Loft ladder bracket mounting snapped

[bongos]

Morning all!

One of the mounting brackets for the spring loaded mechanism snapped on my loft ladder when i was coming down the steps last week. Now im not overly heavy but it really went for it!

The rivet which goes through the mounting bracket and connects to the spring loaded arm (?) has sheered off. I'm struggling to find any sort of replacement online and don't really know what i'm looking for. The loft ladders seem to be a fairly generic make but there are no markings or name on anything anywhere!

Can ayone help?!

Untitled

• bongos
• 5 Jun 2015
• 1

Untitled

• bongos
• 5 Jun 2015
• 1

Untitled

• bongos
• 5 Jun 2015
• 1

 

[footprints]

Any help?

http://www.youngmangroup.com/spares/25-eco-s-line

 

[bongos]

Thanks for your reply. They're similar but don't have the sort of crescent/half moon shape at the top. This is where the spring hooks on but on the ones in the link don't look like they have anywhre to hook it on.

The side arm is actually undamaged but because the rivet also goes through this crescent shaped piece and (used to go) through to a small rectangular bracket which is mounted onto the frame of the hatch i think im going to struggle.

Annoyingly theres no marking on anything anywhere so i cant even look up a company!

Edit: just had a thought - if i could get someone to put a new rivet through all the parts then i could avoid replacing the rest. Could this even be done? Where would i go - some sort of fabricator/metalworker?!

 

[AlanE]

Thanks for your reply.
Edit: just had a thought - if i could get someone to put a new rivet through all the parts then i could avoid replacing the rest. Could this even be done? Where would i go - some sort of fabricator/metalworker?!

My thought exactly.

Cannot see the detail from your photo's but if there is room I would be looking at drilling clear hole through the two parts then use a clevis pin through one part, a washer, through other part, washer and then a split pin. DIY job.

Or find metal fabricator and again using clevis pin but this time weld it same as original obviously was.

 

[garethpa]

depending on clearance - what about a short bolt with a domed head (like a coach bolt) together with a nyloc nut. This would be similar to how the other bits are joined together.
If you can't find a short enough bolt, you could always cut the excess off once installed with a dremel.

 

[footprints]

Hard to see exactly but would a pop rivet do the job?

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/tools-diy/tools-tool-kits/halfords-hand-riveter-kit

 

[AlanE]

Hard to see exactly but would a pop rivet do the job?

http://www.halfords.com/motoring-travel/tools-diy/tools-tool-kits/halfords-hand-riveter-kit[/QUOTE]
Looks like ladder swivels on that rivet so a pop-rivet wouldn't be man enough.

 

[bongos]

Thanks for the advice guys - massively appreciated.

Ok so i have to admit that ive had to look these terms up online! As suggested I don't think a pop rivet would do the job. It needs to be able to swivel but also is sprung and there is quite alot of force on it. I think a clevis pin will get in the way when shutting the hatch. There is another part to the arm (not shown in the main two photos) which bends back like an elbow when the hatch is shut.

Possibly the best option would be a bolt and nut through everything, with it not being too tight so things can still pivot? I did takeit to a fabricator, who wasnt overly intersted (cant blame him though!) but he suggested maybe a nut and bolt. Its quite snug to the hatch frame though so while the head of a coach bolt looks good, when i looked it up it looked as if the thread started quite a way down the bolt. The fabricator did say it was an odd sized 11mm bolt though. Might see what i can dig up. How best to get the rivet out - just belt it with a hammer and screwdriver?

 

[bongos]

Well ive had another look at this tonight and realised the repair is not going to be as easy as id thought.

I was looking at the mounting for the remaining side and noticed that the part that hooks onto the spring (sort of crescent shaped bracket) is actually off-set from the wall bracket at an angle (can be seen in picture 3). So it'll have to be some form of rivet that is specially measure for the job, not just a suitably sized nut and bolt as this won't leave it the correct clearance.

Think thats the end of this loft ladder. Annoying.