I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Thanks.

what do YOU and any other users weigh?

the trouble is lower cost ladders sway more, are less durable, and in
general given the risks your better off with the BEST ladder you can
afford.

All of these issues get worse as you go higher, the sway in a 16 footer
is bothersome, at 35 feet it can lead to a bad accident.

plus what jobs will you be doing? the occasional clean out gutter is
one thing, drilling into concrete to mount a deck at 25 foot is
altogether different.

plus cheap laddres hve cheap hardware. I have a old 16 footer I use 1/2
of in my shed it has a 10 foot interior cieling height....

anyhow the leveleling legs fell apart that why it got moved to shed
use..........

BUY THE BEST QUALITY LADDER YOU CAN AFFORD

think of it this way if you fall cause you bought a cheap one and mess
up your back, how much money will it cost you for lost work?

now compare that to a more costly ladder
see my point?

"Section 31" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?


Grade I is the highest rating. Yes, it is good enough.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-learn-...g-1267580.html

You don't want to buy the cheapest and trust it to take your fat ass up high
every day just because it passed a test in a lab. .

Hugh Glass wrote:

On 4 Sep 2006 06:49:23 -0700, "Section 31" wrote:


I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary

from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an

article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Thanks.


I'd never heard anything like the article you read.
It's more than simplty the load ratings. Type 1 ladders are flimsy &
lightweight. Compare the weight of them at the store.
If you're talking about a six foot step ladder for changing light
bulbs it might suit your needs.

A 24' fully extended type 1 ladder will have a lot more sway than a
type 2.

Go for the type 2 - the few extra bucks will be worth it.

Hey, please don't confuse the gentleman. A grade 2 is NOT rated as good
as a grade 1 ladder! Just point your browser to
http://www.sizes.com/tools/ladders.htm and take a look at the American
National Standards.

Don

On 4 Sep 2006 06:49:23 -0700, "Section 31" wrote:

I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?

That might be true-- but even if the rung can take 8 00 pounds-- the
rails will fold up just when you don't want them to.

I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Around the house like maybe having to carry a bundle of shingles up
while nearly extended? A bundle of shingles weighs about 70 pounds--
so if you are less than 180 you can use that Class I---- but leave the
nails and hammer on the ground-- and don't gain any weight. And
when you feel it swaying while you're half-way up, don't worry--
you're right at the max weight.

OTOH- If you weigh 150, don't need to go over 12' high, and don't
carry things up the ladder, a class III will be plenty.

If it were me, I'd much rather have a Class IAA that was 20 yrs old
than a brand new Class I. I've got a used fiberglass that I don't
mind lugging around a couple times a year for the security it gives me
over the Aluminum ladders I could afford a few years ago.

Look at his chart that Don posted-
http://www.sizes.com/tools/ladders.htm

Remember that when you turn 40 God gives you 40 pounds for 'good
behavior'.

Jim

Section 31 wrote:
I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Thanks.


The rung rating is just that, the ladder rating
includes everything and the all important rails.
Cheapest are rated at 200 pounds, and then 225,
250, and 300. If you get an extension ladder of
20 feet or less (top of the ladder fully extended
is about 15 feet) most any rating is suitable as
long as you weigh less than 180 pounds. I have a
225 pound rated 24 foot ladder (reaches 17 feet to
top of ladder fully extended) and that is good
enough for me but I weigh about 165. If I weighed
180-190 I would want a ladder rated at 250 pounds.

Not all ladders rated the same are equal in
stiffness. Look at the width (depth) of the side
rails, the more depth the more stiffness. If I
got an extension ladder longer than 24 foot, I
would want a much stiffer ladder than what I have,
at least a 250 pound rated ladder. If you use a
ladder for more than just around the house
occasions, you want a commercial rated ladder
(like 300 pound).

Hugh Glass wrote:
On 4 Sep 2006 06:49:23 -0700, "Section 31" wrote:

I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Thanks.

I'd never heard anything like the article you read.
It's more than simplty the load ratings. Type 1 ladders are flimsy &
lightweight. Compare the weight of them at the store.
If you're talking about a six foot step ladder for changing light
bulbs it might suit your needs.

A 24' fully extended type 1 ladder will have a lot more sway than a
type 2.

Go for the type 2 - the few extra bucks will be worth it.



You guys need to get your ratings corrected. The
ratings in increasing strengths are 3,2, and 1. 1
is the strongest, course there are subsets of 1 also.

Hugh Glass wrote:
On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:06:05 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:

"Section 31" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Grade I is the highest rating. Yes, it is good enough.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-learn-...g-1267580.html

oops I had that backwards.

Yep, I see that. Sorry about the correction but
it was the second one I saw that was backwards.
How come a #1 may be at the top or the bottom of a
rating?

On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 21:26:02 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
wrote:

Hugh Glass wrote:
On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:06:05 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:

"Section 31" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Grade I is the highest rating. Yes, it is good enough.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-learn-...g-1267580.html

oops I had that backwards.

