If you are a person that likes to do small home repairs, you probably know how useful ladders can be in many situations. You also know that not all ladders are suitable for every type of work: you can’t climb a roof with an orchard ladder! Here you’ll find a short list of sample situations, with the indication of the proper choice of ladders for each type of work.

One of the most common activities that people do for their home improvement works is painting the walls. To do this you often need to reach elevated positions on uneven base surfaces (think of the roof of the staircase). The most suitable kind of ladder for these situations is the folding ladder, that can be configured in a variety of shapes thanks to its hinges.

When you have to do work on the roof of your house, you need to do it from a safe and stable position; falling from a roof can have serious consequences. One option is to place a roof ladder; with this tool you have a fixed structure that can be moved laterally and stays in place for you to use it every time you need it. Remember that the roof ladder is the fixed structure lying on top of the roof: to reach the roof itself you usually need a separate ladder placed against your house’s wall.

Step ladders or other similar models that have two hinged halves are not suitable to be placed against a wall; if you need to do some maintenance on the front or lateral wall of your house, you need a different solution. Extension ladders are usually the right choice for this kind of activity: they can be easily placed against the wall and moved laterally to reach any needed position.

Sometimes you do home works that require just a small elevation. Think of hanging a painting to a wall in your living room, or fixing a shelf. For these small works, a step stool with two or three steps can be enough; these tools are small, light and cheap. Moreover they are usually very stable and can be moved around very easily.

If your house has a garden with high trees, you may need an orchard ladder to make all kind of gardening maintenance. Orchard ladders can be placed against a tree and are also a great choice for safety, thanks to the wide front legs that make them stable on uneven ground, which is typical when you’re working in the farmland.

There are many useful accessories that can make your life easier when it comes to using a ladder. Ladder covers are used to protect surfaces from damage, bags fixed to the top of the ladder can hold your portable tools, ladder levelers help for stability, work platforms can function as a base for paint cans and other supplies. These are just a couple of examples of the huge number of accessories that ladder vendors have in their catalogues.

The most common materials used by ladder manufacturers are aluminum, fiberglass and wood. Each material has its characteristics (lightness, strength, electrical insulation, etc.) and should be carefully evaluated according to the specific activity you have to do.

We have presented a short list of possible situations where you need specific types of ladders to do your home repairs and improvements. Each ladder has its own characteristics, and there’s not a single ladder suitable for each and every kind of activity. Of course some models are more specialized (just think of a roof or orchard ladder), while others can be a better general purpose choice.

More ladder models and general information are available in a nice website dedicated to all ladders for sale; a specific page dedicated to bunk bed ladders for sale is also available, have a look!. This article, Different Ladders for Different Works at Home has free reprint rights.

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