That bend/flex doesn’t bother me in the least.
As for how many sections?
I never let anyone work with more than 5- 5½ pieces… and the half piece [U]always[/U] goes at the top (under the point, that is.)
Well one of my guys ran the extension set up I mentioned while everybody else in my shop including myself ran metallics. One day we were working on a two story building on the san diego bay and due to the wind pushing across the salt water our di water would not dry right (I believe this happens because the salt gets on the window before it dries, but what do I know). Anyhow we started laddering and the guy with the extension set up was blowing the doors off of the rest of us like 3 windows to every one of mine. It got my attention, after all time is money. So I tried his set up, with the stand off the window is right there like a walk up, minor height adjustments are simple, the stability is incredible and with the standoff you can hang your towels put a screen clip, its just all so much simpler. Not to mention my new set up was 1/3 the price. I haven’t had stacks on my rig in 18 months.
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I can see the benefit of using extensions outside but on inside work I think a sectional would blow away the extensions hands down. So I’d say they both have their place.
Hey Norgan,
This is funny because my leased vehicle doesn’t even have a ladder rack on it. I figured who needs a stupid ladder rack on their van. After all I just toss my sectionals inside. I guess your endorsement just got my attention but I’m locked into my lease with no ladder racks for 32 more months. That’s funny.
Sorry Jay, he’s a “sectional guy” so I listened to his endorsement.
Does it have drip rails on the roof? If so, you can add a Yakima or Thule rack with ladder stiops.
Why do you only listen to the comments of somebody who says they used to be a “sectional guy”? He didn’t say anything that I didn’t already say. I guess I should have started my comments with “I used to be a sectional guy for x number of years” so people didn’t think I was a bumbling idiot.
I had drip rails and a roof rack on my last caravan and NEVER used it. When winter comes they made sweeping snow off the roof a big pain. So I got a nice deal on my new caravan with no roof rack and no drip rails.
Now I might want to change my mind and throw a 24 ft extension ladder up on my roof. It could come in handy from time to time.
Sometimes opinions change.
Hey Rob,
Please don’t think that I think you’re a bumbling idiot. I don’t even know you.
When I said professional window cleaners who use sectional ladders earlier in this thread, I was trying to say “sectional guys”. I was not saying sectional guys are more professional. Someone who has used them for years and is very comfortable with them has more credibility when they speak than a guy who kicked their sectionals to the curb right away. Sorry Rob. I think that’s how life works. People trust the word of an expert over the word of a beginner. Please don’t take it personally.
PS
My apologies for not including you in my comment to Jay. I kinda know him. Sorry about that.
You did it again. You still assume that the only reason people might prefer an extension ladder over a sectional ladder is because they don’t know how to use a sectional ladder properly. This is hardly the case.
I guess I had hoped my comments would be judged on whether or not they are accurate and not judged exclusively according to the perception the reader has of the poster. A little more logic and a little less preconceived bias. If what you’re saying is, “If you knew how to use a sectional ladder, you would prefer them to extension ladders,” then my reply might be, “If you knew how to use an extension ladder, you would prefer them to sectionals.” So both sides of the argument cancel each other out. But assuming the best - I know how to use a sectional ladder and you know how to use an extension ladder - maybe one of them actually IS better for window cleaning. Unless we want to continue making assumptions about the experiences and knowledge of each another, the only way to rationally discuss the issue is to offer reasons that we think can be evaluated on their own merits. So that’s why I listed reasons why I liked extension ladders better.
I would venture to guess that at least some people (not saying you, Rob) who give up using sectionals think they know how to use them, but don’t realize how truly versatile and functional they really are, and never used them to their full potential.
How you were taught to use them, Rob? By another window cleaner? self taught? How long did you use them before deciding they weren’t for you? Are yours for sale? 
I can see the benefits of both types of ladders. If I only had to choose one type to use it would certainly be sectionals. Luckily we all have choices.
I’ve talked to Mike several times on the phone about the subject of sectionals, and I think he is just passionate about their use in our industry. I mean, they are called window cleaning ladders, and made for us, after all. Extension ladders are general purpose ladders made for homeowners to all sorts of different trades.
I’m looking forward to Mike’s video with a cool funky soundtrack to accompany it.
Thanks Seth! I’ll respond to Rob latter. Busy with the family now.
