Week Beginning 1st March 2026
A week in the life of the Cherry Picker Man
Some weeks ease you in gently. Others start before sunrise with pigeons, cherry pickers and a shop doorway that needs to stay open for business.
This week was a proper mix of chimney work, roof repairs, council maintenance jobs, wildlife boxes, unexpected roadside fame, and one very important lesson about checking your child’s footwear before leaving the house.
Here’s how the week unfolded.
Sunday – Early Birds and Early Goals (Unfortunately for the Other Team)
The week began bright and early in Sutton-in-Ashfield, installing pigeon proofing around solar panels above a shop.
Because the cherry picker had to be positioned directly outside the entrance, the job needed to be completed before the shop opened at 9am. Nobody wants to arrive for their morning shopping trip to find a cherry picker parked across the front door.
Thankfully everything went smoothly. The bird mesh was installed, tools packed away, and the machine loaded back onto the trailer by 8:30am. I was back home by 9.
Just in time to head out again.
Next stop: Robin’s football match.
A windy touchline, proud dad watching… and unfortunately a 7–1 defeat. Character building, we’ll call it.
The afternoon was spent relaxing before heading round to Granny Ralph’s and Grump’s for dinner the perfect way to reset before the working week began properly.
Monday – Tiles, Drones and Three-Storey Gutters
Monday started in Mansfield, replacing around 100 plain tiles on Rita’s roof in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
Many of the tiles had begun to shale and deteriorate, particularly above a lean-to roof with a corrugated plastic covering not something you’d want to walk across with ladders.
Luckily there was a large driveway which made it easy to position the spider lift and carry out the roof repair work safely.
From there I headed over to Berry Hill Road to carry out a drone roof survey for a customer buying a property. Using the drone allowed me to inspect the roof, chimney stacks and flashings in detail before producing a written report and quotation.
After that it was on to Arnold to clear gutters on a large three-storey block of flats. Jobs like this are exactly where access equipment proves its worth, allowing me to safely carry out high-level gutter clearance work without the need for scaffolding.
Once the gutters were cleared and minor repairs completed, I headed back to DJI HQ to unload the truck and write up the roof survey report.
Best of all I still had time to pick Robin up from school.
Tuesday – Chimneys, Narrow Access and My First Fan Encounter
Tuesday took me to the picturesque village of Linby, right in the heart of Nottinghamshire.
The job involved quite a list of repairs:
- Repairing lead flashing around the chimney
- Replacing the flaunching on top of the stack
- Capping three open chimney flues
- Reinstating slipped slates
- Repairing guttering
- Fixing a badly corroded waste pipe hidden behind a conservatory
The chimney work went well, but accessing the rear of the property required carefully manoeuvring the machine through some very narrow access.
While working on the driveway at the front of the house which sits on a busy road something unexpected happened.
A car pulled over.
The driver got out and said they recognised me from my social media videos.
We had a chat… and they asked for a selfie.
My first roadside fan encounter.
Then, a couple of hours later, it happened again.
Apparently the Cherry Picker Man is becoming something of a celebrity in Linby.
The evening finished with Cubs night, where we spent the session helping the Cubs make Mother’s Day cards.
Slightly less high-access than chimney work but just as rewarding.
Wednesday – Long-Reach Chimneys and Swift Boxes
Wednesday kept me in Sherwood, Nottingham, repairing two large chimney stacks.
The flaunching on both chimneys had practically disappeared, which explained why the homeowner had started seeing damp inside the property.
The tricky part was access. Because of the layout of the house I couldn’t get the machine very close to the stacks, which meant working right near the limits of the boom’s reach.
Slow movements and careful positioning solved the problem.
Both chimneys were re-flaunched and the brickwork treated with a water-repellent coating as part of proper chimney maintenance and repair.
As I was packing up the customer asked the famous question:
“Can you just…?”
Sometimes those words lead to an entirely new job list.
This time though it was a good one.
They wanted two swift boxes installed under the eaves, helping provide nesting spaces for these incredible migratory birds. Given my fondness for wildlife, that was one “can you just” job I was very happy to do.
Thursday – A Long Day in Warwick
Thursday started early, very early.
I was out the door at 5:20am heading down to Warwick, helping Wright’s Roofing maintain housing stock for Warwick Council.
After arriving at their office around 7:20am and collecting the day’s work list, the day turned into a series of maintenance jobs across several properties.