Yep, I see that. Sorry about the correction but
it was the second one I saw that was backwards.
How come a #1 may be at the top or the bottom of a
rating?


Ignore the "rating" and just look at the weight limit.

The the weight limit is a problem. I'm 240lbs. Therefore can any
aluminum ladder hold my fat ass ?


Goedjn wrote:
On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 21:26:02 GMT, "George E. Cawthon"
wrote:

Hugh Glass wrote:
On Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:06:05 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:

"Section 31" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?
I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Grade I is the highest rating. Yes, it is good enough.
http://www.acehardware.com/sm-learn-...g-1267580.html

oops I had that backwards.

Yep, I see that. Sorry about the correction but
it was the second one I saw that was backwards.
How come a #1 may be at the top or the bottom of a
rating?


Ignore the "rating" and just look at the weight limit.

Section 31 wrote:
The the weight limit is a problem. I'm 240lbs. Therefore can any
aluminum ladder hold my fat ass ?



type 1a is good to 300 pounds, i had gastric bypass surgery and used to
weigh
over 300

ALways concerned about collapsing chairs and other I was too heavy
situations.

One memorable time I smashed a chair at a friends after he confirmed I
wasnt seriously hurt he ripped on me endlessely.....

good the weight went away

On 4 Sep 2006 06:49:23 -0700, "Section 31" wrote:

I am buying an aluminum ladder soon. I see that the loads ratings vary
from Grade 1 to grade 3. I was looking on the net and I read an
article that all aluminum ladders are tested so that each rung on the
ladder can hold 800lbs of weight regardless of grade. Does anyone know
if that is true ?

It sounds like someone was speaking in exaggerations.

OTOH to get a ladder that will always hold 200 pounds, it probably
has to be able to hold more than that some of the time.

I will be using it for around the house type of work...I take it grade
1 is good enough?

Thanks.

I weighed 240 earlier this year, and borrowed a ladder to replace the
gutter spikes in my gutters. I was disappointed when I saw it was
rated at 200. But by coincidence, I started a diet at the same time,
and after the hot weather and the rainy weather, when I could actually
do the gutters, I was down to 220. It made me feel better that I was
only 20 pounds over the limit. But I have no wife or children and if
the ladder breaks, I'll be the only one to suffer. Still, I kept my
body sensitive to any problem, made sure I didn't put the ladder too
far from the house (which increases the flex weight on it) but didn't
put it too close to the house either, which might make it fall
backwards. I assumed that if the tread of the steps was horizontal,
the ladder was correctly positioned. New ladders have a broad line
that should be vertical to show the same thing.

Unrelated to your question, what really made me feel better on the
ladder, better even than when I was thinner, was using a ladder
stabilizer. They are either under 20 or under 40 dollars and worth
every penny. Except for the three piece one that can be narrow and far
from the wall or wide and close to the wall. I forget how much that
is, and no one around here sold it, but I would have bought it if I
hadn't gotten one free in a friend's junk. (I only needed the U-bolts,
in a previous thread.)

I've never carried more than 30 pounds up the ladder and this time
under 10 counting my shoes and clothes. OTOH, I had the ladder,
borrowed. I don't want to buy one because I have no place to put it
except outside. If I were you, I'd buy a 250 or 275 capacity ladder.


(Probably don't wear sneakers on a ladder. Your feet will quickly
get tired. But wear something with a rubber sole, like hiking boots I
gues.)

I only eat 1/4 to 1/2 of what I used to, and I take muliple vitamins,
and I'm down to 209 now. After the first 4 days, I wasn't hungry
anymore, because I was used to the amount I ate, except for
pschological hunger. Sometimes they show food on tv, or talk about it
on the radio, or I want food because I'm depressed, or to celebrate
because I'm happy, or because I'm in the car, or because it's bedtime,
or because I'm at a friends. Even occasion was an occasion for
eating, even when I wasn't hungry. I also eat very slowly so that I
have time to get full before I've stuffed myself. Tonight for dinner
I had a half a banana, a fried egg, 2 chicken strips, and some diet
apple juice. It was plenty. Any more I would have been stuffed.
Soup is very good and I eat a lot of cup-a-noodles. I love it, and hot
food makes me feel like I had a real meal. I don't hesitate to stop
eating in the middle of a dish and put it in the fridge for later.

Taco Bell is also very good because they have quite a few small items,
like one chicken taco. They don't put sour cream on the cheap items
(if they use it at all, I don't recall) Almost every other place
doesn't sell something that small.

I'm saving a lot of money on food too, though that wasn't my goal. In
theory I allow myself to eat anything, as long as it doesn't fill me
up more that the previous day, but in practice, I've cut out most
really fattening foods, because I don't want this to take too long.
And I don't eat much meat, because I always want candy afterwards.

