need ladder 3366mm = 11ft length

You are folk of many and diverse talents.

In my outbuilding, to get up to the space above the horizontal roof beams, I need a ladder exactly 3366mm length.

That's

(/ 3366 25.4 12) ;; 11.043307086614172 ;; ft (- (/ 3366 25.4) (* 11 12)) ;; 0.5196850393700743 ;; inches

In explanation

• 3120mm floor to roof-beam base vertically
• 1-to-4 rule - 1 length "out" for 4 lengths of height
• which means length of ladder is sqrt(17/16) of vertical height (comes from "Pythagoras")

So

(+ (* (sqrt (/ 17.0 16)) ;; 1.0307764064044151 3120) ;; 3216.0223879817754

The idea is, that allows me to carry that ladder into the outbuilding readily, then tip it upright and "catch" whichever roof-beam I want it to lean against.

Then I can leave that ladder propped up vertically against the far wall without being long enough to hit the roof.

How would one arrive at a ladder of exactly that length? Any advice?

Rich S

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Shorten a longer one?

In the US ladder steps are one foot apart, 30 Cm, and about 40 - 45 Cm wide.

I made one to fit an exact space, with top end eyes that fit over fixed hooks, from 2x4 (4 Cm x 9 Cm) pine wall studs with notches for the steps cut on a table saw. I've made them with the steps level when upright and with them nearly level when leaning, and don't notice much difference. I think identical step heights is more important than the precise leaning angle.

If you don't have a power saw available a hand saw can cut tight-fitting notches if you clamp vertical wood guide blocks snugly on either side of the step and use them to guide the saw blade; the kerf will be within the step space. For timber framing I use a pruning bow saw with a freshly sharpened blade when working away from electricity or on a ladder.

A discarded and damaged aluminum ladder that I repaired and modified to work on wood shed roofs has bolts through the top end (the I-beam flange) that catch on rafters to stabilize it, since the lower end is on somewhat uneven ground or snow/ice.

This light and stable ladder is my favorite for jobs within its reach. It stores upright between the peaked roof shed's (horizontal) ceiling joists in the open space between the eaves and the central catwalk.

Exactly what I was thinking.

A short extension ladder might be another option. Maybe add some cable hooks for safety.

I have an extension ladder that might do the trick. It has cable hooks and a pole cradle. Haven't used it in years. I suppose I should sell it, but then the next day for no reason I can think of I'd certainly set some poles and string some cable out back.

Exactly what I was thinking.

A short extension ladder might be another option. Maybe add some cable hooks for safety.

I have an extension ladder that might do the trick. It has cable hooks and a pole cradle. Haven't used it in years. I suppose I should sell it, but then the next day for no reason I can think of I'd certainly set some poles and string some cable out back. Bob La Londe

--------------------------- Perhaps someone will give you a windmill. People offer me a lot of free stuff they found they can't use, most recently an HDTV that was too large for the shelf in their camper, but just right to replace my dead analog tube TV.

My ladders don't have cable hooks but I can borrow one that does. This helps keep a ladder centered and stable against a tree.

The spreader can hook over beams and ceiling joists as long as it can pass up between them. I had to look up the names of roof framing members, I had confused ceiling joists with collar ties.

I added that structure on the roof to avoid having to climb a ladder to clean the chimney when the ground and roof are covered with ice. Usually the cable and pulley system is enough to clean the chimney from the ground (weekly) but the brush weight may not be enough to pull it through a thicker carbon buildup from a late night smoky fire of internally damp wood in very cold weather that stiffens the nylon brush bristles. I may not notice that a fallen branch has caused a leak in a snow covered woodshed roof.

It's all shop-made (artisan-crafted) including the nylon chimney brush of

Thanks everyone. Sawing off a longer ali ladder I did wonder about. Short two-part extending ladder I did not think to ask about. Would make sense for a tradeperson with a small van with a roofrack (think European-sized vehicles), so there would be a market. Best wishes

The 2-part extending ladder thing looks to be a very good answer.

"Werner Pro 4.08m Extension Ladder" available at a local shop.

There's "WERNER PRO 4.13M EXTENSION LADDER" which is triple extension and closed length is 1.89m - will measure tomorrow if will fit inside the car, no need for a roof-rack.

Thanks - been prompted in a useful direction.

Thanks everyone. Sawing off a longer ali ladder I did wonder about. Short two-part extending ladder I did not think to ask about. Would make sense for a tradeperson with a small van with a roofrack (think European-sized vehicles), so there would be a market. Best wishes

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Telescoping ladders are even more compact:

Thanks everyone. Sawing off a longer ali ladder I did wonder about. Short two-part extending ladder I did not think to ask about. Would make sense for a tradeperson with a small van with a roofrack (think European-sized vehicles), so there would be a market. Best wishes

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Yesterday I carried 21' lengths of pipe on my car's roof rack.

