Cleaning walls & ceilings, can't go up ladders

[Jim]

OK bit of a weird one this one, I want to repaint the walls and ceiling
in my living room with a fresh lick of paint but of course i want to
give them a decent clean before i do so, however I have issues climbing
ladders, so i was wondering what would people suggest i do?
I was going to buy a new simple sponge mop, some thing a bit like this

http://www.zoomukltd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2456_Sponge-Mop.jpg

and use it in combination with sugar soap, will this do the job or is
there some kind of "tool" that will do a better job for me.

Thanks

Jim

[Phil L]

Giving it a lick of paint using roller poles and brushes on sticks is a good
idea for those not able to use ladders and I often use this method myself
for the 1st coat, but cleaning ceilings is a different ballgame.
The chemicals will be running down your arms and also may get into your
eyes.
It's hard to get rid of smears and drips, leaving ugly brown marks
everywhere (I'm assuming it's smoke?) And then there's the electrics -
having soapy water running down walls while you are holding a wet, metal
pole isn't a good idea.

This might be a job for a painter and decorator, orat least get someone who
can go up ladders to clean first, then you can paint it yourself

[Roger Mills]

How high is the ceiling? If you can't go up a ladder to clean it, how
are you going to paint the tops of the walls? [You can paint the ceiling
with a roller with an extension handle, but you need to be able to reach
the tops of the walls with a steady hand to paint *up* to the ceiling].
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

[Phil L]

Roger Mills wrote:
> On 10/03/2012 16:37, Jim wrote:
>> OK bit of a weird one this one, I want to repaint the walls and
>> ceiling in my living room with a fresh lick of paint but of course i
>> want to give them a decent clean before i do so, however I have
>> issues climbing ladders, so i was wondering what would people
>> suggest i do? I was going to buy a new simple sponge mop, some thing a
>> bit like
>> this http://www.zoomukltd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2456_Sponge-Mop.jpg
>>
>> and use it in combination with sugar soap, will this do the job or is
>> there some kind of "tool" that will do a better job for me.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Jim
>
> How high is the ceiling? If you can't go up a ladder to clean it, how
> are you going to paint the tops of the walls? [You can paint the
> ceiling with a roller with an extension handle, but you need to be
> able to reach the tops of the walls with a steady hand to paint *up*
> to the ceiling].

Assuming the walls and ceiling are a different colour.
If they're both white or maggy, it's easy to just run a wide brush on a pole
along, lapping a few inches onto both

[Jim]

Sorry guys should have explained myself better, the reason for cleaning
is not smoke or anything like that but i have one of those flats that
have kitchen and living room all in one (bit of a bachelor pad) and it's
just normal grime from over the years and i suspect a fair amount of
grease from cooking over the years so i presume it will need some kind
of sugar soap mix and that mop idea I can protect my eyes with goggles
and to stop the solution running down my hands and arms I was going to
use some old rags/t-shirts and wrap it around the mop pole so it would
be soaked up, the walls and ceiling will be different colours and I have
been able to sort a deal out with some one who can paint edges for me
but funds are VERY tight and can't even afford to pay him to do all the
washing, when it comes to painting I'll be doing it all except where
ceiling joins walls and for my part i'll be using roller on a pole kind
of job

[Mathew Newton]

On Mar 10, 4:37 pm, Jim <luckyjim2000_2...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> OK bit of a weird one this one, I want to repaint the walls and ceiling
> in my living room with a fresh lick of paint but of course i want to
> give them a decent clean before i do so, however I have issues climbing
> ladders

If you don't mind me asking; what are the issues? The reason I ask is
that in the case of my wife she's too nervous to climb a conventional
ladder, or a step ladder, however she's fine with something like this:

http://www.laddersalesdirect.co.uk/step-ladders-2/3-tread-step-stool-150kg-capacity-chrome.html

It has a very wide base so is rock solid in use, and with the large
steps to stand on it feels very secure. The rounded bar at the top
also provides some support - both physically and mentally.

I use it all the time now around the house - far easier than using
step ladders even though I don't mind 'em.

