Hi,

I'm a petite female homeowner. I often need a ladder around the house
(for example, to change lightbulbs or paint ceilings), and I need one
outside to get on the roof. I have an aluminum ladder for outside, but
it is very difficult for me to move it and set it up. Does anyone know
of reasonably quality light ladders, one for inside, one for out? Has
anyone used the Little Giant ladders?

Thanks!

I know of nothing lighter than aluminum.

For exterior use, if you cannot handle an aluminum ladder (assuming its
the right size), you should probably just hire a handyman for work on
the roof, or get a neighbor to help you set up your ladder.

For interior use, an aluminum stepladder is easy to maneuver and store,
and suited for almost all tasks. An exception would be working around
staircases. The articulating ladders, such as the little giant, are
good if you have to work around stairways, but they are far from light,
and are overkill for most uses. Once in a while I paint my boat while
it is out of the water. I find two stepladders and a plank far more
convenient than my articulating ladder.

Melissa wrote:

Hi,

I'm a petite female homeowner. I often need a ladder around the house
(for example, to change lightbulbs or paint ceilings), and I need one
outside to get on the roof. I have an aluminum ladder for outside, but
it is very difficult for me to move it and set it up. Does anyone know
of reasonably quality light ladders, one for inside, one for out? Has
anyone used the Little Giant ladders?

Thanks!

I would prefer fiberglass for the stepladder in particular, since she
mentions changing light bulbs- electrical safety

"Sev" wrote in news:1151877472.240906.39930
@h44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:


I would prefer fiberglass for the stepladder in particular, since she
mentions changing light bulbs- electrical safety



If you get zapped changing a light bulb you're too stupid to change a light
bulb. Even if yo are that stupid, consider turning the switch off. Oh wow!
Brilliant!! Come'on people!

Al Bundy wrote:

If you get zapped changing a light bulb you're too stupid to change a light
bulb. Even if yo are that stupid, consider turning the switch off. Oh wow!
Brilliant!! Come'on people!


Ok, how may stepladders does it take to change a light bulb? I was
thinking she might occasionally be doing something more involved, like
changing a fixture- of course, should turn power off then, too.
Probably- I just like the darn things, and am looking for an excuse...

"Sev" wrote in
oups.com:


Al Bundy wrote:

If you get zapped changing a light bulb you're too stupid to change a
light bulb. Even if yo are that stupid, consider turning the switch
off. Oh wow! Brilliant!! Come'on people!


Ok, how may stepladders does it take to change a light bulb? I was
thinking she might occasionally be doing something more involved, like
changing a fixture- of course, should turn power off then, too.
Probably- I just like the darn things, and am looking for an
excuse...



I just like the darn things, and am looking for an
excuse...

Now that's honesty I respect....and an excuse I sha-(

Melissa wrote:

Hi,

I'm a petite female homeowner. I often need a ladder around the house
(for example, to change lightbulbs or paint ceilings), and I need one
outside to get on the roof. I have an aluminum ladder for outside, but
it is very difficult for me to move it and set it up. Does anyone know
of reasonably quality light ladders, one for inside, one for out? Has
anyone used the Little Giant ladders?

I was in Sears today and they had Little Giant ladders on display. I hefted
one and found it to be heavy as ladders of that length go. If weight is
the issue I would have difficulty recommending one.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Al Bundy wrote:
"Sev" wrote in news:1151877472.240906.39930
@h44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I would prefer fiberglass for the stepladder in particular, since she
mentions changing light bulbs- electrical safety



If you get zapped changing a light bulb you're too stupid to change a light
bulb. Even if yo are that stupid, consider turning the switch off. Oh wow!
Brilliant!! Come'on people!

Your limited electrical field experience is showing. There are
thousands of Carter System three way switching circuits still in use in
the United States and Canada. Such circuits can and do leave both the
screw shell and the center contact of Edison based lamp holders hot at
120 volts to ground when the light is off. When such circuits are wired
using metal conduit or armored cable, as many were, the person
attempting to change the bulb can face a truly dangerous condition. Add
to those the number of reversed polarity and open neutral faults I find
each year in my electrical work and the use of non conductive ladders in
changing light bulbs is not such a wild idea.
--
Tom Horne

"This alternating current stuff is just a fad. It is much too dangerous
for general use." Thomas Alva Edison

On Sun, 02 Jul 2006 18:16:20 -0400, Charlie Morgan wrote:

On 2 Jul 2006 09:09:42 -0700, "Melissa" wrote:

Hi,

I'm a petite female homeowner. I often need a ladder around the house
(for example, to change lightbulbs or paint ceilings), and I need one
outside to get on the roof. I have an aluminum ladder for outside, but
it is very difficult for me to move it and set it up. Does anyone know
of reasonably quality light ladders, one for inside, one for out? Has
anyone used the Little Giant ladders?

Thanks!

The lightest ladders ever made were made from magnesium. Makes aluminum look
like cast iron by comparison. They stopped making them in the late 1950's or
early 1960's due to a few knuckleheads doing extreme things with them and
getting hurt. I still have an 18 footer, and it weighs so little, I have to be
careful not to leave it where the wind might blow it away. Maybe you can find
one on ebay.


Unless OP expects to be working in stairwells or has 12' ceilings,
a plain old 6' wooden stepladder should be fine.

