Maybe contact a tree trimmer that works in the area. They usually have those bucket lifts. Maybe you could even have him drop off wood at the same time and get a free wood score.
How to Get Up on the Roof?
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midwestcoast
Minister of Fire
DAKSY said:
This is basically how I installed my liner, pour-in insulation, cap....and cleaned this year. Couple differences: My roof is much steeper pitch & chimney-top is right about 30'. I didn't feel secure just hooking the straps to ladder rung. If the ladder were to shift somehow one side could loosen & unhook...so I used carabiners to secure strap to ladder. If I had a non-masonry chimney like yours & intended to do my own cleaning I might install 2 permanant eyes to the side of the chase to clip ladder to in future (lag-screwed to studs & sealed). I also wear a harness & clip myself to the ladder. That part just makes me feel more secure & less nervous. Use a rope & helper to pull-up any supplies that don't fit in your pockets.
Better to not go up on a rainy, windy or very cold day, you want to be comfortable to be safe.
ckarotka
Minister of Fire
I'm with Carbon _Liberator on this one. 40ft ladder and sit right on the flashing. Under the flashing should be at least 1/2 plywood. I was a siding contractor for 10+ years so I really don't see a problem. Just dig in the ladder on the slope so it's footed well and won't move side to side before climbing.
Imagine getting the last piece of siding on that chase all the way around, this situation is not bad compared to some I've done. I may have even done the ladder in the back hoe a few times :gulp: Using the 40ft ladder in this case is really less dangerous than multiple ladders on different levels, and an easier setup. Use the stabilizer you just bought and that ladder will be very steady, just go slow and if you freeze up call FFjake, he'll bring the ladder truck down to save you :lol:
Really just work to your comfort level, it's not worth getting hurt over.
Charlie
Imagine getting the last piece of siding on that chase all the way around, this situation is not bad compared to some I've done. I may have even done the ladder in the back hoe a few times :gulp: Using the 40ft ladder in this case is really less dangerous than multiple ladders on different levels, and an easier setup. Use the stabilizer you just bought and that ladder will be very steady, just go slow and if you freeze up call FFjake, he'll bring the ladder truck down to save you :lol:
Really just work to your comfort level, it's not worth getting hurt over.
Charlie
Here is a link to how I installed my liner. I use this set up every year when I clean it.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/14389/
Basically, Ladder to roof...another ladder laying on the roof with hooks...then I carry up the platform (in parts) and assemble on the roof. Takes about an hour or so to set it all up, but now I am safe and comfortable up there. I grew up painting houses/condos for work, so being scared of heights is not the problem.
I tried a ladder against the chimney...did not like that as I needed to move around too much once up there.
I tried not using the platform, but the top of the chimney was too high to work comfortly.
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/14389/
Basically, Ladder to roof...another ladder laying on the roof with hooks...then I carry up the platform (in parts) and assemble on the roof. Takes about an hour or so to set it all up, but now I am safe and comfortable up there. I grew up painting houses/condos for work, so being scared of heights is not the problem.
I tried a ladder against the chimney...did not like that as I needed to move around too much once up there.
I tried not using the platform, but the top of the chimney was too high to work comfortly.
if you use the stakes it would be a good idea to clamp them to the ladder, I have a tall chimney like that and when I go up there I drive wood stakes into the ground and use a c grip and clamp them.
you could also dig one side of the ladder in the ground to make it level.
looks to like a 40' ladder may not be enough?????
When I had a leak in my flashing at the chimney top I went in the attic on a rainy day and looked up that chase with a flash light and I could see where the water was coming in, so when I did go on the roof I new just where the water was coming from.
what ever you do ......BE CAREFUL
you could also dig one side of the ladder in the ground to make it level.
looks to like a 40' ladder may not be enough?????
When I had a leak in my flashing at the chimney top I went in the attic on a rainy day and looked up that chase with a flash light and I could see where the water was coming in, so when I did go on the roof I new just where the water was coming from.
what ever you do ......BE CAREFUL
Call a sweep. About what you pay for annual maintenance on a furnace anyway.