They don't really sell diet cocoa, so I make my own cocoa with
Hershey's cocoa and sweet'n'low, in a box, not the little envelopes.
I add enough until it's sweet enough. 2 or 2 1/4 minutes in the
microwave for a cup. Heating doesn't hurt the swwet and lo, at least
this little. I think they claim you can bake with it now, although
they used to say no.

They advertise on some food, low carbs, but all that matters is the
total calories, not the carbs, but most of my diet is based on not
eating much. Maybe I'm very healthy, but it has had no effect on how
I feel or how much energy I have.

I'm 5'8" and my destination is 160.

Of course 240 might be a good weight for your height. If so, nwver
mind.

Sure. A #1 rating which is a 250 pound (barely
adequate) or better a 1A rating which is 300
pound, or if you are really worried a 1AA rating
which is 375 pounds.

SuSection 31 wrote:
The the weight limit is a problem. I'm 240lbs. Therefore can any
aluminum ladder hold my fat ass ?


((Snipped))

"mm" wrote in message
...
On 4 Sep 2006 06:49:23 -0700, "Section 31" wrote:

Unrelated to your question, what really made me feel better on the
ladder, better even than when I was thinner, was using a ladder
stabilizer. They are either under 20 or under 40 dollars and worth
every penny. Except for the three piece one that can be narrow and far
from the wall or wide and close to the wall. I forget how much that
is, and no one around here sold it, but I would have bought it if I
hadn't gotten one free in a friend's junk. (I only needed the U-bolts,
in a previous thread.)

Anyone who has ever had to climb off a ladder onto a roof - and then back on
the ladder again - knows how important a stabilizer can be. It's a lot
easier to climb off the ladder than to get back on it. Ask any volunteer
fireman in a residential area. They'll tell you about the calls they had to
go on to rescue a homeowner stranded on a roof. It's still not easy with a
stabilizer, but at least you feel like you have a chance. I'm amazed that
anyone would try to work without one. The laws of physics work differently
when you are at the top of a ladder or on a roof. First, you find that it's
a lot farther from the roof to the ground than it is from the ground to the
roof Secondly, as you approach the edge of the roof, even if you are right
on top of the peak, you'll find that gravity actually comes up and then
moves sideways as it tugs you toward the edge.

Another thing to take into consideration is the angle of the ladder. Ladders
generally "feel" more stable if they are at more of an angle, and are less
likely to fall over. But that puts a lot more stress on the ladder. I have
one place where there's a room on the first floor that juts out a little
bit, so I have to have the ladder at a 45 degree angle to get to the roof.
At 150 pounds, I probably could have gotten by with a Type II ladder, but
because of this one spot, I went with Type I. I would have gone with Type
IA, but I think then it would have been too heavy to handle.

I remember several years ago when we had our house painted, and at one very
high section where the ground is at the level of the basement floor, the
painters used a 40 foot ladder with a section of another ladder tied to the
top of it - and of course no stabilizer. Since it was so much work to move
it, they leaned out as far as they could to paint as much area as possible.
I knew right then that I didn't have the Right Stuff. When I had vinyl
siding put on a few years later, the contractor said he planned to rent a 50
foot ladder to do that area. I wasn't home when they did that work, so I
don't know what they used.

replying to Nick Danger, hnurcaj wrote:
I have a relatively cheap 200# extension ladder with a stabilizer. That
stabilizer was worth it's weight in at least silver, if not gold! It's a 16
foot ladder which, of course, extends to a max of 14'. I weigh 220 and was
wondering about the meaning of the ratings. In my mind, a 200# rating was
probably tested at 400, 500 or 600 pounds without problem. I realized that
when I extended the ladder to 13 or 14 feet, there was a sway which made me a
little nervous. I felt secure with the side rails because I knew they would
not buckle. I had laid the ladder on the ground with the stabilizer and stood
and bounced on the middle of the ladder (fully extended). If in full
horizontal it was strong enough, I knew that there would be no strength
problem with it leaning at 20 degrees or so up against the house. But the sway
bothered me. Then the solution came to me on how to deal with the perceived
looseness (sway) when fully extended with me up there near the top. What I
did was use 1/2" nylon strapping...(very strong stuff). I wrapped the side
rails at 4 points where the rails overlap with the strapping...one at the top
and bottom of the overlapped section on each side. At each point I put 2 loops
of the strapping on (one piece wrapped around twice) but left it loose enough
where the loops, when pulled, would extend out about 4 or 5 inches from the
side rails. Of course I tied the strapping. That 4 or 5 inch "looseness" in
the strapping allowed me to put a short (8 or 10 inch) piece of pvc pipe into
the loop and twist it until I couldn't twist it any more. To keep it from
unwinding, I stuck a small spike of wood into the closest rung hole which
stuck out enough to keep the pvc from unwinding. By doing this at the 4
points previously cited (bottom and top of the overlapped section of the
rails) ALL sway was eliminated and the ladder felt totally secure. I know that
this would not be recommended by the pros but for me, it solved a a scary
problem problem and made it usable for what I needed it for. Hope that helps.

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/mainte...gs-143081-.htm