Loft ladder question: wood vs. aluminium

[cs]

A couple of small questions regarding loft ladders. I need to install one as the only access I have today to my loft is via a small hatch and ladders put on top of our granite kitchen worktop, hardly safe nor something that pleases the wife...

The choice seems to be very much folding wood vs. sliding aluminium ladders. The folding ones (like most wood ladders) don't need any vertical or horizontal clearance which is great from a loft storage etc. point of view, while the sliding type (like most aluminium ladders) need

70-100cm vertical and ~150cm horizontal clearance in the loft. That space is not an issue for me, so I am free choose whatever suits my personal likings best.

What bothers me about the wooden ones is the weight: we appear to be talking 30kg for a wooden ladder vs. 15kg for a comparable aluminium one. I presume this also translate into an equivalent ease (or not) when it comes to raise/lower the ladder as well, although all are spring counterbalanced that only would help to close the hatch, not to actually lift the first half or two thirds off the ground and slide it up or fold it together. So from the ability of the average person to lower/raise the ladders, how much of an issue is this?

When it comes to sturdiness ("wobble")I suspect wood will have the edge, is that correct?

And what are folks' opinion about the steel or aluminium concertina ladders, particularly regarding sturdiness and ease or use?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Dave Fawthrop]

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 20:57:28 +0000 (UTC), cs wrote:

|A couple of small questions regarding loft ladders. I need to install=20 |one as the only access I have today to my loft is via a small hatch and=20 |ladders put on top of our granite kitchen worktop, hardly safe nor=20 |something that pleases the wife... | |The choice seems to be very much folding wood vs. sliding aluminium=20 |ladders. The folding ones (like most wood ladders) don't need any=20 |vertical or horizontal clearance which is great from a loft storage etc.= =20 |point of view, while the sliding type (like most aluminium ladders) need= =20 |70-100cm vertical and ~150cm horizontal clearance in the loft. That=20 |space is not an issue for me, so I am free choose whatever suits my=20 |personal likings best. | |What bothers me about the wooden ones is the weight: we appear to be=20 |talking 30kg for a wooden ladder vs. 15kg for a comparable aluminium=20 |one. I presume this also translate into an equivalent ease (or not) when= =20 |it comes to raise/lower the ladder as well, although all are spring=20 |counterbalanced that only would help to close the hatch, not to actually= =20 |lift the first half or two thirds off the ground and slide it up or fold= =20 |it together. So from the ability of the average person to lower/raise=20 |the ladders, how much of an issue is this? | |When it comes to sturdiness ("wobble")I suspect wood will have the edge,= =20 |is that correct? | |And what are folks' opinion about the steel or aluminium concertina=20 |ladders, particularly regarding sturdiness and ease or use?

I installed Aluminium, and it is quite heavy enough thank you, the women = in the family find it heavier than me. They would have difficulty with wood. It does not wobble significantly.

Installing it needed careful planning, I have only an inch or two spare = all the way round.=20

--=20 Dave Fawthrop

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[Mary Fisher]

In my experience wood is heavy and aluminium is noisy. I'm always surprised at the strength and stability of our two-part aluminium one and am not sorry that we bought it to replace the wooden one, which I found clumsy and heavy.

But that was more than twenty years ago, things might have changed. Ours still supports me while I'm carrying heavy weights, which is quite a challenge!

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

I forgot to say that the aluminium one is manageable by five year olds. Well, it was by two of our grandsons once they'd worked out that you didn't need to say a magic word to release it but that there was a little catch on the side which locked the two parts into position ... they were the first grandchildren to discover that and are now twenty one years old. When they were small they couldn't reach the rod which pulled it down and pushed it up - and closed the hatch door - so there was no danger of illicit use.

Mary

[Andy Hall]

I've had both the aluminium and the folding wooden ones.

I tend to access the loft fairly regularly for storage purposes and to access servers etc. which live there.

Frankly, the aluminium ones are rubbish if you need to access the loft regularly. A lot of space is wasted, they are wobbly and the narrow treads hurt the feet.

In these respects, the wooden ones are far superior.

On the wooden ones, the springs are intended to pretty much counterbalance the weight of the folded three sections and the hatch lid. Basically, when you release the catch, this lot will drop about

25cm and that's it. You can very easily take the weight to let it drop that distance gently, but even if you don't, nothing bad happens.

You then pull the whole thing gently down to the hatch open position against the springs. The lower two sections weigh, at a guess, 8kg or so and those are the only pieces where you have to take the weight, although even part of that is on the hinges.

In short, I don't see sprung wooden loft ladders as having weight problems.

One thing that I did do to protect the floor (we have oak flooring on the landing) was to attach a piece of wood to the bottom of the ladder

-i.e. like an extra tread right on the bottom. I glued a piece of rubber industrial flooring material to this. That way, the load is spread and the surface is protected. I tried a piece of carpet originally but this slid around. Certainly if you are resting the ladder onto a granite worktop I would recommend something similar to a) prevent sliding and b) protect the worktop.

Before buying, check the height. Is the room high to begin with? Otherwise, if it's the standard 2.X metres and you are starting at worktop level, a three section ladder might not work. Height is adjusted by cutting off a piece of the bottom section. You could cut off almost all of it, I suppose, but best to check before buying.

