Ladder

[bnix]

I need a ladder to get in the attic of an 8 ft ceiling.  Will a 6 foot step ladder be high enough?  I really like the Gorilla ladder but the max hight is 5 ft.

Thanks

[glenn kangiser]

Welcome to the forum.

Not safely if you are going to be going to be going up into the attic.  You will have to pass the "Do not stand above this step or you may lose your balance" sign.

The permanent drop down attic steps are fairly reasonable or about a 12' extension ladder so the proper amount will stick above the attic floor should work.

That being said, nobody says you couldn't possibly do it.  They are saying that you may fall or kick the ladder out from under you as you are trying.

[builderboy]

I love the pull down attic steps. I've retrofitted them into 3 houses over the years. You'll use the attic with easy access. I never liked crawling thru the hole from a step ladder, but if it's only once a year to get the xmas decorations, well maybe.......

[bnix]

The problem is this house was built year ago with only 18" x 18" attic access.

[optionguru]

I guess I would have to throw my kids up there, no way my butt would be fitting through that opening.  Well maybe it would just not comfortably.  I digress.  

Welcome to the forum.

[bnix]

My wife is going up to add more insulation. My big old butt would have to have a few pounds shaved off and a ton of axle grease wiped on to go up.

 

[desdawg]

If you extend the ladder up through the opening you do lose some space. The fold down steps are really the best option IMO. You don't have to go hunt down a ladder and carry it into the house. It is already there. Just tug on the cord that is hanging down from the ceiling.

[jraabe]

I'm surprised they got away with building such a small access hatch.

Here's my code note on attic access:
- attic access hatch: >30in height, 22x30

(size min, 22x30 with min 30" headroom above)

[MountainDon]

The problem is this house was built year ago with only 18" x 18" attic access.

OK. Is it possible to cut the opening wider/longer? I assume you probably have ceiling joists on 24" centers??  :-/  If so going to the trouble of increasing the opening to accommodate a pull down stair would be advantageous in the long run. Even if you're just accessing the Xmas ornaments.

[Amanda_931]

If for some reason you had to do this with a ladder, any extension ladder with a storage height of less than ceiling height will work, as long as it's not more than your width wide.  Might take two people to set up.  Not a bad idea since it's not really the safe way to do this.

I like the very heavy Wing ladders (or, for a good deal less, the knockoffs).  But I'm not going down to the barn to measure the widths right now, but the bottoms (which are also the tops) might accidently be a bit too wide.  You could take that end off, but might have to get a longer ladder. They're heavy, and as a result they're harder to slide up.  But as stepladders they are very stable.  (even ten years old before going through the fire and getting the bumpers on the bottom melted off.  It's now six years later--still works).

[https://www.ladders.com/] or if there's an ad click on that--there was an ad for Little Giant ladders (the Wing ones) before I hit modify.  Down below, not, just now, above.  Now we got Mother Earth News and something about flooring.