Loft ladder

Ganga

Having just fallen out of the loft ,luckily only skinned arms ,sore neck and bum ,( my own fault ,used step ladder that is just too short and stood on the handrail at the top ) well rather than do that again am thinking of a proper loft ladder or one of those expanding ladders that are easy to store in the shed.
Can anyone give me an approximate cost of having a loft ladder installed if they have had one done. 

Belenus

If you have enough loft space a loft ladder is a very easy job for anyone with basic DIY skills.

About ten years ago I bought a basic expanding loft ladder for about £50 and installed it myself. All that was required was screwing it to the top frame of the loft opening.

I keep the supplied metal pole with a hook on the end in the landing  boiler cupboard to pull it down when required.

The ladder has three sliding sections so it is compact when not in use so it needs very little space in the loft.

Just be careful not to fall when doing the work. If possible get someone to hold the ladder while you are attaching it although it is easy to do it solo if you are careful.

Ganga

Belenus said:

If you have enough loft space a loft ladder is a very easy job for anyone with basic DIY skills.

About ten years ago I bought a basic expanding loft ladder for about £50 and installed it myself. All that was required was screwing it to the top frame of the loft opening.

I keep the supplied metal pole with a hook on the end in the landing  boiler cupboard to pull it down when required.

The ladder has three sliding sections so it is compact when not in use so it needs very little space in the loft.

Just be careful not to fall when doing the work. If possible get someone to hold the ladder while you are attaching it although it is easy to do it solo if you are careful.

Thanks but i have all ready done that 

jennifernil

There are various types available......aluminium....wood......sliding....folding.......insulated trap door.....etc.   Check  the headroom above, the clearance where it will lie when closed, and the width between your joists,  then take a look on line.  Toolstation and Screwfix both have a selection, but are not  necessarily the cheapest.

The wooden ones have nice wide treads, but are heavier, depends on how often you need to use it. 

Norman_Castle

Not a recommendation but an idea of prices. https://www.instaloft.co.uk/loft-ladders/

Step ladders for a loft never feel safe. Extending ladders which rest inside the hatch or on a nearby wall are much safer.

A few years ago I fitted my own hatch with wooden ladders. They work really well and because of how easy they are to use the loft is used much more than if I had to move ladders stored elsewhere. It depends on how often you expect to use the loft.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

what about this, from ARGOS, depending on height needed.

jennifernil

We have something similar to this


https://www.toolstation.com/tb-davies-envirofold-loft-ladder/p63295

TELLIT01

Fitting the ladder itself is generally pretty straightforward.  Modifying the trap door may not be quite so simple if the current hatch is one which pushes up into the loft space rather than dropping down.  The size of the existing access may affect which ladders can effectively be used.

JGB1955

jennifernil said:

We have something similar to this


https://www.toolstation.com/tb-davies-envirofold-loft-ladder/p63295

We've had one of those for more than 30 years.  My husband fitted it and (perhaps amazingly) it's still in full working order after all that time.

Ganga

TELLIT01 said:

Fitting the ladder itself is generally pretty straightforward.  Modifying the trap door may not be quite so simple if the current hatch is one which pushes up into the loft space rather than dropping down.  The size of the existing access may affect which ladders can effectively be used.

The loft hatch is removed by pushing up and twisting ,made of plastic type material ,would probably have some one fit it as it will done quicker and save me falling out of the loft again 

-taff

I bought one of these because I am clumsy and I dont want to give myself more grief than necessary or more liliehood of falling

https://www.laddersandscaffoldtowers.co.uk/acatalog/Concertina-Loft-Ladders.html

Someone is set to install that and enlarge the access and  tidy up, hopefully they will turn up in the next few weeks. I'll let you know how safe it is.

We have no ladder at the moment, I've had to scramble up a stepladder and then a hinged ladder to get in there before, and neither of those things were partiularly safe.