authorities replaced the precarious homemade ladders with metal ones, fixed firmly into the mountainside, to make the perilous journey less dangerous.  Now, four years on from the installation of the new metal ladders, 84 households are moving down to ground level to a new community being built as part of Xi Jinping's plans to eliminate poverty, and the move has been welcomed by lots of the villagers.  Pregnant women and children are most at risk using the ladders, so they are among the first to move to the new community, while around 30 househo...
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Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

wendy Rudd June 25, 2020 3
Donald Trump's presidency has been mired in controversy since before he was even elected, and the border wall is a big part of that controversial legacy.  A key feature of his campaign, (which later led to one of the longest furloughs in American political history, as he tried to hold Congress to ransom for the funding) the border wall has been the subject of intense scrutiny ever since.  Shortly after the design was announced there were videos appearing online of children scaling replicas of the construction, proving that the supposedly impenetrable wall wasn't as robust as Trump would have you believe. There are continuing issues with land purchase for the construction, and in recent high winds a section of the wall blew down into Mexico, leaving the border wide open.  Now, further issue...
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