Mathew

[Mathew Newton]

On Mar 10, 6:59 pm, Mathew Newton <use...@newtonnet.co.uk> wrote:
> On Mar 10, 4:37 pm, Jim <luckyjim2000_2...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > OK bit of a weird one this one, I want to repaint the walls and ceiling
> > in my living room with a fresh lick of paint but of course i want to
> > give them a decent clean before i do so, however I have issues climbing
> > ladders
>
> If you don't mind me asking; what are the issues? The reason I ask is
> that in the case of my wife she's too nervous to climb a conventional
> ladder, or a step ladder, however she's fine with something like this:
>

> http://www.laddersalesdirect.co.uk/step-ladders-2/3-tread-step-stool-...

Actually, this is the exact one we've got (Abru 3 Tread Stepstool):

http://preview.tinyurl.com/6wp96aq

Mathew

[NT]

On Mar 10, 6:46 pm, Jim <luckyjim2000_2...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On 10/03/2012 18:01, Phil L wrote:
>
> > Roger Mills wrote:
> >> On 10/03/2012 16:37, Jim wrote:
> >>> OK bit of a weird one this one, I want to repaint the walls and
> >>> ceiling in my living room with a fresh lick of paint but of course i
> >>> want to give them a decent clean before i do so, however I have
> >>> issues climbing ladders, so i was wondering what would people
> >>> suggest i do? I was going to buy a new simple sponge mop, some thing a
> >>> bit like

> >>> thishttp://www.zoomukltd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2456_Sponge-Mop.jpg

There's no way youre going to get kitchen grime off using a pole, or
sugar soap. Kitchen muck is the worst stuff to shift, and demands the
evillest chemicals. Freshly boiling water and cream cleaner will shift
a fair bit, ammonia can finish the job, but you've got to be up close
to rub it hard.

Roller on pole can paint ok, but there's no way you're going to get an
even vaguely neat line where one colour meets another. One simple
solution is to make the top of the walls white too, bring the colour
change down to where you can do it.

I dont know exactly what issue you have with ladders, but sometimes
people are ok with a large platform instead. A 4x8 sheet of 3/4" chip
on a couple of 2x3 timber frames, one each end, with high load
brackets as bracing can get you up as high as you like, with a lot
less issues than ladders have.

If you really need to save pennies, a £6 bag of builder's lime makes
about a quarter ton of cheap white paint. The texture isnt as smooth
as emulsion, but for a high up ceiling that's fine. If you're going to
use a roller with it I'd thicken it first with something, not sure if
wallpaper paste would work well enough.


NT

[MM]

On Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:44:11 -0800 (PST), NT <meow...@care2.com>
wrote:

>I dont know exactly what issue you have with ladders, but sometimes
>people are ok with a large platform instead. A 4x8 sheet of 3/4" chip
>on a couple of 2x3 timber frames, one each end, with high load
>brackets as bracing can get you up as high as you like, with a lot
>less issues than ladders have.

I, too, have a 'thing' about ladders, although I'm OK if they're not
too high. What would for me count as too high is the ceiling in the
hall above the stairs. This is about a 6 metre drop at the highest
point. Consequently, I have put off any DIY painting plans for the
hall and stairwell for five years now!

Your platform suggestion sounds interesting, but aren't towers for
this kind of access already available?

MM

[Andrew Gabriel]

In article <3bool7htkdln2qtdb...@4ax.com>,

When replastering the wall that runs from the ground floor floor
up to the first floor ceiling, I bought a couple of scaffold
planks, and cut them to straddle the stairwell opening length.
By themselves, they were a bit bouncy, so I then bolted the
off-cuts along the middle, which stiffened them up (the 'offcuts'
were not far off the lengths of the 'cuts').

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

[NT]

On Mar 11, 8:29 am, MM <kylix...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:44:11 -0800 (PST), NT <meow2...@care2.com>

Yes, you can pay 10x as much if you want. Making your own it can be
customised, any size, any shape, any features.


NT

[george [dicegeorge]]

Make a strong box out of ply or planks
jsut the right size to satnad on
and use it afterwards as a box.

or even easier-
A FEW PALLETS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER!

[g]