Week Beginning The 24th of May 2026
There are some weeks where everything goes exactly to plan.
This wasn’t one of them.
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
This week involved a DIY bathroom project that rapidly escalated into an emergency toilet replacement, a chimney job cancelled because it was simply too hot, school roof inspections, Wolverhampton chimney liners, business planning, damaged solar panel roofs, a chance meeting with a YouTube subscriber and my longest run to date.
Somewhere amongst all that, we also managed to celebrate Granny Ralph’s 70th birthday.
Not bad for a week’s work.
When DIY Doesn’t Quite Go to Plan – Sunday 24th May
The week began next door at our rental property where I was continuing repairs following a bathroom leak.
Now, roofing, chimneys and cherry pickers are very much my thing.
Vinyl flooring, however, may not be.
I did my absolute best to lay the new floor neatly, but if the desired finish was “wavy and slightly bumpy”, then I absolutely nailed it.
Unfortunately, the project then took a turn for the worse when I managed to damage the toilet.
Which promptly started leaking.
So what began as a flooring job became an emergency trip to B&Q with Rob to buy a replacement toilet.
Several hours later, the new toilet was installed, the bathroom was functioning again and I still managed to make it over to Granny Ralph’s for Sunday dinner.
A successful outcome, even if the route there wasn’t entirely straightforward.
Bank Holiday Heat and Why Weather Matters – Monday the 25th of May
Monday was supposed to involve chimney re-flaunching work in Clipstone.
The problem?
The weather forecast.
Temperatures were predicted to reach between 30 and 34 degrees, and while many people think roofing only suffers when it’s raining, excessive heat can be equally problematic.
Fresh flaunching mortar can dry too quickly in extreme temperatures, increasing the risk of shrinkage cracking and reducing long-term durability.
Rather than push ahead and risk a poor result, I postponed the work.
Sometimes experience means knowing when conditions aren’t suitable.
Instead, I spent the day with the family.
The morning involved kitchen duties, making breakfast for Wren and sampling Robyn’s homemade banana and spinach pancakes, which were surprisingly excellent.
The afternoon involved mowing the grass, gardening, a walk with Hannah and generally trying not to melt.
I also took the opportunity to check the electric motors on my spider lift before an indoor job the following day at Nottingham High School. Electric motors that aren’t used regularly can sometimes seize up, and I wanted to make sure everything was ready.
Most people probably don’t spend Bank Holidays checking electric drive systems on spider lifts.
But then most people probably make better life choices.
Nottingham High School and Spider Lifts Indoors – Tuesday 26th May
Tuesday took me to Nottingham High School.
The morning started by assisting Andy the electrician with installing new floodlights in the car park.
After that, things became more interesting.
The spider lift was narrowed down, switched onto electric power and carefully driven inside the school’s dining hall.
This is one of the advantages of specialist spider lifts. Their compact dimensions and electric operation allow them to work indoors where traditional access equipment simply wouldn’t fit.
Inside, I assisted Ben with repairs to a hopper and downpipe system that had been causing water ingress and damp issues.
Once that was completed, we inspected a leaking roof on the main hall before moving on to inspect the guttering on the sports hall.
The day then took an unexpected turn.
On the drive to work I’d noticed my Hilux brakes had started grinding.
Not ideal when you’re due to tow a cherry picker to Wolverhampton the following day.
Thankfully my mechanics squeezed me in, sourced the parts and stayed late to fit new brake pads.
Excellent service and a huge help.
That evening it was time to swap the harness for my Cub Scout neckerchief and head off to Cubs where we spent the evening doing archery and axe throwing.
One minute operating a spider lift in a school.
The next supervising axe throwing.
Standard Tuesday.
Wolverhampton, Chimney Liners and a Race Against the Dentist – Wednesday 27th May
Wednesday started at 6:30am.
The mission was simple:
Travel to Wolverhampton, install two chimney liners, carry out some verge repointing and make it home in time for my 4pm dentist appointment.
I was working alongside Casey from Fleming Stove Installers, someone I’d known through the internet for quite some time but had never worked with in person.
The access was awkward.
A low canopy over the driveway and a steep grassy slope made positioning the spider lift interesting.
Like many access jobs, the actual chimney work wasn’t the difficult part. Getting the machine into position safely was where the real thinking happened.
Fortunately everything went smoothly.
The liners were installed, cowls fitted, verge repaired and I made it back home in time for the dentist.
Mission accomplished.
Business Planning and a Flue Liner That Was Too Short – Thursday 28th May
Thursday started very differently.
Instead of climbing into the cherry picker, Hannah and I spent the morning with our business mentor, Rod Fuller of Action COACH Mansfield.
Every few months we sit down together to review finances, goals and business performance.
The conclusion?
Everything is heading in the right direction.
When you’re running businesses it’s easy to focus entirely on the next challenge, so it was good to recognise how much progress we’ve actually made.
Afterwards I headed back to Bilsthorpe, collected the truck and cherry picker and travelled to Repton in Derbyshire.
The job involved re-flaunching a chimney and installing a chimney liner.
Everything was progressing perfectly until the stove installer discovered that the liner he’d brought was about 500mm too short.
Cue a 40-minute round trip to collect another one.
Eventually the work was completed, but by the time I got home it was 6pm.
After a long day it was lovely to be greeted enthusiastically by Wren and to find dinner waiting thanks to Hannah.
It’s easy to overlook those little moments, but they’re often the best part of the day.
