Store aluminum ladder outdoors?

Aluminum would be OK but any plastics, like the rope, would degrade more rapidly exposed to sunlight.

dgk wrote in news:p460a7t3rkbe2qdlcjoojhcmp5niidkegt@

Why provide extra means of entry for burglary? They love people who leave ladders for them......

Hmm, isn't the aim for most burglaries to get into the house unseen as quickly as possible - so entry via a lower window is preferable to fetching a ladder and going in via the top (assuming that the upper floor windows are closed, I suppose :-)

cheers

Jules

The bottom of my deck joists are just under 6' above the ground, so I can walk underneath it.

I screwed brackets to the block wall under the deck and hang my 28' ladder on the hooks.

I attached some plywood to the bottom of the joists, sloped to form a ~1' "roof" over the ladder so that any water that drips through the deck boards doesn't drip onto the ladder.

The ladder been stored that way for over 20 years.

Hi, I have been doing it for years for my 32 feet ext. ladder, I hang it under the eve. of tool shed when not in use.

On Oct 20, 8:42 am, Jules Richardson ..

Andy comments:

Perhaps he is getting burgled by a midget ... :>)))))

Andy in Eureka, Texas

Same here.

Andy replies:

I leave mine outside and , after many years, have noticed no deterioration in the metal.... HOWEVER, I use mine mostly for cleaning out gutters, and have some shag carpet duct taped around the top 2 feet so it won't scratch the gutter that U set it against..... That deteriorates.... I am considering just making some carpet "sleeves" that I can slip on an off..... Just an idea... Maybe some innovative inventor will make a product like that and get rich ....

Andy in Eureka, Texas

dgk wrote in news:p460a7t3rkbe2qdlcjoojhcmp5niidkegt@

I keep a 28' ladder in my garage along a wall. I stack 2 cinder blocks under both ends, lay the ladder down flat on them and cover with a couple of long boards. Makes for a great storage shelf! Downside is you have to empty the shelf to use the ladder. TomC

Same here. I keep it under part of the house eaves. Been doing it for 15 years. The only concern I have is that while the ladder is aluminum, the two bolts that connect the latching part to the ladder are steel and have rust on them. Probably not a big deal, as they still appear to be intact and the rust probably is just on the surface. Still, I do think about it when I'm on the ladder.....

The rope deteriorated, but that's easily replaced. If storing under a deck, I'd find some concrete blocks or similar to keep it off the ground.

I leave all three of mine outdoors. Other than the rope rotting, and the plastic on the pulleys if there are plastic pulleys, they wear well. I would just place them somewhere they are somewhat protected, and you don't have to dig through the snow to get at it.

Steve

I would agree with everything except that part about putting where you don't have to dig it out of the snow. I would want it exactly where I would have to dig it out of the snow. I can't think of a reason why I would want to get on a ladder when it is that cold out, so any excuse I can use is a good one (g)>

Hmmm...the time to think about those bolts is *before* you're on the ladder.

But you knew that, didn't you? ;-)

I used to hang my 28' on a wall in my garage until I bought a 10' aluminum step ladder.

Now the step ladder is hanging in the garage and the 28' is hanging under the deck, under a small "roof" overhang to keep it clean/dry.

No room on the garage floor due to storage on one side and the dogs' crates and the freezer on the other.

BTW...I bought the 10' Werner (essentially brand new) on eBay for $60. Brand new, the ladder sells for ~$180. It was pick-up only about 350 miles from my house, but less than 30 miles from my Mom's house. I paid the guy via eBay and he agreed to hold it for a month until I went to visit Mom for Christmas.

Why not screw some shelf brackets into the studs and hang the ladder on the wall?

With a few more cinder blocks you could keep the shelf on the floor, but you wouldn't have to move anything to use the ladder.

I hang my ladders from the garage ceiling. I built boxes over the door to hold the feet, then mounted 2x4s across the ceiling, with eye hooks in them. I then hook ropes with doggy clips tied to the ends across the ladders to keep them against the ceiling (and the feet planted in the boxes). A rope and pulley makes them easy to put away.

That's a pretty good idea.

I used to have one of those red folding trailers for which I made some nice looking sides. I used to store the sides in much the same way (above the garage door) by hanging them flat against the ceiling with bungee cords and eye hooks. A step ladder was all I needed to get them up and down.

You can get rubber 'boots' that slip over the ends of the ladder for just that purpose (although I suppose, being at the top, they should be called gloves :-)

I normally just tie some cloth or something around the ends as/when needed, though.

Both of my ladders just live in one of my open vehicle sheds, so they're covered, but still exposed to damp air (but I need to be careful where I put them as the front half of the sheds fill up with snow over winter). Putting some hanging hooks on the back wall has been on the to-do list for more months than I care to think about ;)

cheers

Jules

Just curious...

"my open vehicle sheds" vs. "the back wall"

Does "open" mean 3 sided - i.e. just no door?