Greetings,
No doubt I'll get seriously razed for this, but I've a two story house with a hipped roof (gutters on all four sides). I've long since passed the age where I spend a lot of time on the roof, but on the off chance I need to get up there, how do I do it since clearly I cannot rest the ladder against the gutters.
--kyle
Try a small helicopter.
Have some construct a platform or and other safety devices so a ladder can be securely attached. Then remove the ladder when not in use.
You can buy aluminum "ladder stabilizers" that mouunt to the top of the ladder, they look like they're meant to span windows, but if you pull the base of the ladder out a bit, they act like feet that can reach OVER the gutters, and lean against the roof itself. This one:
That's what they make ladder standoffs for Kyle.
There's all different kinds, some hold the ladder out from the wall, others contact the roof's surface.
Here's a sample:
Happy New Year,
Jeff
Gutters are not weak, they wont cry or bend. What is important is saftey, extend ladder 2 ft higher and secure with bungy straps to the gutter. have a good angle on the ladder, but not to much or to little. Or don`t go up , get someone comfortable with it.
"kyle york" wrote
You don't want to lean an aluminum/fiberglass ladder against aluminum gutters, it can/will slide. You could buy what roofers (should) use.
This is extremely bad advice. Most aluminum or PVC gutters are poorly installed. And even when they are properly installed they most certainly WILL be likely to bend. The amount of pressure applied by a person going up that ladder is more than likely to cause the point where it contacts the gutter to deform slightly. Combine that with even a slightly uneven footing and DOWN goes the ladder. Someone that goes up ladders for a living might have enough experience to gauge just how much movement is safe. But the average homeowner does not have that sort of experience and should not be taking that sort of risk. Especially when it's so inexpensive to get decent stablizer.
SAFETY is certainly important. Just get a ladder extender like the one mentioned in another post. Or like one of the other stablizers show on the that website. Let the ladder rest securely against a surface that WILL NOT move. Don't half-ass it.
Not razed, nor even razzed. A ladder stabilizer is the ticket. The stabilizer legs sit on the roof. Having the ladder extend above the roof makes it a lot easier and safer to get up and down, and it's extremely unlikely that the ladder could ever slide and fall so you'd have no way to get down. If that happened the neighbors would find it the height of hilarity, but you'd probably have another opinion about it.
R
I like those stabilizers. However, getting on the roof itself is something else. On one roof I installed a bracket lagged into the rafters giving me a hand hold. Once on a two story with a roofer. He walked down the roof and leaned over looking at the gutters. I didn't bother to check what he told me.
Smoke some good POT. You'll get real high and wont need a ladder !!!!
Why cant you? Dont tell me you have plastic gutters...
People lean ladders against gutters all of the time and it's a bad idea all of the time. The gutter attachment may be sketchy, the ladder will probably scratch the gutter, the ladder is more likely to slide as there's metal-to-metal or metal-to fiberglass contact and both of those have lousy coefficients of friction, if the gutters are plastic they may crack in cold weather, etc.
A ladder stabilizer is one of those things that protects someone's home and the worker's butt. Not using one saves at most five minutes if the guy dawdles. Using one prevents all sorts of problems. So, why shouldn't he use a ladder stabilizer?
R
He can use what he wants, but a pair of ladder muffs if hes worried about scratches, and if hes not, well, have at it. If I have to hit a roof like hes got, the customers got two choices.....hire a crane for lifting us at $300+ an hour, or we are using the gutter... Done right, its got little pressure on them..
Been there. Done that. Shorter roof, but ladder fell in such a way to making jumping down impossible.
Thanks to everyone who responded. I'll likely get a ladder stabilizer (to go with the self leveling feet I got this year. What a difference!)
CBHVAC & others -- I didn't realize the gutters (steel) were strong enough to support a ladder. That's good info also. I've always been told that one never leans a ladder on gutters for fear of bending them.
Done right? The only way to get little pressure on the gutter is to stand the ladder up vertically - not a good idea.
How little is little in your opinion? Two pounds, five, ten? Post your guess, tell me what you weigh and the height of the ladder and I'll do the calculation for how much that little pressure actually is. You'll probably be surprised.
Your typical K-section aluminum gutter is not designed to take a lateral load. It can't take a lateral load as there is no crosspiece at the top bearing point of a ladder. The hangers have to take the lateral load. How much load the guttering can take is a function of the type of hanger and their spacing. Professionals install .032 gutters which is more robust than the ~.026 stuff the home centers sell. If someone is careful about placing the ladder straddling a hanger, or in between two if they're more closely spaced, than the gutter can take the load with no immediate effects.
Unfortunately, there are popular routes onto a roof, just as there are popular routes when driving. Compound that with some people not worrying about the gutters and just placing/banging the gutters anywhere and you can have damaged gutters. The gutter won't fall off the fascia, but it will show scars. If spikes and ferrules were used, the ferrule can push through the outside gutter face.
Physicians have a motto, First do no harm. I have the same viewpoint about people's houses. Does it take me more time? Barely, as the stabilizer is on all of the time. Does it mean I have to have extra equipment to lug around? Yep, the extra five or seven pounds doesn't strain me. It's what I'd want done on my house, and I figure that's how I should treat other people's houses as well.
Sorry for the delayed response, but the OP just had a follow up post and I somehow missed your reply. The OP mentioned that he had steel gutters. They're definitely stronger than aluminum, and I wouldn't be as concerned as if they were aluminum, but they still can get damaged. As I mentioned, I keep the stabilizer on at least one ladder all of the time - that way I don't have to determine whether I feel the gutters can take the abuse or not. I just pop the ladder up and go.
RI've been putting ladders against aluminum gutters for over 7 years with no bending, scratching, or sliding...
I've been seeing beat up gutters on remodeling projects for 30. How are they getting beat up if not from ladders?
R
I have put extension ladders against gutters for many years. never did any damage
one good idea, work with a helper or at least carry a cell phone in case you have a problem
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