thinking of getting some stilts for some big ceilings I have coming up. I have never used any so are they as easy as they look? And what's the best ones to get value for money. Got about 3 weeks of high ceilings to do 3 metres to 3 and half would stilts be high enough?
Any recommendations and tips on using them welcome
Got some sur-pro 24-40. Pricey but nice.
I'm 5'9" and these are perfect from 2.4m up to 3m.
3.5m is a shitty size as it's the bottom end of big stilts (48") which means they wouldn't be any good for your 3m.
Advice:
For 3m height, you need a high spot to sit and put them on. Don't try jumping up on them like some show off youtuber.
Pick your feet up higher than normal when walking. Feels weird but you really don't want to be scuffing the stilts across the ground.
Don't walk backwards. And never walk backwards. Or backwards.
Clear everything to the edge of the room (or preferably out). No extension leads.
Bigger the room, the scarier it is. Practise around house on lowest setting for a while and read the instructions to get them adjusted and comfortable. Hallway is a good starting point, plenty to grab on to.
Once you can walk OK, practise with a dry hawk and trowel 'shadow-skimming' your hallway.
Scrim-up a few jobs on them first as scrimming means you are always touching a surface so it gives you a bit of support.
If you don't have one, get a labourer for first few jobs with a spare hawk for fast loading. Doing it one-man is fine but it's just more sh1t to think about when you really don't need it.
It's just so nice to do ceilings without hopping up-down or balancing on some crappy scaffold board.
Also handy for painting, one rollers, stilt man cuts in.