That is as far to the ground as I am when cleaning my chimneys and it ain't gonna be too much longer before my old wobbly kneed old ass just ain't gonna do it anymore. Quit going out to the edge to clean the gutters last year.
But I will send a camera up there with the sweep and get a look at the pic down that pipe before he gets paid. :smirk:
That is as far to the ground as I am when cleaning my chimneys and it ain't gonna be too much longer before my old wobbly kneed old ass just ain't gonna do it anymore. Quit going out to the edge to clean the gutters last year.
But I will send a camera up there with the sweep and get a look at the pic down that pipe before he gets paid. :smirk:
I'm too cheap to buy another ladder..i have a similar situation..i use a step ladder to the first level,then i reach down and grab the ladder and bring it with me,and set up to get to the next level.
Just an update to say I'm still in one piece.
I got up there with the ladder leaning on the siding next to the chase. It turned out the ground wasn't sloped enough there to use the leveler, but it needed a little something so I used a 2x4. I drove a piece of rebar into the ground by each leg and tied them to the ladder. I didn't tie the ladder to the chase at the top because it was up against the chase, it would've added a little difficulty to get a rope around the chase and then tie in. Plus, I had a rope in my hand that was tied to the other side of the ridge (I didn't cross the ridge). That rope provided some confidence on the roof, for sure - was hoping at the time that I tied the knots well.
What I found up there seemed to match the documentation that came with the house: a Selkirk Metalbestos SSII chimney. Of course I didn't take any pictures or take a magnet with me to see if it was stainless (assuming that the 'SS' stands for stainless and that it's non-magnetic). The original installation didn't seem like a totally fantastic job, but I'm no expert. There were two weak braces for the ~ 3' or so chimney made of cheap pipe hanger-type stuff that had broken, there wasn't any storm collar as mentioned in the documentation, just a cone-shaped flashing that had a big gap to the metal chase cap. I figure the driving rain from the tropical storm we had that one day pushed it in there and then down the pipe - I've never noticed anything before or since. The other mastic seemed to be in good shape. I globbed a tube of silicone caulk in the gap at the flashing and the cap and called it a day. I had to make two trips because my handy-dandy rope idea for hauling up a bag of stuff snagged on something: note to me-that rope could be cause for slippage.
Anyway, thanks for all the help.
I got up there with the ladder leaning on the siding next to the chase. It turned out the ground wasn't sloped enough there to use the leveler, but it needed a little something so I used a 2x4. I drove a piece of rebar into the ground by each leg and tied them to the ladder. I didn't tie the ladder to the chase at the top because it was up against the chase, it would've added a little difficulty to get a rope around the chase and then tie in. Plus, I had a rope in my hand that was tied to the other side of the ridge (I didn't cross the ridge). That rope provided some confidence on the roof, for sure - was hoping at the time that I tied the knots well.
What I found up there seemed to match the documentation that came with the house: a Selkirk Metalbestos SSII chimney. Of course I didn't take any pictures or take a magnet with me to see if it was stainless (assuming that the 'SS' stands for stainless and that it's non-magnetic). The original installation didn't seem like a totally fantastic job, but I'm no expert. There were two weak braces for the ~ 3' or so chimney made of cheap pipe hanger-type stuff that had broken, there wasn't any storm collar as mentioned in the documentation, just a cone-shaped flashing that had a big gap to the metal chase cap. I figure the driving rain from the tropical storm we had that one day pushed it in there and then down the pipe - I've never noticed anything before or since. The other mastic seemed to be in good shape. I globbed a tube of silicone caulk in the gap at the flashing and the cap and called it a day. I had to make two trips because my handy-dandy rope idea for hauling up a bag of stuff snagged on something: note to me-that rope could be cause for slippage.
Anyway, thanks for all the help.
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