I tore off the siding on my house. The back was/is ~ 16' up to the
eves. I already had the little giant knockoff at Lowes for $160 on
sale. Folded in half, shaped like letter A, the top rung is at 9 feet.
I then bought 6 pcs of 2x4x12ft. Stood the 2x4x12's on end about 2'
apart (all 4 pieces form a square) then cut-up the 5th and 6th piece
into braces and screwed them all together. Now I have a "tower" with a
support at 9' high. Now I took my extension ladder, laid down
horizontally between the tower and little giant knockoff and I have a
scaffold that I don't rent. I used my 8' A frame ladder to climb up
and onto the scaffold. I used hand truck to move scaffold all around
yard. I don't feel comfortable with pump jacks so this is an excellent
and reliable/safe system. HTH, Tom

On Sep 25, 2:37*pm, Joe wrote:
On Sep 24, 8:40*pm, Christopher Nelson wrote:

I have two fairly short stories in a split level house. *The highest
gutters are approximately 15' above ground level. *I know the 4:1 rule
for putting up an extension ladder but I'm not sure how much of a 20'
extension ladder is lost to the overlap. *Is a 20' ladder enough to
reach eaves or do I need a 22'?

What you need is a Little Giant. I have one and it is fantastic.
Although it is somewhat heavy, it has wheels to move it around which
make it easier. Most people turn pale at the price, but if you are
doing a lot of DIY home repair is is a very good investment. Being
lazy and a bit clumsy, I also have 3' x 6' rolling scaffolding and a
24' aluminum ladder, plus 6' and 8' Type III fiberglass. Bottom line,
the more good ladders and scaffolding you have the easier the job.

Joe