"Doug White" wrote in message
...
I just moved into a new home near Boston, and I need a set of
pull-down
attic stairs. I had a really nice set installed about 10 years ago in
my
old place, and have been trying for TWO MONTHS to find someone who
would
sell me another one. It was a very nice 2-piece sliding aluminum
design
that was very secure and rigid, with an insulated door,
weatherstripping,
good toe clearance and a neat rotary spring arrangement. The frame
was
made out of baltic birch plywood, and the whole thing was more like
cabinetry than the junk they sell in home stores in the US. They were
from a European company (Roto-Frank), but their US divison now only
sells
their sky light windows.

For the curious, the best web site I could find is in German:

http://www.roto.ch/bot/bot82main.htm

Their French divison (who makes them, I think) won't answer my emails,
and their English office claims that they can't sell them to me
because
they lack liability coverage in the US. I've looked all over, and I
haven't found anything that looks as nice and solid as the Roto-Frank
ladder. That includes German ones, Italian ones, Danish ones, Czech
ones, etc., all of which I CAN order and have shipped from overseas.
The
one outfit that makes a really good ladder refuses to sell me one
because
their lawyers are paranoid. I'm sure it meets all Europena (DIN?)
safety
standards, but probably doesn't meet OSHA labeling requirements or
something.

So much for the global economy. I should have ripped the old one out
before I left.

Doug White

Have them stamp made in china on the box