Aluminum ladder length

Hello everyone... I live in an older two storey home. I want to purchase an aluminum ladder so that I will be able to safely clean out the rain gutters and eavestroughes. Will a 32 foot ladder be suitable (grade 2)? Your thoughts please. Thank you for your time.

Harry

Reply to
puffcat
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It should be fine. Keep in mind that the better the grade of the ladder, the more weight it will carry and the feel will be more rigid. If you are not particularly comfortable up on an extension ladder, you may want to consider a type 1 or 1a.

Reply to
RBM

All depends...how far off the ground are the gutters? :)

What's the terrain, overhead service entrance location, your weight and condition, etc., etc, etc., ...

Personally, I find it preferable to do gutters by being on the roof (assuming pitch is such is walkable) rather than having to bump a ladder around when I've had to do so. If I had a two-story which didn't have either access from a lower point or walkable roof it would be a major incentive for gutter guards.

As for the ladder itself, as someone else noted, a 32 footer at extension of class 2 would be pretty bouncy for a big dude, not so much for small fella' like me...

Seems like a 32 would be more than needed for a typical 2-story unless there are either high ceilings, and attic or other reasons it's tall...

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Reply to
dpb

I have a two-story with basement and have a 32-foot fiberglass ladder. Believe me, go with a heavier-duty and you'll be glad you did when at the top!

Reply to
Phisherman

How many feet up? What do you weigh? A ladder of 32 wont do 32 it has to be extended and set back, best is go to maybe Sherwin Williams and talk to a pro. Rubber Bungie cords attatched to the ladder and gutter make it safe. For some jobs just pay a cheap hacko pro. That ladder might be to much for you to handle.

When I painted years ago as a pro I could set up and drop in full air- to ground, a 40 ft Heavy duty ladder and catch it. now it would blow out my back and maybe kill me.

Reply to
ransley

Rueful chuckle. I have a 24 ft. 1A fiberglass (since it was cheaper than the 16 or 20 foot I really needed), and it is about the longest I'd want to handle solo. I can't toss it around like when I was a kid, either. Can't believe I used to use a 16 ft. wood ladder in my teenage years. I'll never use this 24 fully extended- even if I had anything that tall here, my inner ears and advancing age tell me to stop around 15 feet off the ground or so.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

Hi, Once I used that ladder for painting my last house(2 story). Did not cause any trouble. Took ~15 Gal. of paint. I still have the ladder but house being stucco, now I use it for access to gutter or hanging X-mas lights, things like that.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Hi, BTW, I weigh ~170 lbs.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

The height is the key. My house is on a very steep slope. Oneside a 12 foot ladder is all I need to get to the roof. The other side has a walkout basement and even a 24 foot ladder will not even reach the roof.

As mentioned an extension ladder has a couple of feet overlap and you need to place the ladder a certain distance from the point of contact at the top.

My house is too steep to walk on the roof. It is almost a 45 deg angle. I am lucky that there are not too many trees close by and I don't usually have to do the gutter cleaning, especially on the back side of the house.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

No way I'm getting up on an extension ladder for Christmas lights. Put a candle in the window and done.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

ransley wrote in news:6447fe19-8a48-4aee-b8f1- snipped-for-privacy@m44g2000hsc.googlegroups.com:

I can still drop one.

Reply to
Red Green

I have a 71 year=old friend, who last year at least could still put a

24 foot fiberglass (which are much heavier than aluminum) extension ladder on his little pickup with cap, by himself, then drag it off, carry it into the woods a bit or to a telephone pole on the street, erect it, go up and do the work, maybe go back down again to get tools, put it back on the truck, and do that a couple more times and then take it back to storage.

He's 5'7" or 5'8", not fat at all, and not very stong looking. Was a miler in college.

He still has a job where he lifts packages of various sizes all day. Carries a handtruck in his truck. Works maybe 40 hours a week, or maybe less. Plus does all kinds of ladder work around his house. He says recently that he's not as strong as he was.

His father died at 94 and his mother just shy of 100. Both active almost until the end. His mother drove and wore 2" heels at least until she was 95. Lived alone after her husband died until she was 96 iirc. Bedroom on second floor.

I'm blaming my situation on bad genes, compared to his.

Reply to
mm

I live surrounded by trees maybe 30 or 40 feet tall on two sides of my two story house, trees that are only about 20 feet from my house. And yet, I have either no leaves in my gutters or almost no leaves, depending on the year, and just a tiny bit of "gravel" from the new shingles.

After 20 years, I still can't figure out why there are no leaves -- they're a lot of leaves on the grass -- but I'd try to make sure I actually get leaves in the gutters before buying the ladder. Maybe you can borrow one.

I love the |___| shaped thing that clamps on near the top of the ladder. Makes it much more stable. There are two or three models, including one model that can be used two ways, narrow and far from the house, or wide and close to the house. Also meant to span windows, if you have windows narrow enough to span. So think about it a while before you buy. Most places seem to only sell one model.

On uneven land, I've sometimes put a board under one leg, but when I do that, I hammer a couple big spikes or wood wedges into the ground to make sure the board doesn't move. And I've tied the ladder to the porch railing on occasion.

Does a 32 foot ladder actually measure 32? I don't remember, but do they just measure two 16 foot pieces and add them together, or do they take into account that you have to have, what, a 3? foot overlap.

Reply to
mm

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