[Mary Fisher]

We go up most days and have no problems at all with the ally one.

Oh come on! I go up in bare feet as often as not and it doesn't hurt. I've even been going up and down with my recently butchered feet and clumsy 'surgical boot', again with no problems.

I think you're a sensitive plant :-)

Mary

[Owain]

Before you spend loadsamoney on a loft ladder you might consider whether it would be possible to make more sense to make a larger hatch elsewhere.

Owain

[Andy Hall]

Are these like clogs? :-)

[Mary Fisher]

...

There's only one, which makes me uneven. I should have said 'foot', not 'feet'. I'm surprised you didn't correct me- or perhaps your reply was a subtle correction?

It's made in France so must be elegant :-)

It's closed by velcro straps which had to be cut so I wouldn't trip - it must fit any size of dressing. Mine's big enough! Gets me into training for when I'm even older and can't do buckles and laces!

But it's so wide! Do you remember Darling Clementine for whom herring boxes without topses sandals made?

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Ever the lateral thinker :-)

Mary

[david lang]

My (three section) aluminium loft ladder is rock solid. It's made from extruded section, the shape of which makes it rigid. Even when I climb it, and I'm an official FB!

Dave

[Andy Hall]

Friendly Bear?

[al]

I think to balance this discussion - how much are people spend on said ladders? I'm sure the expensive versions of either are quite good. I'm thinking of doing it myself as it's a pain in the ass getting a step ladder each time. Also, since carpeting the landing, I nearly fell off last time when the step ladder went flying as I transferred my weight off the top step.

I've seen a local offer for a metal one for under £100 including fitting. Strikes me as alarmingly cheap considering what most "workmen" charge by the hour these days!

a

[meow2222]

Wood is a lot more versatile than ali, in that you can design or alter it any which way you want to get everything to fit even the most awkward space. This is not true at all of ali.

Wood is heavier, and I'll admit I havent weighed my wood ladder, but I'd be pretty surprised if it was anywhere near 30kg. (Its a multipurpose one, not a fitted loftie.)

As materials, ali is expensive, wood cheap, so you're likely to see a lot more flimsy alis on the market than flimsy woods.

Wood is rather more pleasant to use imho, but its no biggie.

If I put another loft ladder in I'll use wod and make my own. Very easy and quick, very solid, mind bogglingly inexpensive (like =A310), and endlessly permutable.

I would seriously not put a ladder on granite worktop, not even once. You're lucky it hasnt shattered.

NT

[david lang]

Although I could be described as such, I'm sure you know the acronym :-)

If not its an anagram of ABAFT DARTS

Dave

[Mike Dodd]

...and then install a loft ladder in that hatch.

Ok, I'm living in a shoe-box new-build home, with buggerall storage, so the loft space appealed to me for storing empty boxes and whatnot*

Bought a cheap set of alu ladders - something around the £30-40 mark, I think (around 6 years ago, now) and installed these into the hatch. Hatch had to be modified, of course, to remove the lip that supported the hatch lid and to replace with a loft hatch that was hinged, new surround around that, paint and make-good. All in all, a good afternoons work.

Now, I'm 6ft (give or take) and weigh in at a portly 15 stone (give or take!) and the ladders cope admirabley with me carting stuff in and out of the attic at regular (see size of house) intervals.

I can heartily recommend a set of loft ladders... and I have no complaint about the el-cheapo Alu set that I bought (from Wickes, if memory serves me correctly)

• whatnot = Old oscilloscopes, books, computer bits, airbed, sewing machine, spare set of step-ladders, luggage...

[Mary Fisher]

Think Alexi Sayle ...

[Mary Fisher]

We bought ours, many years ago, from a shed, it was cheap and very easy to fit. Why do you need someone to install it? I think eight screws were needed to fit two hinges - which haven't let us down.

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

I can understand the what not but why empty boxes??? Our whatnots include a dolls house, stores of leather and fabric, tents and camping equipment, some weird historical equipment (used sometimes), spinning wheel, slabs of beeswax, honey jars, moulds, ceramics and other things made by student children in the past which they'll eventually want (I hope), ... and probably all the things we can never find until we think of looking in the loft ...

And the new plumbing and a futon ...

I'd forgotten about the hatch modification. We had to enlarge ours to allow some of the large items through.

Sound advice.

Mary

[Dave Fawthrop]

|>> In these respects, the wooden ones are far superior. |>

|> I think to balance this discussion - how much are people spend on said= =20 |> ladders? I'm sure the expensive versions of either are quite good. = I'm=20 |> thinking of doing it myself as it's a pain in the ass getting a step=20 |> ladder each time. Also, since carpeting the landing, I nearly fell = off=20 |> last time when the step ladder went flying as I transferred my weight = off=20 |> the top step. |>

|> I've seen a local offer for a metal one for under =A3100 including = fitting.=20 |> Strikes me as alarmingly cheap considering what most "workmen" charge = by=20 |> the hour these days! | |We bought ours, many years ago, from a shed, it was cheap and very easy = to=20 |fit. Why do you need someone to install it? I think eight screws were = needed=20 |to fit two hinges - which haven't let us down.

I had to cut a joist, which needed strengthening also construct and = insert new trap door, so not as easy, but not difficult.

--=20 Dave Fawthrop

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