Spec me some loft ladders

[vail3r]

Looking to get a new Hatch and ladders for the loft. We've currently got a pretty standard but cheap set of aluminium ladders that work ok but they aren't overly sturdy and are hard to get down as they are separate from the hatch.
I'd like to replace it with something that works very easy so the ladders come down with the hatch and makes ir easy for the MRS to access.


Any recommendations? are the Concertina ones any good or is it best to stick to the more traditional wooden folding ones?

 

[danlightbulb]

Wooden folding ones no doubt.

I have the aluminum ones. They're ok. Id have changed for wooden myself but it would have meant extending the size of the hatch.

 

[Pho]

I was looking into some this weekend.

I quite like these because they come with handrails: https://www.bpsdepot.co.uk/loft-ladders/sliding-loft-ladders but I prefer wide steps as those D shape rungs on ladders hurt my feet and I don't feel that safe on them so my pick was https://www.bpsdepot.co.uk/loft-ladders/grand-sliding-loft-ladder

Whilst deciding on ladders I've bought some grab rails to install above the hatch for extra piece of mind. I bought these ones https://www.manomano.co.uk/p/2x-grab-rails-65718384 - these are made by BPS and are being shipped directly from them but cheaper than buying through their website.

 

[jpaul]

In new place I was going to get a descending loft ladder , knowing that previous ones are a bit flimsy, take away some of opening aperture and impact insulation coverage;
happened to see a fb add for a combo : A / vertical / stair-well ladder , it feels a lot safer, albeit it takes space on landing.

 

[vail3r]

I was looking into some this weekend.

I quite like these because they come with handrails: https://www.bpsdepot.co.uk/loft-ladders/sliding-loft-ladders but I prefer wide steps as those D shape rungs on ladders hurt my feet and I don't feel that safe on them so my pick was https://www.bpsdepot.co.uk/loft-ladders/grand-sliding-loft-ladder

Whilst deciding on ladders I've bought some grab rails to install above the hatch for extra piece of mind. I bought these ones https://www.manomano.co.uk/p/2x-grab-rails-65718384 - these are made by BPS and are being shipped directly from them but cheaper than buying through their website.

That Grand Sliding Ladder looks good. I'll need to check there's enough room in the loft past the hatch as it looks quite bulky.

I definitely don't want the D shape rungs. There does deem to be some decent quality looking wooden ones though that include a hatch.

 

[Pho]

That Grand Sliding Ladder looks good. I'll need to check there's enough room in the loft past the hatch as it looks quite bulky.

I definitely don't want the D shape rungs. There does deem to be some decent quality looking wooden ones though that include a hatch.

If you look in the specs or download the factsheet it shows you the clearence you need:

https://www.bpsdepot.co.uk/acatalog/Technical-Drawing-Grand-Slider.pdf

I have some raised boarding behind the hatch which I think might just clash so might require some jigging around - pain.

 

[Nigel Kingdon]

+1 for the wood ones. Screwfix often have 'specials' on them. I left the hand rail off as it get in the way when putting stuff up or getting stuff down. You may need a bigger opening as the ladder is attached to the hatch. My (well off retired) BIL has an electric one, which is brilliant if you have the cash.

 

[R-evans]

We had a Werner that I installed and removed again just before we had our loft converted, it was very good and we saved about £100 buying it from Costco.

I installed by myself which wasn't easy but doable with a few wooden supports screwed into the ceiling.

This one.

 

[hotdog]

I recently did mine with a fakro one , went as big as my landing would take and one spec down from passivhaus. It was expensive - however

No issues using it
Anything can now go into loft
No thermal loss

If your going to properly do out your loft at some point it's excellent

 

[***F1ZZY***]

I've had my eye on a Werner wooden one for a while but not got round to it yet.

 

[Sin_Chase]

I prefer the aluminium sliders over the wooden folders. As a 100kg lump I'm not entirely convinced by sturdiness of the wooden step plates which seem to flex quite a lot!

I swapped our fixed panel hatch to a hinged/locking one with seperate aluminium 2 section sliders. Magnusson bramded knes which youll find at B&Q.

Our hatch was a bit of a pain as its been built above the stairs and I needed to cover a 3.1m drop with limited headroom above the hatch (rafter crosses over it ) Could not find many options which covered that.

Luckily we have a warm loft so no insulation considerations.