"Tom Horne, Electrician" wrote in
ink.net:

Al Bundy wrote:
"Sev" wrote in news:1151877472.240906.39930
@h44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I would prefer fiberglass for the stepladder in particular, since
she mentions changing light bulbs- electrical safety



If you get zapped changing a light bulb you're too stupid to change a
light bulb. Even if yo are that stupid, consider turning the switch
off. Oh wow! Brilliant!! Come'on people!

Your limited electrical field experience is showing. There are
thousands of Carter System three way switching circuits still in use
in the United States and Canada. Such circuits can and do leave both
the screw shell and the center contact of Edison based lamp holders
hot at 120 volts to ground when the light is off. When such circuits
are wired using metal conduit or armored cable, as many were, the
person attempting to change the bulb can face a truly dangerous
condition. Add to those the number of reversed polarity and open
neutral faults I find each year in my electrical work and the use of
non conductive ladders in changing light bulbs is not such a wild
idea.


Yo! Sparky! We're talking about changing a light bulb here and doing
nothing more. No one kills the breaker to change a damn light bulb.
That's reality.

the use of
non conductive ladders in changing light bulbs is not such a wild
idea.

So a hard wired wall lamp that doesn't need a ladder to change...reality
again, who runs to the breaker box...if they know what & where it is?

More reality. An electrician finishing up some installs. Time to put
bulbs in or replace one not working. They run from the 2nd floor to the
basement, kill the breaker, go back and change bad bulb, run back two
floors to turn breaker on, run back to 2nd floor to make sure it works?
If this one is working for an electrical company, it won't be for long.
Reality.


Add to those the number of reversed polarity and open
neutral faults I find each year...

Absolutely! I've seen that plus the other you left out - the ground wire
just dangling or snipped off and/or not tied to metal boxes. I'm not an
electrician but I'm not a retarded hacker either. Any work I do on
electrical besides changing a light bulb and the breaker goes off.

the
person attempting to change the bulb can face a truly dangerous
condition.

If you are changing a bulb and go sticking your finger/object around
either contact, I reiterate, you're too stupid to change a light bulb.

Al Bundy
Professional Wanna-Be...and a damn good one :-)

@h44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

I would prefer fiberglass for the stepladder in particular, since
she mentions changing light bulbs- electrical safety


For indoor use, why should an aluminum ladder increase the risk?
The LADDER isn't grounded, and the chances are it's got rubber
feet anyway. so either you're touching a voltage source
and a path to ground at the same time, or you're not.

Melissa wrote:
Hi,

I'm a petite female homeowner. I often need a ladder around the house
(for example, to change lightbulbs or paint ceilings), and I need one
outside to get on the roof. I have an aluminum ladder for outside, but
it is very difficult for me to move it and set it up. Does anyone know
of reasonably quality light ladders, one for inside, one for out? Has
anyone used the Little Giant ladders?

Thanks!

I've got a Little Giant; they're not light, but they collapse small
which makes them easier to handle. The extra material needed to make
them collapsible makes them heavier. There are other clones of the
design which are cheaper around, btw. You might try going to Home Depot
or wherever and comparing hefting around a non collapsible ladder vs a
collapsible one collapsed, to see whether the unwieldiness is more of a
problem than the extra weight.

Melissa wrote:

I'm a petite female homeowner.

Depending on your weight and height, how high you need be able to reach
safely and how much "bounce" you are willing to tolerate, you might
look at Type III "light duty household ladders".

For example if you just need to clean gutters on a one story ranch,
Davidson makes a 16" extension ladder (extends to 13" with a 9'-3"
standing level) that weighs only 17 lbs and might do the job:

http://www.davidsonladders.com/Escaleras.asp?IdP=94

Once you get into 24" and longer extension ladders, since they stopped
manufacturing magnesium alloy models there has been nothing available
which is truly "lightweight", and even at the relatively short 24"
length the heaver non-conductive fiberglass ladders can be a challenge
for this 5'-8" 170' male to handle a high wind or a confined space
(such as a narrow gangway or lightwell with windows on all sides)
when the ladder's position must be exactly controlled at all times.

In some of these situations one possibility are the "collapsing"
ladders, such as the Xtend & Climb and the Telesteps:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=284507

I purchased the taller Xtend & Climb to access places like roof access
hatches at the top of winding stairwells or hallway attic access
hatches in high ceilings - often interior locations where you can't
get a conventional ladder without great difficulty - or when I have to
be very careful not to damage finished surfaces.

It's not a lightweight ladder by any means, but I find myself using
it a lot in other situations as well because it's very easy to set-up
in tight quarters as the direction of motion is straight up and down -
until I used this type of ladder I had never appreciated the extent to
which a conventional ladder places the user at a "mechanical
disadvantage" in less than ideal locations.

Michael Thomas
Paragon Home Inspection, LLC
Chicago, IL
mdtATparagoninspectsDOTcom
eight47-475-5668

Once you get into 24" and longer extension ladders...

24'

MDT, those extending ladders are TOO COOL! I didn't even know they
made these. The ladder I have for outside is folded in sections, which
must be extended out and locked in place. Then, when the whole thing
is full height on the ground, I have to somehow get it leaning against
the building. I look like a dog worrying a too-large bone.

I should have been more clear in my initial message, but I didn't think
about it until now. The problem isn't that I can't carry a 30 or 40
pound ladder from one place to another. It's not really the weight.
It's the awkwardness of trying to get a 20' ladder from the ground
against the building by myself. I think I had in mind something like
the telescoping ladder, but with a hand crank.