I haven’t done many videos in my time, and my YouTube channel has been rarely used. But there was one video which I made (a very basic one) which I uploaded to YouTube three years ago that I had totally forgotten about.
The video was one which was filmed in secret from my parent’s house, recording a white van man carrying out a roofline installation in the worst way possible. Since I uploaded it it has had over 12,000 views which is fairly nifty. It was recorded in secret so please excuse the early movement and any odd sounds, but this was the dodgy installation in question:
Why Bother To Film It?
Well, at the time I was feeling rather frustrated at the number of cowboys getting away illegal work. That feeling still hasn’t changed. There are a ton of professional companies out there trying to do a good job by the letter of the law, losing business to idiots like this guy and customers who think this sort of practice is OK. So, out came the camera to document the reckless installation.
Firstly, it has been over-cladded. If any water gets in between the two boards, it won’t drain away. It won’t be long before rot sets in and larger problems develop because of that. Secondly, that day it was very windy. He was taking up very long boards up those ladders. One strong gust in the right place and he would have been blown from those ladders, endangering his life. Surely your health and life isn’t worth a few hundred quid saving to not use scaffolding?
Can this sort of thing ever be stopped? Probably not. Current legislation, no matter how tough we all think it might be, isn’t realistically police-able. Add to that the fact there will always be customers prepared to risk someone’s life and the structural integrity of their roof to save a few quid in the short term. Until both of those situations improve, nothing will change.
Anyway, on a cheerier note, I’m announcing a new sponsor on here at 10am so keep an eye out for that!
