The house I just moved into has a tall (two story) front entrance with a porch light suspended by a chain and hanging about 11ft off the ground. It has three candelabra lights and two of them are burnt out. My standard step ladder is too short and I have no way to reach the fixture. The fixture is open at the bottom but only about 5" in diameter and the bottom has a base that holds the light sockets and looks as though it could swing freely within the overall glass enclosure. Is there some trick to replacing the bulbs in these fixtures? If not then what a poor design this is to require such a tall step ladder to get to it. The bulbs are oriented pointing up (ie base down) so I can't use a pole and attachment to unscrew the bulbs from below. I've never had a porchlight like this and wonder what the trick is.

I don't think there is a trick, other than the fact that you need a taller stepladder. Hanging the fixture any lower would probably make it easy to hit and break it. There are times and situations in a house where everything cannot be done with what you have on hand, requiring additional tools/supplies to do the job. There are probably other areas of the house that requires a tall ladder.

Replace Porch Light Bulbs - too high. Is there a trick to this?

Dec 01, 2008 25 Replies

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mkirsch1 17 years ago

It's not crazy, it's reality. Quit whining and sell the damn house if this is such a problem.

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jmeehan 17 years ago

On Dec 2, 5:55=A0am, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote: ...

As usual Ed has come up with a practical answer.

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jmeehan 17 years ago

That is the answer. It just happened to be part of the question.

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jch 17 years ago

Thanks AH want to buy it?

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aemeijers 17 years ago

Uh, you can RENT ladders pretty cheaply for a day, if you have a way to haul them. I have a 24' class 1a- longer than I really need, but it was

60 bucks cheaper than the 16' from the same manufacturer. Go figure.

If there is no place to lean an extension ladder, and you can't reach from an 8' stepladder, a couple of sections of scaffold would be tall enough. I agree- change the fixture to a guyed pendant with downward-facing bulbs you can change with the pole gripper. Life is too short, etc.

-- aem sends...

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mkirsch1 17 years ago

No but Jeezus Kee-rist. You're making such a big deal out of this. Get a grip on reality.

Any sane reasonable person would say, "I need a taller ladder," then go out and buy a taller ladder. Not you. "This is crazy... crazy... CRAAAAAAAAZEEEEEEEEE!!!!"

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