Loft ladder advice

[imamartian]

Hi, i'm looking to install a loft ladder.... any advice on what to look out for?

what i find odd is that you can pay anything between £50 and £200 but what am i paying for?

 

[masona]

It's mainly quality, I have been up many loft ladders, you get what you pay for, some are well made such as solid, with or without handrail, some are bendy, some of them are awkward to pull down, some slide better than others! some are heavy therefore can be dangerous if you let it go!some are too narrow or not comfortable to step on. some of them have to open the trap door first then pull the ladder down etc. It's nice to have choices but the biggest problem I find is not able to try it out unless recommmended by a friend. My local loft shop have some on display to try out

ps: the most important is make sure there's plenty of headroom for the ladder to swing in without hitting the rafters

 

[imamartian]

It's mainly quality, I have been up many loft ladders, you get what you pay for, some are well made such as solid, with or without handrail, some are bendy, some of them are awkward to pull down, some slide better than others! some are heavy therefore can be dangerous if you let it go!some are too narrow or not comfortable to step on. some of them have to open the trap door first then pull the ladder down etc. It's nice to have choices but the biggest problem I find is not able to try it out unless recommmended by a friend. My local loft shop have some on display to try out

ps: the most important is make sure there's plenty of headroom for the ladder to swing in without hitting the rafters

Thanks for the advice Masona.

 

[JohnD]

I've got a wooden one and an Aluminium one. The aluminium one is far lighter, easier to pull down and push up, less likely to kill you if it fell on your head. It is also 3-piece so when collapsed it stows in a shorter space (this is in a 3-metre floor-to-floor, and many are not long enough).

Remember you need room for it to lie down and slide along the loft floor beyond the pivoting edge.

A good handhold/rail in the loft is very useful when getting on and off. It need not be the one supplied with the ladder, you can probably fabricate one and fasten it to the numerous timbers in most lofts. The existing timbers are more likely to give you splinters.

 

[imamartian]

I've got a wooden one and an Aluminium one. The aluminium one is far lighter, easier to pull down and push up, less likely to kill you if it fell on your head. It is also 3-piece so when collapsed it stows in a shorter space (this is in a 3-metre floor-to-floor, and many are not long enough).

Remember you need room for it to lie down and slide along the loft floor beyond the pivoting edge.

A good handhold/rail in the loft is very useful when getting on and off. It need not be the one supplied with the ladder, you can probably fabricate one and fasten it to the numerous timbers in most lofts. The existing timbers are more likely to give you splinters.

Thanks John, i hadn't considered aluminium !!

 

[vv2806]

If you google, it might be confusing at first but soon you would find out that actually there are not so many models. Basically they are aluminium or wooden, the later are usually more stable and with higher weight capacity but heavier. The specifications for each model include weight capacity, clearance, hatch size, loft size, etc. and these parameters might restrict your options.

http://www.laddersalesdirect.co.uk/home-diy-ladders-loft-ladders-c-311_105.html

This site can give you an idea about different types of ladders.