Complete novice has just bought a three piece ladder to clean out the guttering on a two storey terraced house.
Is there any particular method to get the ladder extended up to the correct height? Should I balance the ladder vertically and then raise the individual pieces one at a time? or should I lay it in the garden horizontally, and then adjust it to the correct height, and then walk it up to the vertical? Thanks for advice.
Mine has wheels at the top end and ropes. I turn it so the wheels are on the wall, stand the base away so it is stable and pull the rope to extend the ladder. When it is up, flip it over so that the wheels are no longer against the wall. Lowering it is the opposite. But that is a fairly long, two section ladder.
If it didn't have wheels and rope, then it would seem a lot safer extending it before raising it - as trying to hold the ladder off the wall with one hand, whilst trying to extend it with the other, sounds a recipe for disaster..
One of the first things I did with this house was to put in a row of eye-bolts, every 2 feet under the eaves. They don't show. Not only will they soon be used to hold Crimble decorations - but I line the ladder up and tie the ladder to them. It certainly makes me feel a whole lot safer, working on the ladder once it is tied to the wall.
This probably depends on the weight of the ladder and how strong you are. I have a 30 foot aluminum Class II ladder with some steel reinforcing rods in it. I cannot lift if from the ground when it is extended, as it weighs too much and has a lot more leverage than I. Therefore, I need to set it vertically on its feet and raise it as straight as possible. Then I can slowly lower it towards the eave or wall of my house. I can keep it under reasonable control so long as it isn't more than 30 degrees from vertical. Beyond that, it would come crashing down...
HTH, Jonathan
Dropping a rope out of a bedroom window, tying it to the end of the ladder and then returning to the bedroom to haul the nearest end up, is the only way I have been able to manage some of the ladders I have had to use. Once the end of the ladder is just under the window, go downstairs, shuffle it to the side of the window and then work it higher up the wall and closer to it.
I have a neighbour with big sons that work at home now, but, even better, he has a high-reach wheeled loader thingy that I can borrow...much more fun and does the job in no time.
-- Sue
With my triple extension aluminium ladder, whilst it is leaning at an angle to the wall, I raise the top bit a number of rungs and then raise the middle section to the required height. If you can get a helper it helps! they can then stand between the wall and ladder and hold it off the wall slightly as you push up the sections.
HTH
John
Health and safety alive and well..... Stand on the ladder and extend it while bouncing it slightly away from the wall.
P
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