More Chimney Bashing

I have decided that doing demolition at the top of a ladder is a bad idea. It is just not possible to maintain balance and wield the necessary tools hard enough to make any significant progress. I have therefore been looking at scaffold towers. I reckon I need a platform to stand at about 17 feet. This is a fairly substantial tower - probably 6ft by 4ft, with outriggers. There seems to be a huge range available on the market, varying from about £150 to over a grand. The cheaper end is made of painted steel, generally without the outriggers. Alloy towers are at the top end of the market, but presumably are lighter to assemble. It mustn't be forgotten that the upper parts have to be hauled up from the ground. In between we find galvanised steel.

Some of the cheaper ones seem to have no diagonal struts, which I am sure is not a good idea. They appear quite often on eBay (www.ebay.co.uk), but I have not found one sufficiently attractive to take the plunge yet.

Whilst waiting, I have taken some advice from Mum & Dad's friend and neighbour Ted, and started lower down. The chimney has some tapers in it, so I figured I could take stones out at the bottom without bringing the whole lot crashing down. As this photo shows, the theory is exactly right :

Chimney Nibbler has been at work

Working at ground level is much easier. To ease things even further, Ted has recommended a power tool called an SDS Hammer Drill. I have done some research and found that this is just like a heavy duty drill, but has the option to switch to just hammer action, using chisel bits instead of drills. I am awaiting delivery of one from Screwfix (www.screwfix.com/sds).