On 2 May 2007 09:55:40 -0700, fishcakes wrote:

I just bought a 20 ft. extension ladder and it came with a rope and
pulley system. How do you operate this. If I untie the knot, it
seems like I can just push the ladder up and lock it in place. Is the
rope just another alternative to extendind the ladder or is it a
safety mechanism that I need to do something with. If not, it is
necessary to tie the rope around one of the lower steps after
extension to secure or just let it dangle in place.

Thanks for all the advice.


The rope is INTENDED just to extend the ladder, since you can't
reach the extended section when it's extended. I ALSO wrap it
around two overlapping rungs and tie it off once the ladder
is in place, but that's more to keep the rope under control than
anything else. I also tie the ladder to something near the
top (a screw eye driven into the eave, for instance), because
I get enough wind that I could easily loose the ladder while
I'm on the roof, or have it blow over while I've gone into the
house after a brush. Falling ladders break things.