loft ladders

psd99

psd99

psd99

Soldato
Joined
7 Sep 2008
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I got a hatch that opens upwards and use the loft for storage. Currently I have to get the ladder from the garden it is difficult.

what are your suggestions? I need something that is easy to open and stays up there permanently
I'm open to having the loft come downwards btw. thanks.
 
if you have room around the hatch, just get yourself a 2 or 3 section one from wickes or anywhere else and fit that then create a hinged loft hatch that can open downwards. I've fitted these in both houses I've lived in, pretty simple and very handy as it makes getting into the loft much less of a chore.
 
valve90210 said:
if you have room around the hatch, just get yourself a 2 or 3 section one from wickes or anywhere else and fit that then create a hinged loft hatch that can open downwards. I've fitted these in both houses I've lived in, pretty simple and very handy as it makes getting into the loft much less of a chore.
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How competent would one need to be to fit the ladder from wickes? Will it mean I need a new bit of wood for the hatch or just use existing?

Truth be told I picked one up from LIDL and omg it was so complicated like 200 steps
I just took it back tbh I know I would have struggled.
 
I picked up a loft ladder from the rain forest a year ago, had about 20 pretty eady steps but I had to change the door so it opened downward, they were about £50.
 
The main details to look for are the height of you ceiling. The joist separation of your ceiling joists. And the insulation factor of the loft door. I have an old house unusual joist distance, high ceiling and drafty loft. I ended up having to get a reasonably expensive loft ladder about £300 and fitted it myself. If you have a newish house with standard joist separation and low ceilings it will be a doddle.
 
A job for this weekend is a loft hatch in our newly acquired 1930s Bungalow, I've opted for a Youngman wooden Loft Ladder from Costco, comes with a frame etc. The current hatch is stupidly small and is in the main bathroom, not much use!
 
psd99 said:
1930's build
ceiling height is pretty damn high at 2.6/2.7 metres

not sure about joists width.
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Well that's not a huge difference from what I had to contend with. Because my joist separations didn't suit any of the standard sized of ladders I had to make my own reinforcing box around the dimensions of the loft ladder. Cut through a joist and then the ceiling and fit the loft ladder to my reinforcing box. If you already have a loft hatch unless it is very large I'm guessing you may need to cut that out and put in new reinforcement where it used to be to suit the size of the hatch you wanted. It's not complex but it takes a bit of effort. The size hatch I used was fairly heavy so I had to use 2 props to support the hatch in position from beneath whilst I attached it to my reinforcing box.
 
we had a very small loft hatch which "opened upwards"

I fitted a new loft ladder, cut the hole bigger, fitted anew downward opening bigger door, and then cut and fitted new architrave to go around the new bigger hole.
I found it relatively easy to be honest.
I'd give it a difficulty rating of 5/10,

but I suppose it falls down to how DIY minded you are.
I don't mind tackling most jobs that involve wood. :)
 
We get a telescopic ladder, loads on amazon but we got from Costco I believe. Extend it to the correct height (which you will learn after one use), push it up and use it to lift the hatch slightly so you can get it in place...the hatch won't fall. Walk up the ladder, lift hatch and put it in the loft.

Reverse the above on the way down. When you remove the ladder the hatch will fall back into place.

No DIY or even any screws involved. And convenient as you can use the ladder for other things around the house.
 
task said:
I've opted for a Youngman wooden Loft Ladder from Costco
Click to expand...

had specced that for my father, seems to be safe (do they all meet EN 14975:2006 ) with broad wooden steps - no one mentioned safety yet ?
Not sure how many broken limbs due to people stumbling pushing a big box upward, but the aluminium ones I have had, all seem a bit slippery to me.
 
In previous homes I fitted fairly cheap loft ladders but I in my current one I fitted one of these as my other half doesn't like ladders and I wanted something she would be happy to use:

http://www.ladderstore.com/loft-lad...uxe-hi-performance-aluminium-loft-ladder.html

No harder to fit than any other loft ladder but nice to use (wide treads, no flex, spring assist etc). If you want easy access then its worth doing right and if necessary get someone to fit for you. As I am tall enough to open the hatch without a pole I can have the ladder down and be up in the loft in a few seconds.
 
I might get someone to fit it for me the carpenter was going to come over to fit doors anyway. just a case of choosing a loft ladder it is then.
 
Simon42 said:
In previous homes I fitted fairly cheap loft ladders but I in my current one I fitted one of these as my other half doesn't like ladders and I wanted something she would be happy to use:

http://www.ladderstore.com/loft-lad...uxe-hi-performance-aluminium-loft-ladder.html

No harder to fit than any other loft ladder but nice to use (wide treads, no flex, spring assist etc). If you want easy access then its worth doing right and if necessary get someone to fit for you. As I am tall enough to open the hatch without a pole I can have the ladder down and be up in the loft in a few seconds.
Click to expand...
personally I will be fitting this one in the next month
http://www.laddersandscaffoldtowers.co.uk/acatalog/Grand-Wooden-Loft-Ladders.html

but I am going to put my office in the loft and I am 20st so I wanted something that will take some punishment :)

currently loft is storage space and we have a cheapo aluminium one that flexes quite a bit when I go up it :p
 
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