Educational Roofing Insight: Solar Panels and Fragile Roof Tiles – Friday 29th May
Friday’s first job took me to East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington.
The customer had recently had solar panels installed on their roof, and unfortunately the installation process had caused significant damage to the existing roof covering.
The tiles were Cambrian tiles – a slate and resin composite product that can become extremely brittle with age.
Several had been broken during the installation.
It’s an important reminder that not every roof can be walked on safely.
Certain roof coverings require specialist access methods, crawl boards or alternative approaches to avoid causing damage.
The solar panels themselves weren’t the problem.
The route taken to install them was.
If you’re experiencing roof issues, leaks or suspect damage after other works have been carried out, a professional roof inspection can help identify the underlying cause: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/roof-surveys
Ashbourne, YouTube Subscribers and Defender Jaws
After East Midlands Airport I travelled to Ashbourne to replace damaged soffit cladding on a solicitor’s office.
While there I had one of those slightly surreal moments that comes with making videos online.
I bumped into Damo Says This, a YouTube subscriber whose comments I’ve seen countless times over the years.
What followed was a very enjoyable 40-minute conversation.
It’s always strange meeting people you’ve known digitally for years but never actually met in person.
Back home by around 3:30pm, I switched from roofer to product tester.
Defender Bird Spikes had kindly supplied me with a Defender Jaws solar panel bird exclusion system, so I spent the afternoon installing it on my own solar panels and filming the process.
I was genuinely impressed.
It looked great, was easy to install and worked exactly as intended.
There’s no better way to test a product than fitting it to your own roof.
A 13.5km Run and Granny Ralph’s 70th Birthday -Saturday 30th May
Saturday began at 5am.
My goal was to attempt my longest run yet.
The original target was 10km.
Somewhere along the way I forgot to stop.
I ended up completing 13.5km in under an hour.
The weather was perfect, the Nottinghamshire countryside looked stunning and I felt fantastic afterwards.
Not long ago I was celebrating my first 5km runs.
Now apparently 13.5km before breakfast seems perfectly reasonable.
Afterwards I dropped Robyn off in Newark for tennis before spending some time with Wren.
The afternoon became all hands on deck as we prepared for Granny Ralph’s 70th birthday celebration.
Garden furniture needed assembling, the house needed tidying and everything needed preparing for guests.
By the evening around 15 people had gathered to celebrate.
Hannah did a fantastic job organising food and making sure everyone was looked after.
It was a wonderful evening and a lovely way to finish the week.
Locations Worked This Week
- Bilsthorpe – rental property repairs and machine preparation
- Clipstone – postponed chimney re-flaunching due to heat
- Nottingham High School – floodlight installation, roof inspections and hopper repairs
- Wolverhampton – chimney liners and verge repointing
- Repton – chimney re-flaunching and liner installation
- East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington – roof tile repairs
- Ashbourne – soffit cladding replacement
- Newark – tennis duties and family activities
Do You Have Concerns About Your Roof, Chimney or a Persistent Leak?
We offer:
Targeted Roof Inspection – £100 + VAT
Full Roof Condition Survey – £250 + VAT
Surveys are available within approximately 1.5 hours of North Nottinghamshire.
For customers further afield, remote photo quotations are often possible.
Find out more here: https://www.dji-uk.co.uk/roof-surveys
About the Author
This blog has been compiled and published by Danny Iwanejko, documenting real-world roofing, chimney and specialist high-access work carried out across Nottinghamshire and beyond. Through DJI High Access Services, Danny combines practical roofing experience with specialist access solutions while documenting the reality of life as Dan the Cherry Picker Man.
Workwear Sponsor
This week’s workwear was tested in just about every environment imaginable: chimney tops, school roofs, East Midlands Airport, Wolverhampton, DIY bathroom disasters, a 13.5km run through the Nottinghamshire countryside, and several emergency trips to B&Q.
Thankfully, unlike my vinyl flooring skills and that unfortunate toilet incident, the workwear performed exactly as intended.
A big thank you to Granite Workwear for keeping me clothed, comfortable and looking at least vaguely professional while the rest of my week descended into organised chaos.
Take a look at their range here:
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Bird Control Product of the Week
After spending part of Friday repairing roof damage caused during a solar panel installation, it felt quite fitting to spend the afternoon fitting the Defender Jaws® solar panel bird exclusion system to my own house.
I’ve got to say, I was genuinely impressed.
The system looks neat, installs quickly, feels well thought out and, importantly, it’s very reasonably priced. As someone who spends a lot of time working around roofs and solar panels, I can appreciate products that are clearly designed by people who understand the practical realities of installation.
Even better, Defender Jaws® is manufactured here in the UK by Bird Spikes Online, an independent family-run business based in Devon. They design, manufacture and supply their products themselves and have built a strong reputation around quality British-made bird control products.
The Defender Jaws® system is easy to fit, fully removable for future maintenance, designed specifically for solar panels and backed by a long material warranty.
There’s no better product test than fitting something to your own roof, and based on my experience so far, I’d happily recommend it.
Take a look here: https://www.birdspikesonline.co.uk
Keep Up With Dan the Cherry Picker Man
🌐 Website: www.dji-uk.co.uk
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Google Business: DJI High Access Services
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By the end of the week I was reminded that success isn’t always the big things. Sometimes it’s a completed chimney liner, a machine that starts when it should, a 13.5km run, a child excited to see you come home, or simply sitting in the garden surrounded by family celebrating someone’s 70th birthday. Those are the moments worth appreciating.
