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For loft access...i need to get into a loft where the hatch has been sealed up presumably for insulation purposes.
The hatch is quite big, but its half way over a staircase and there is a bannister in the way, so the ladder will be on a bit of an angle, so the question is basically, would the ladder be safe on a pitch of say 50 degrees to 60 degrees?
The ladder I'm looking at is rated for 150kg and I'm about 100kg....
Do you need a telescopic ladder? They're expensive and prone to jamming when muck gets in the workings. Do you have somewhere to rest it at the top while you open the hatch?
A "normal" ladder should be set at 1:4 of its height (c75 degrees) so you might be better with a stair-specific ladder
We have these at work. Keep them clean and they should be ok for a bit but the release latches are small.
Can you use them at steep angles ... Probably but they may break.... But That's your call.
Thanks,
I was thinking telescopic as I could do with something better and longer than my current cheap step ladder, it's an A frame style one rated for 95kg, and I weigh about 105kg!
This particular job is just to access my late nans loft to see if there's anything up there, so I'll have to break through the hatch either way, as when the house is sold, It won't go down too well on the survey if they can't access the loft.
It looks like the hatch is just nailed/tacked shut with some sillicone sealer or whatever on top to make it look nice.
A telescopic one would be perfect as it folds down really compact, and would come in very handy for me too in my house, rather than buying a loft ladder kit or whatever.
I could use the A frame one to 'break the seal' so to speak on the loft hatch from the landing, without hanging myself over the stairwell.
I wasn't aware there was a stair specific ladder available but what I'm looking at doing is something like this: (not to scale)
I was thinking about buying something like this..
https://www.toolstation.com/werner-telescopic-extension-ladder/p32479
I'm just worried the angle might be too bad and the ladder might snap in the middle when my fat arse is climbing it!.
Do you know the rough height to underside of ceiling?
Ahh thank you! so if the angle is more acute than 75 degrees, it's a bit iffy?
The instructions seem to suggest 75 degrees is ideal, so if it was 65 degrees, that would be dangerous? I'll have to measure up properly to see what angles I'm looking at.
Do you know the rough height to underside of ceiling?
Not really, I really need to go and measure up the angles and height, I should really do that first I suppose rather than relying eyeballing it!
It's a nice square loft hatch, about 80cmx80cm, but what a stupid building design to put it half way over the stairs!!!!!
Do you need a telescopic ladder? They’re expensive and prone to jamming when muck gets in the workings.
Not really, but it would kill two birds with one stone, as I could then use it at my house in lieu of fitting a loft ladder or buying a seperate ladder. My loft hatch at home is not half way over a stair case, so it's not so much a consideration as long as it's 2.8m or more high. It would need to be at least 3m long though, to do the first job.
It won't be for outdoors or heavy duty DIY, so getting it covered in muck and paint and jamming the locks isn't really a factor.
Be aware they are not anywhere near as rigid as a...errr.. rigid ladder. Ie, they flex a lot. Can be a bit disconcerting as you first climb, although you soon get used to it.
Tie bottom of red ladder to Bannister to achieve 75° or wedge against wall or screw batten into floor to hold bottom of ladder erc
Ratchet strap the ladder to handrail and use a board to reduce the angle to rest the feet against.
Just like blastit typed lol
4:1 (c75deg) is a guide. The instructions show a range 65-75 (see p4)
Thanks all, some good ideas!
First thing is I'll have to do a reccy and measure up properly I think!
I have a telescopic ladder to my attic/art studio and it works fine.
MrsWCA decided it was too steep though. The 'angle of the dangle' is dictated by the length of the ladder so I had to add an extra rung skillfully crafted from some 2x4 I had lying around.
It squashes up nice and small to swing up into the attic. the good thing is that it doesn't extend across the attic floor when shut. The old sliding step we had before covered about 4 feet of floor space so you had to clear the space before you put the ladder up.
I have a telescopic ladder to my attic/art studio and it works fine.
Not an expert but I'm not sure I'd trust one of those ladders at any angle less than 75 degrees. It's tempting to use a ladder like a staircase but it's unsafe in every conceivable way.
Also modified so probably outside of its intended operating parameters 🙂
They are funny things,I’d have a go on someone else’s to see if it’s your sort of thing.
I found it a bouncy thing.
They do proper versions for fixed attic mounting but are pricey.
Rather than try at 180 degrees (the red and green lines on the image above) can you not turn the ladder through 90 degrees to achieve the correct angle? From the sketch it looks like you've got enough overlap between hatch and landing but appreciate that's not to scale 😉
WorldClassAccidentFree Member<br />I have a telescopic ladder to my attic/art studio and it works fine.
MrsWCA decided it was too steep though. The ‘angle of the dangle’ is dictated by the length of the ladder so I had to add an extra rung skillfully crafted from some 2×4 I had lying around.
Christ. WCA has bodged a ladder. We all know how this is going to end.
Bro in law (PASMA instructor) suggests we all use a ladder app on our phones whenever we put any ladders up. I've been surprised on a few occasions when its complained that the ladders have been too steep or shallow. I've also taken to whacking a rawl eyebolt into any wall we're working against and strapping the ladders down to that. Tying to the Bannister is a good call.
TBH I'm going to have our loft hatch moved at some point in my partners house, to make access easy with a hatch/loft ladder all-in one unit (& have the loft properly insulated/boarded). I have one in my own home & it is extremely compact when folded up, and much more solid that any ali-loft ladder I've used in the past.
Not the short term solution you want, but longer term, it's going to be worth it
Good grief WCA - a bodged ladder extension??!! Just goany no do that!
Seriously. just no - what are you thinking?
t’s a nice square loft hatch, about 80cmx80cm, but what a stupid building design to put it half way over the stairs!!!!!
could you put a joist across the corner of the hatch allowing you to rest your ladder diagonally, on an edge which is the correct angle for it (thus reducing the amount of drop, maybe)
WCA's first photo shows another one of the issues quite well - The steps are only horizontal to the floor when the ladder is vertical.
When you have it at a working angle, your weight is on the corner of the step, not on the flat. Can be quite painful, especially when you're trying to get something awkward into or out of the loft, even more so if you weigh more than 10 stone. Unless you're wearing stiff soled (biking?) shoes - unlikely when you're upstairs on your landing.
My mum had one of them in her old place. Hated it. and I only had to use it a few times a year!
Edit: just zoomed in and saw that WCA's has stepped risers on each rung, so you're on 2 edges not one, at least your feet are level.