Loftier Heights: The Advantages Of Having A Loft Ladder
30/01/2017
It’s perfectly feasible to own a loft without the use of a loft ladder – after all, there are plenty of rigid ladders or stepladders that can get you up there if you need to. And while that’s not untrue, loft ladders can offer you a significant number of benefits over other types of ladder.
They Provide Convenience and Functionality
There are a lot of reasons why purchasing a loft ladder will benefit you, but the first and foremost is simply for convenience. Another ladder may do the job just fine, but each foray up to the loft then means going to fetch it each time – a task which can be especially draining if you suddenly realise you’ve forgotten something when you were just up there. What’s more, even smaller inside ladders can be difficult to navigate inside your house, and there’s always the danger of knocking into something with them and breaking it. It’s a risk worth it for bigger jobs like painting a room, but not for everyday tasks.
On the other hand, a loft ladder provides quick and easy access, and isn’t nearly as taxing on your personal strength each time – or, for that matter, possibly your furniture. They’re quickly unfolded and then equally as quickly stored again. What’s more, up in your loft they’re often protected from the elements a lot better than other ladders are when they’re stored in sheds or garages, leaving them less susceptible to that gradual wear and tear from rot or rust.
Loft Ladders Are Safer
Amongst the greatest advantages to loft ladders are that they’re a lot simpler to use, and a lot more stable. Given the often heavy hatch doors, sometimes accessing your loft is an intrinsically risky act in itself, so you’ll want something that provides you with the maximum safety as you do so. Setting up a rigid ladder yourself properly requires a lot of testing each time, as resting points or angles that you think are safe can turn out not to be at the worst possible moment – or the ladder itself could slip on the ground. Although general-purpose ladders are undeniably useful things for a variety of purposes and odd jobs, for maximum safety you can’t do better than using specific loft ladders for the very purpose and context it was designed for.
Other Benefits
If you have utilities in the loft, such as a boiler or meter, you may find that installing a loft ladder can save you time when you have tradespeople round. As part of their own health and safety measures, employees from gas and electric companies are within their rights to refuse ascending ladders they might deem unsafe, leaving you with the issue of how to get them up to the loft to read your meter. Loft ladders can nip a lot of these issues in the bud as – like we’ve said above – they’re specifically created for this purpose.
Finally, the increased convenience that loft ladders offer can help you to make greater use of your loft space by making it less difficult for you to get up there. This opens up a new range of possibilities – often in terms of storage, meaning that you can store Christmas decorations and other seasonal decorations out of the way for the rest of the year.
At Browns Ladders, we stock a wide selection of both timber loft ladders and aluminium ladders, so whichever you prefer, we’ve always got you covered. Don’t forget to inspect your ladders frequently to ensure that they’re safe to use!
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