How to Pick the Right Ladder for Your Home?

How to Pick the Right Ladder for Your Home

There are literally hundreds of variations on the basic ladder. Ladders are designed for specific needs. There are extension ladders for reaching high floors or tall trees. There are rolling 16 foot steel step ladders for accessing shelves in a warehouse. Ladders specially designed for firescapes. Folding wood ladders to climb up to your attic and rope ladders that hang down from helicopters. The list could go on and on, but, for purposes of this article, the focus will be on the most common type of ladders for home use.

Most homeowners can get by with a three to six foot stepladder. Each step is about one foot apart and is usually attached to a folding aluminum frame. The frame extends beyond the top step and is a convenient handle if you need to maintain your balance. Like most ladders it is inadvisable to stand on the very top step because you could easily fall. If you find you can’t reach what you are working on without standing on the top step, you need a bigger ladder. You can change a light bulb in a ceiling fixture by climbing up on a step ladder. Reaching dishes in the back of a tall cabinet, painting your wall or putting up curtains are just a few of the many household chores that are suitable for a stepladder.

If you like to work around the outside of the house, chances are you will need to get an A-Frame type of ladder. A six foot and a ten foot ladder should handle almost any job around the outside of your house. The ten foot ladder will allow you to safely climb on to your one story house’s roof and sweep off the leaves. You can use the six foot ladder to paint the walls of your house or maybe wax the roof of your SUV. The heavy wood ladder of the past has been replaced by fiberglass and aluminum ladders. Both of these ladders are good choices as they are lightweight but sturdy. When you need to get higher, remember to choose the right ladder for the job.