S
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
View attachment 7215
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
View attachment 7215
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