Lennie the Lurker wrote:

(Doug White) wrote in message ...

There are lots of US made ones. Ones with ratty 1/4" plywood doors, no
toe clearance, no insulation, & no weatherstriping. They are either made
of wood, weigh a lot (which them requires heavy springs to argue with),
or they are made of thin aluminum. All of them are rickety.

Hmmmm. IN defense of the "rickety" US made product, I have one. Yes,
when the bolts loosen up, I have to tighten them, yes the door is 1/4
inch plywood, but there's nothing preventing me from changing that,
four bolts. The springs are not a problem, unless someone is too lazy
to pull on the sash cord that brings it down. Harder, maybe
impossible to argue with, it's been there since the very early 1960's,
and my wife was no featherweight. As far as the "rickety", once my
weight is on it, the joints lock and it becomes quite rigid. Weather
stripping is still available at the local hardware store, also a
non-problem. The only thing it lacks, there is no snob appeal to it,
I can't point to it and brag about how much excess money I put into it
to avoid having to use an inferior domestic product. Forty years of
service for a forty buck ladder is not something you can argue with.
Hey Lennie, the one you put up 40 yrs. ago is not like the junk they
sell now.. i had one installed in my house when it was being built in
1970 ane a few years later i added a seond one in the garage... i was in
home depot and lowes looking at the ones they sell not for about
$100-$150 and they look like junk..to me.....the ones you and i have are
alot better, the wood seems thicker and the metal/springs seem to work
better??? i hope this is not all over for if i needed another one i
would not go to home depot or lowes but would check out some other
building material places or lumber yards...