Steeplejacks

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urban

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Just wondering if anyone on here is a steeplejack?

How do you get into something like that... is it the age old apprenticeship route or are steeplejacks a dying breed now, remember fred dibnah saying all the chimneys are now going and the churches have no dollar, are steeplejacks a thing of the past?

I don't think I'd ever be able to comfortably climb a chimney so it isn't really an option for me, just curious.
 
Usually see crews of Brit Jacks during Shutdown times on Flarestacks / Chimneys over here,will check for Company name & post asap.

Meanwhile search Steeplejacks UK
 
Been taken over mostly by dopes on ropes but there are still plenty of firms out there . Did it many years ago , dodgy stuff . The steeple jobs look good from the ground but I can assure you up close they are pish . CITB still train I think and opito .
 
Used to watch them in Aberthaw PS and later in Antwerp.
They used to bolt ladders up the side of the chimneys to the level they were working on and then fix cantilever brackets on bolts into the brickwork. Fix the first, climb on to it, reach over and fix the next and so on, boarding completed sections until they had gone around the whole thing.
All the gear was pulled up with ropes on the jobs that i saw, but i'm sure a crane is used if it is available.
Looked pretty rough from the boarding point of view, but was acceptable in the day and not a harness in sight !
Best bit was when one of them needed a wee. Check the wind direction.......well, you can guess the rest..............
 
fred dibnah legend top man broke the mold after him one thing botherd me who was the camera man
 
Saw this up in Harrow earlier this year!!
 

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All materials used now by steeple jacks will be aluminum including brackets and ladders to take you to the top, all the materials will be hoisted up with an electric hoist, believe it or not they are quiet simple to do once you set your boatswain's chair chair up on the top, the hardest part is having guts and courage to go up there in the first place.
 
Mmm, lash a short ladder to another short ladder and tie into a building, not my cup of tea. Not sure if it's still there but I was looking at a scaffold on top of a church steeple in Townhead Glasgow a while back and these things have all been built the same way, usually with a 10 foot bay. Often thought I would love to meet their designer so I get him to do me a few 10ft bay jobs.
 
I guess the steeple jacks never got the tg20 memo.:(

---------- Post added at 07:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:04 PM ----------

Hope it comes down before the winds start.:eek:
 
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