ladder: double or triple?

Hi,

As you may know from my recent posts, I have flat roof troubles. I need a ladder to get up there. It's about 2.5 metres high and I understand that if you are climbing off a ladder onto a roof, you should have an extra metre sticking up beyond the roof, so I would need a 3.5 metre ladder, roughly speaking. (I realise that once the ladder is at the correct angle, this would reduce the height slightly).

I have looked on the ladders999 web site, which has been recommended here before. They suggest you buy a triple ladder as their smaller length makes them easier to store and carry, but I thought I had read elsewhere that double ladders were better. I think the counter argument was that because the sections fit inside one another, the third section is narrower. Is this an issue in practice?

Do you recommend a double or a triple ladder?

You may be wondering why I am asking when a single ladder would get me

3.4 metres high. Well, I could not see any single ladders on Screwfix or ladders999 and I thought I would be lazy and let them deliver to me, rather than drive to a store!

I am not intending going any higher than 2.5 m but I figure if I do have a ladder that extends to 6 m, it may be useful if a friend ever volunteers to clean my gutters for me. I'm not sure I would have a head for gutter-height myself. I've plucked 6 m out of the air. What is a good size for a general purpose about-the-home ladder? Would that be about right?

Finally for occasional DIY use are these Lyte trade ladders ok? Is there any benefit to spending more on the industrial class ones? For the cost, I think I may as well go for the trade rather than DIY ladder? I think that I read somewhere the DIY ladders were not as rigid and obviously have a lower weight capacity?

Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Fred
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Last time I did exactly that I used a single section ladder. Reason is simply that its easier and lighter to use. I didnt worry about the extra metre. There's a big difference between what you'd need to do in a commercial situation and what you can do purely for yourself.

You can put together a wooden ladder to do that for about =A36

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you want something decent and multi-useful, maybe check out those 4 way folding ladders, they can do various jobs a trad ladder cant, and can be packed into small spaces.

NT

Reply to
NT

heavy laddrs are heavier than light ladders!

Where are you going to store it? that will give you the maximum length.

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Reply to
george [dicegeorge]

Fred pretended :

Unless you have a good reason for a short triple, I generally find a long double more useful. I have one 4m double and a 4m single. The double can be split to allow two people to use each section. The double is also long enough to gain access to the roof and gutters.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Have a look at one of these

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working height of 3.72m but folds up to down to under 1m. Also doubles as a step ladder/platform etc. Very sturdy.

Also available with a platform from SF

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Reply to
The Medway Handyman

There's an attachemnt for the top of ladders i think called a stand off, which holds it a few feet away from the wall and means you can get past the gutters easier.

[g]
Reply to
george [dicegeorge]

Ladder Stay

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every penny. Not only does it enable you to 'stand off' from the gutters, it makes the ladder much more stable.

Something else I rarely use a ladder without is one of these

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Reply to
The Medway Handyman

If you are going for a long one, then I would go with the triple for a few reasons:

Easier to store, more versatile in that it breaks down into smaller bits (giving options of one long, one short, three short etc). Its also easier to get it up to full length IME, since you can get a bigger proportion of each section fully extended when standing on the ground.

The down side is slightly more weight for the same overall length (since you have an extra bit of overlap to carry about)

Depends on how tall your house is. I started with a 6.8m triple:

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that was fine in our previous 1950's semi. It would get safely to gutter level. However once I built the third storey on it, it was too small! So I sold that and got the 10.2m:

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not as easy to move about, but copes with most places including taller Victorian properties.

Yup, very good IME. They are BS EN 131 "trade" rated (or however they refer to to the middle spec these days), and even if you are fairly heavy they remain stable and solid.

IIRC there are several different categories or sub classes, where "Industrial" had a duty rating 130kg and a max vertical static load of

175kg. Trade is 115/150, and domestic is 95/125. Those loads also take into account the anticipated level of use.

Yup, the DIY class are only good for something like 125kg max. I have claimed one once, but never again! Very flimsy in comparison, and the lateral stability is also very poor under load. Note that is also before you try carrying a 20kg bucket of mortar up one!

(if you are only 10st soaking wet, then you can probably ignore these comments, but they are relevant for TFB's such as I)

Reply to
John Rumm

these

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BaseMate is even easier:
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Reply to
dent

for a platform; I'm even more unsure what to buy now ;)

I only really need a single but I can't find anyone selling any. I guess a single in a shed will cost as much as a double mail order, so I may as well get a double and get two for the price of one.

These folding ladders looking interesting. It's a shame neither web site showed more photos of the different configurations. Can you have one "leg" of the platform longer than the other, so that you can use it on the stairs?

How safe are these stair platforms? What stops them falling down the stairs? Do you just make sure there's no sudden movement? The decorator that did our stairs leaned two ladders against opposite walls and put a plank between them, which looked pretty sturdy.

Reply to
Fred

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>>> I've got one recommendation for a double, one for a triple, and one

Good pickies & video here

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Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Also a little more effect upon failure! If that gives way...

Rubber mats probably don't break or collapse. I can't see the mats clearly in plan view, but they look similar to those that I liberated from the West Coast Main Line - if they can stand up to a train they'd be OK for a ladder.

Reply to
PeterC

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