Ladder Question

[J.A.F.E.]

I have a 10' step ladder and I'm about 2' too low to get to a fixture on a vaulted ceiling. A taller step ladder is not really possible in part because the footprint of a 12' is too large for the area. Is there a safe and stable way to put a platform under the ladder to give me the extra reach?

[jabberwoki]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So many people are crippled using ladders Jaffa. Get the right tool for the job :ie taller ladder.

[J.A.F.E.]

I think the only alternative I have then is a scaffold. I don't like working on ladders so I try to be as cautious as possible - especially since I can't get any spare J.A.F.E. parts.

Thank you Jabb for talking sense to me.

[Midnitemack]

I agree with Jabber , I had a relative who fell from a similar height , he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair !!!!!

Can you rent a small scissor lift and could you get it thru the door into the room ?


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[Rural53]

I have to agree with everyone, don't do it. I went to a funeral last year after a friend of mine's wife fell off a three step step-ladder onto the tile floor in their new house and they ended up having to turn off the life support.

[Heiny57]

What?

[J.A.F.E.]

The ratchet strap is a nice touch.

[highland512]

Go to HF and get a bakers scaffold set, some HD rent them as well. You can set them up almost anywhere. As someone who has fallen off a ladder and spent time in the surgery room because of it, I don't mess around with ladders unless it's 100% safe and done correctly.

[DeadNutz]

If you can't levitate then get the right equipment or hire a person who has it.

[john k]

When you get up there,  modify the light with a pulley and cable.  So you can lower it to working height in the future.  Was in a big  church one time as they were lowering the huge lamps for cleaning, had a remote winch system somewhere up there.  No way could they use ladders because of the pews. 

[J.A.F.E.]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the wise words.

DeadNutz I am trying to avoid gaining the ability to levitate.

highland The HF set is surprisingly impressive but I really have no place to store so rental is probably the preferred route.

There was a time I'd stand on the top platform of a stepladder but no more. I won't use the top step either and even the second one down I don't like to use so I do try to be as safe and cautious as possible.

john k I have seen those setups and they are pretty trick. One of the things I have to reach is a blank plate and I want to put a fixture there and there's a smoke alarm in the area I might as well attend to while I'm up there...

[coolmercury]

I had a 12 foot step ladder and it was wood.  It weighted about 80 pounds.  When I was younger it was no problem, but with advancing years it became more and more of a problem.  It was the only thing I could use to wash outside windows under an overhang.  House also had a vaulted ceiling in the great room with canister lighting near the top.  It was 15 feet to the peak and you know where the lights were installed.  After I had to change one I never used the lights again.  The #&%*@ ladder was included in the sale of the house.

[DeadNutz]

I hope the smoke alarm is hardwired. Was at a friends house and the smoke alarm at the top of the vaulted ceiling was chirping. I asked why in a relatively new house it was not hardwired and she replied that she and hubby who was out of town had forgot to include it on the plans. I ran home and got my 20' extension ladder and near full length leaned it against an upstairs bannister and had to lean out and change the battery with one hand at the limit of my reach. I'm sure glad she got divorced and sold that place.

[J.A.F.E.]

I haven't taken this smoke alarm down yet but the rest are hardwired and it's the same model as the others so I am guessing it is hardwired. Code here requires hardwired smoke alarms but CO detectors are optional and not required to be hardwired. But then again CO detectors are supposed to be 5' off the floor I can reach that no problem.

I do not envy you changing that battery. I'm not sure how I would handle that.

coolmercury those wood ladders are unpleasantly heavy. They have their uses but lugging them around is not much fun. My 10' is Al and it's not much fun to move around.

[bmwrd0]

I cannot believe that everyone here is giving such bad advice.

The proper way is to still use the 10' ladder, but have a midget on your shoulders. Or a monkey.