The first involved clearing gutters on a three-storey block of flats, which meant tracking the machine around the entire building to check every section.
Next was a report of downpipes falling out of the guttering. From the front everything looked fine, but a quick drone inspection revealed three pipes had come loose at the back, unfortunately in an area where my machine couldn’t access.
Sometimes access simply wins.
Other jobs included sealing a leaking vent ridge tile, clearing a gutter where grass had started growing above a balcony, and reconnecting a downpipe that had been soaking a wall.
The drive home was spent catching up on one of my favourite podcasts before heading out again to take Robin to football training.
Friday – Bonnet Tile Repairs in Mansfield
Friday kept me in Mansfield, repairing bonnet tiles where previous pointing work had failed.
A previous roofer had applied a thin layer of mortar over the front of the tiles, which had started breaking away and dropping into the gutters below.
The repair involved removing all the failing mortar and replacing it with flexum roof putty, which creates a neater and far more durable finish for this type of detail.
Repairs like this are a good example of targeted roof repair work, fixing a specific issue without the need for major roofing work.
It took most of the day but thankfully I had plenty of podcast episodes to catch up on while working.
Saturday – Slippers, Chimney Liners and Paying Debts
Saturday’s plan sounded simple.
Take Robin to tennis, then head over to drop a chimney liner with Richard.
However… it didn’t quite go to plan.
For reasons known only to seven-year-olds, Robin had left the house wearing slippers. And I, being focused on loading the liner and getting ready for the job, failed to notice.
Which meant when we arrived in Newark for tennis… the session ended immediately.
You can’t play tennis in slippers.
So we abandoned the tennis plan and headed straight over to Fosse in Nottinghamshire to meet Richard.
Thankfully the liner installation went smoothly the liner dropped nicely down the flue and the job was completed quickly.
But the working day wasn’t finished yet.
After the liner drop I headed home to collect the jet washer.
About a year ago I bought some pressure-washing equipment with the idea of starting a roof and hard surface cleaning service alongside my main business.
After trying it for a while I came to a fairly clear conclusion:
Cleaning patios is very hard work, and repairing roofs and chimneys is much more financially sensible.
However, when I bought the equipment I made a deal with my father-in-law. He helped me massively clearing out the chicken shed and doing work on the house we bought, and in return I promised to clean his patio.
I may have forgotten that promise.
He definitely hadn’t.
So the rest of Saturday afternoon was spent jet washing and scrubbing the father-in-law’s patio.
Even after that, I’m fairly confident I remain deeply in his debt for all the help he’s given me over the past year.
And that finally wraps up the week.
Until Next Week…
Another week in the life of the Cherry Picker Man full of roofs, chimneys, wildlife boxes, council housing jobs, podcast marathons, and the occasional roadside selfie.
And one very important takeaway:
Always check your child’s footwear before leaving the house.
Follow the Journey Online
🌐 Website: www.dji-uk.co.uk
🎥 YouTube: @dan_cherrypicker_man
🎵 TikTok: @dan_cherrypicker_man
📸 Instagram: @dan_cherrypicker_man
👍 Facebook: Dan the Cherry Picker Man
Google Business page: dji high access services – Google Search
Amazon shop: https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/danthecherrypickerman?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_aipsfshop_0H3MM4YGDVAPRTXQJAYV_1
Workwear sponsored by Granite Workwear – durable workwear designed for tradespeople.
About the Author
Danny Iwanejko is the owner of DJI High Access Services Ltd, a Nottinghamshire-based company specialising in roof repairs, chimney maintenance, gutter clearance, and other high-access maintenance work. Using a tracked spider cherry picker, Danny is able to safely reach areas that are difficult or impossible to access with ladders or scaffolding, allowing him to carry out efficient repairs across Nottinghamshire and beyond.
Known online as Dan the Cherry Picker Man, Danny shares behind-the-scenes insights from his work through social media and YouTube, documenting real roofing jobs, chimney repairs, equipment reviews, and the day-to-day realities of working at height. His content aims to educate homeowners and tradespeople alike, while giving an honest look at the challenges and rewards of running a specialist high-access business.
Danny also writes and curates the “Roof Tops and Pit Stops” blog, which follows a week in the life of the Cherry Picker Man — combining roofing work, family life, and the occasional unexpected adventure along the way.
