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In-between sized ladders

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steeky147

View attachment 10304 View attachment 10304 View attachment 10304 I thought I'd write this post for anyone that's in the same position as myself. About a year ago I decided I wanted an in-between sized ladder. I already have a 3.5 metre double and needed something longer for occasional gutters and higher windows. I checked out the werner 4 metre and the Titan classic too, but they are both a little over 4 metres at 13 foot 4 per section and also 80 mil box section which makes them about 19 kilos in weight. with me at 11.7 stones and very little muscles, then it seemed a bit too much and also I drive a short car too which didn't help matters either.

There are two small ladders close to an in-between size of the 3.5 and 4 metre, which are the lyte diy 3.8 metre and the titan diy 3.9 metre and although they are nice and light at about 15 kilos they both have the rims on the rungs as I mentioned in detail in my last post (know you ladder) so they didn't appeal to me very much. I searched high and low and thought of all sorts of ideas about cutting a 4 metre down a bit or perhaps getting a small triple, but still nothing seemed right for me.

Then on the off chance I came across a little known brand of ladder and after finding out all I could about it over some weeks of research, I took a 150 miles around trip to drive down from Northern Ireland and go and get it. To cut a long story short in the end I went back and got a refund and now have my regrets about that due to the fact that I still don't have my in-between sized ladder still and it's constantly on my mind.

The ladder is made by stradbally ladders in the republic of Ireland and here's a quick review.

They make the normal 3.5 and 4 metre, but the one that interested me was a 3.74 metre double. the pros about this ladder are that it's 12 foot 5 closed and 22 foot 6 open and it seemed more sturdy than the diy ladder, but a little less so than the werner or titan classic. The styles are 65 mm box section and there are approx 3 surrated lines that run along the styles on the thin edge (like a clow ladder) which are supposed to help with gripping the ladder and also gripping the window cills too. It was 13 rungs per section and normal sized spacing (rung pitch about 11 inches)The rungs also were seated firmly into the styles of the ladder with no rims. The weight is approx 16 kilos. Trade ladder en131.

and now the cons: Even though the ladder seemed sturdy the rungs themselves were very thin (approx 30 mil) and they had only about 6 tread lines which seemed much too thick and provided less grip when you have wet feet. the rungs were even thinner than a lyte diy ladder for example. Also the guides were of the wrap around type like youngman ladders or the old style Titan ladder guides; but they did however seem good and strong. when extending the ladder, the outer overhang of the rungs on the outside of the styles banged off the guides one at a time as they passed it. Not only the noise, but I would also worry about these rung ends getting chipped and broken through time.This problem however can be solved by fashioning some plastic cable ties around the guides to prevent this and keep the ladder both quieter when extending and safeguard the rung ends. I had to do the same thing with my titan classic ladder and now it glides without a sound. That's really about it. A decent ladder, but not without its flaws, so it's six of one and half a dozen of the other.

The last odd thing about them too, is that they have blue rubber at the tops of the ladder and black rubber feet at the bottom.

In the end I am leaning towards getting it for approx 12 houses per month that I stuggle with using my 3.5 metre ladder. And for my taste I think it's the better alternative to a diy ladder or a small triple. The price works out at roughly 120 quid, but hard to tell as it's in euro. I also found place that I can buy them with free delivery, so that'll same me petrol money and time.

Thanks for reading

Stephen McAdam

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I get my ladders from clows in Belfast. They have all sizes and are cheap, the ladder I use is high enough for everything up to 3 story and is 17 kilos

 
m8 I was up there two weeks ago to buy a ladder and spotted a defect with the ladder. They were not too pleased and got cheeky about it so I walked out. the young lad agreed with me that the rungs hadn't been spun properly, but the older staff members got lippy. I have a wee clow ladder but I hate the feet on them.

 
not enough meat on them feet and they wear too quickly and I have less confidence with them compared to normal shaped feet. especially on windy days when you have to angle the ladder out from the window cill that bit further than normal. not just that but I would prefer a ladder without rims on the rungs as I mentioned in my other post (know your ladder) . I was going to get the clow just because it was handy, but glad I never got them now. they are a decent enough weight though. my own one is nearly done and I might make an A frame out of it with the narrower section as it's less worn. the wider section is done.

 
I got a 6.92m triple and just take a section off when I don't need it it's an abru one and its surprisingly light, even with all 3 sections it lighter then my father in law's doubles

 
im suprised you havnt got spikes on your ladders steeky147 . i swear by these fitted on permanently. not only do they give excellent grip even on ice [grab in the tiniest crack ] a side benefit is the original ladder View attachment 7218 feet never wear out .

 
im suprised you havnt got spikes on your ladders steeky147 . i swear by these fitted on permanently. not only do they give excellent grip even on ice [grab in the tiniest crack ] a side benefit is the original ladder View attachment 10310 feet never wear out .
spikes don't appeal to me much. although I am sure they provide less chance of slide back. I am safe in how I angle my ladder and never had a problem (apart from ice) some of my customers with tar mac drives (especially new ones) would not be keen on the looks of those spikes.

for safety though I guess they'd be really good.

 
I got a 6.92m triple and just take a section off when I don't need it it's an abru one and its surprisingly light, even with all 3 sections it lighter then my father in law's doubles
yes the aru ladders are the lightest there is. but I much prefer box section ladders myself as they're less bouncy and a lot more sturdy when the ladder is extended close to it's full height. I know people that's used the abru for many years though and love them. Did you get the abru heavy duty en131 or the light duty?

 
im suprised you havnt got spikes on your ladders steeky147 . i swear by these fitted on permanently. not only do they give excellent grip even on ice [grab in the tiniest crack ] a side benefit is the original ladder View attachment 10310 feet never wear out .
The spike on my wood ladders are what I have used for years. However I can't find anyone who makes them anymore. Your halio ones look good but no where seems to sell them. Closest thing I can find are the spikes in the other image I have attached.

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The spike on my wood ladders are what I have used for years. However I can't find anyone who makes them anymore. Your halio ones look good but no where seems to sell them. Closest thing I can find are the spikes in the other image I have attached.
you could easily grind down those ones in your image to suitView attachment 7247ages ago i saw an image of the best /simplest spikes iv ever seen .the windie had them made in an engineering shop. they were just made from a short strip of Hardened steel ground to a chisel tip ,with 2 mounting holes drilled ,bolts passed thru these holes and though the narrow side of the stiles

 
you could easily grind down those ones in your image to suitView attachment 10343ages ago i saw an image of the best /simplest spikes iv ever seen .the windie had them made in an engineering shop. they were just made from a short strip of Hardened steel ground to a chisel tip ,with 2 mounting holes drilled ,bolts passed thru these holes and though the narrow side of the stiles
Yeah I might see if there is any blacksmiths around who would be willing to do this. Or make a fresh pair.

Would drilling through aluminium to attach the spikes not affect the integrity of the ladders though?

Those spikes on my wood ladders are 7 years old. So not sure how safe they would be if I took them off.

 
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