Hey Rob,
I have never cleaned windows in your market. The terrain and house styles may be different than New England or the same. I have never seen your skill level with a set of sectionals. You may have a lot to learn or very little. Who knows? In my
market with the east coast terrain and Boston area house styles I clean and my skill level with sectionals I think they gives me an advantage, because they save me time and energy. You do what you think is best for your business. I’ll use the ladders I like in mine. I really don’t want to argue with you.
Until recently I have never heard of an experienced sectional guy going back to extension ladders, so I’m amazed. It’s usually the extension ladders that get hung in the garage unused for years not the sectionals. I give up. To each his own.
“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” 
[SIZE=1]somebody famous said that[/SIZE]
8 Pages and counting…
I guess sectional ladders DO FLEX THIS MUCH.
Thanks guys!
Never thought such a topic could cause this histeria.
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I’m with you 100%. You can only extend in 6 ft lengths is the biggest limitation I see. I want ladders to hit the bottom sill most of the time, if it’s a tall window, use a stand off to climb higher up or go over the window. With a normal extension ladder you can adjust them on 1 foot increments, with that sectional ladder it’s 6 foot increments…that would be very limiting.
In that first picture, if that guy knew what he was doing and/or had the right ladder, if the ladder was on the bottom sill and a little steep he could have grabbed the lower windows on his way down. I don’t even know why the noob set up a ladder there…(hope that wasn’t you) he should have it between the two windows… but maybe he can’t squeegee with his left hand LOL. 
Tony mentioned how it might be good for inside work, I’ve carried lengthy extension ladders through houses… it’s not pretty but, a 20 foot ladder does 90% of the work of a two story house and is easy to maneuver inside when it’s not extended, not to mention a 16. On the outside, I can grab the rung of a 20 ft ladder, lean it against my chest, grab the pale with the other hand, and just walk to the next window.
They might be saying that you only need one ladder if you use that sectional, but the 6 ft increments is a killer for me and the FLEX is scary. I’ve worked with those wooden A frames and I think they are useless. A good set up is a 6 ft step, a 20 foot and a 28 foot, and you’re pretty much set for residential.
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Hey Mike,
May I clear up two misunderstandings on the way sectional ladders are used.
Number one you have to have a 4ft. half piece, because it will enable you to extend or shorten the ladder by 3 feet. When I was trained that was a given. I don’t know how anybody can work without one.
Number two sectional guys almost NEVER set up under a window. Correct ladder placement with a sectional is on the side of the window usually in the top half, at an angle so only one ladder rail is resting against the building.
Hope that helps.
Correct placement of a ladder for a pro window cleaner in that situation, is BETWEEN the windows and BELOW the window and ON the sill. I could easily clean the top two windows then clean bottom two windows on my way down. YOU need to go up and and down… how many times?
Please tell me more about how efficient sectional ladders make you, LOL!!!
EDIT: pro window cleaner and even the rookie window cleaner. Everyone has to learn to squeegee with their left hand at some point.
Hey Mike,
Nothing wrong with extension ladders. Most of the guys who have sectionals carry extension ladders on the truck as well. There are some VERY successful window cleaning companies out there that manage to get ALL their work done without sectionals. I like them cause I can do things with them that I can’t do without them. No argument here. You can clean without them all year long. 
Hey Mike,
Sorry but I couldn’t see the picture you’re talking about on my phone. Now I’m home and can see what you’re talking about. A sectional ladder goes right in the middle of the two windows, one rail resting on the wood between them. Up and down the ladder once.
The real beauty of a sectional isn’t up high above 21ft. anyway, it’s down on the first and second floor windows in the 8 -16ft. range.
I guess that guy is misusing the ladder? I only read the first few posts and that seems to be the concensus. He has 6 sections… the guy must be crazy. I’m actually surprised a bunch of guys didn’t clutter the thread with “You should be using a Water Fed Pole” etc. or maybe they did. I only read a few posts:D
Myself I like to use small extention ladders, the 16 and the 20 (I use the green commercial class with ice pick feet, wish I had those leg extenders) because I can carry them with one hand and the pale with the other. Plus I like to use those yellow rubber bootys on the top end to grip and prevent damage.
I also use a ladder stand off often enough, especially when I’m going to climb onto a roof. Can you put one on a sectional?
**I just thought of something that happened to me like 20 years ago. I was on a commercial subroof above an entrance. I reached down and grabbed the top of a wooden A frame ladder to pull it to the roof. As I did that, the bottom section fell off, hit the ground then fell into a window. Didn’t break but the boss gave me a real dirty look, LOL. Maybe that’s why I don’t like them.
