The cogs of our company machine are slowly starting to whirr, freeing themselves of the dust and spider webs built up during lockdown!
With restrictions lifting this week, and many companies/traders returning to work, now is a good time to update you on our ‘steeplejacking’ activities.
Leicester Cathedral Flagpole Maintenance
Jutting out at heights far above the pitched copper roof of Leicester Cathedral, a flagpole was recently in dire need of repair.
Against the wet and windy weather, the team were tasked to install a new flag, halyard line and pulley system, so that the chin of pride may be lifted on the stunning heritage building once more.
As one might imagine, scaling a flagpole is no easy task, with the friction of ropes and slings acting as your mobile-weighting points as you shuffle your way to the top.
Add to this that there must be a rig-to-rescue system in place, so that the rooftop technician is able to lower the abseil technician to ground quickly and safely, and it becomes an all the more out of the box rope access system.
Having used our rope access methods to repair and maintain many flagpoles over the years, from this church tower in South London, to the flagpole of Blenheim Palace, and The Royal Courts of Justice’s incredibly high flagpole (we’ll upload photos of the latter projects shortly).
Surprising to many, any and all flagpole maintenance work can be carried out using rope access and steeplejack techniques alone.
One has no need for the contracting of a scaffolding firm, hire of a mobile platform (also known as a MEWP or ‘cherry picker’), or even the need a ladder!
The benefits of rope access flagpole maintenance:
- Protects the fragile roof lead from scaffold damage
- Allows the works to be completed no matter how narrow /unstable the ground is for mobile lift access
- Greatest speed from initial enquiry to completion, with most projects being quoted for using client photos alone.
Over the years we have conducted a wide range of such maintenance works to great success, all solely via roped access.
Some of the flagpole maintenance services we offer:
- Removal of the entire flagpole and lowering to ground
- Installation of a new flagpole
- Painting restoration to the entire flagpole
- Installation of Lightning Protection Systems (LPS) to the flagpole
- Threading of new flagpole halyard cord and pulley systems
- Fixing of flagpole support collars and cables (wire rope) into parapet/rooftop bolts
Flagpoles will remain one of our more interesting areas to work. This is partly due to the exposure experienced on such a narrow structure whist at such height, and the steeplejack systems created to achieve the safest and most efficient means of access possible.
It saves funds for the church, palace, hall and countless other establishments, stripping away the costs of scaffolding and other access methods, leaving only the task itself to complete quickly and with minimal disruption while the operatives abseils from the top.
..and what a spectacle it is!