Due to a failed joint venture it's body is a copy of the Land Rover Freelander 1, a very practical design I prefer to the current offerings. Fortunately its electricals and mechanicals are Honda.

Multi-section ladder...

I had the perception that in a workshop it is likely to fill with grit - grinding dust, etc.

I have ordered a single section ladder of hopefully just the right length. Should arrive today.

That said - I realised that a ladder which would readily fit in a car and could be carried without drawing a vast amount of attention to yourselves to go exploring "our mining heritage" :-) Adits emerge at above the highest tide height... Tide ranges are up to

Multi-section ladder...

I had the perception that in a workshop it is likely to fill with grit - grinding dust, etc.

I have ordered a single section ladder of hopefully just the right length. Should arrive today.

That said - I realised that a ladder which would readily fit in a car and could be carried without drawing a vast amount of attention to yourselves to go exploring "our mining heritage" :-) Adits emerge at above the highest tide height... Tide ranges are up to

---------------------------- In Germany I carried climbing rope in the car that friends and I could tie to a cut branch and toss through a window of a castle ruin to climb in. To exit the rope was looped over the branch if nothing else was suitable to rappel down and recover the rope. If anyone questioned the rope it was for towing if I got stuck at a muddy field exercise site.

Rope plus knowledge of knots solves many problems. This knot is particularly valuable since it acts like a ratchet. It turns a hanging rope into a ladder with movable hand and foot loops.

A neighbor had some low cost tree work done by a young handyman friend who brought a long beat-up aluminum ladder with loose and missing rungs and a kink in the middle, and abandoned it in worse condition when he left. I rescued it, cut out the bent center section and rearranged the rungs to be continuous, in two lengths convenient to reach the eaves of my lower storage and higher drying wood shed roofs, below their overhanging sheet metal roof panels which won't support a ladder and my weight. I found that without the usual plastic end cap the cut ends needed to be filed round to a radius of several mm to protect my hands.

The loosened tubular rungs could be secured by hammer flaring the ends, like sealing boiler tubes. Just in case they are also attached with sheet metal screws diagonally through the end joints.

I was also given a wooden stepladder that had become wobbly. All it needed was tightening the nuts on the steel rods under the steps.

I seem to have an eye for what's wrong with something and how to fix it. Niven and Pournelle explored that in "The Mote in God's Eye" with the alien museum of broken equipment, it was a test of mechanical aptitude to realize everything was defective. The alien species was either right or left brained, never both, and this test determined which and their subsequent careers. I write and post to exercise the right side.

That said - I realised that a ladder which would readily fit in a car and could be carried without drawing a vast amount of attention to yourselves to go exploring "our mining heritage" :-) Adits emerge at above the highest tide height... Tide ranges are up to

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Around here a windowless white van with a ladder rack is assumed to be a service vehicle even without any logo. On a beach a surfboard or kayak on top might do.

A key element of spycraft is knowing and imitating what appears normal. During WW2 refugees were given fresh new clothing and their old ones handed to agents assigned to the area the refugees came from, so they would blend in better.

As battalion photographer and a German-speaking GI comfortable with travelling around I was asked to carry a tiny camera I could discreetly set for distance and exposure, and could take a photo of a suspicious (Arab?) vehicle with it at right angles to the direction I was pointing my touristy SLR, or by pulling my hand and camera slightly out of a pocket. Then I could transfer the film into a developing canister inside a light-tight black bag and develop the negatives in a bathroom, to read license plates. Loading the

That said - I realised that a ladder which would readily fit in a car and could be carried without drawing a vast amount of attention to yourselves to go exploring "our mining heritage" :-) Adits emerge at above the highest tide height... Tide ranges are up to

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I read in an old book about the work of a steeplejack a clever trick to climb a tall chimney. The chimney has an old pulley and rope at the top but they can't be trusted to support a person. The trick is to have a 5/8" or thicker steel bar stock hook made that will catch over the chimney top and hold a stronger pulley and hoisting rope. The hook is attached to the top of a long plank that the existing rope pulls up until the hook passes above the rim and can be lowered onto it, or lifted off for retrieval.

Telescoping pool cleaning poles can be joined to make one that will easily reach over 7 meters, and they are innocuous collapsed and strapped to a vehicle. I use one with a scoop on top to clean my gutters from the ground. If you can get to the adit once technical rock climbing gear includes several types of hand-installed rock anchors, some of which simply lodge in a suitable crack.

This is an example of a collapsible hanging ladder made from nylon webbing:

Another telescoping extension pole system I've found useful has push broom threads on the end to screw into a paint roller handle. With the roller removed the steel shaft can be reshaped into tools similar to a multifunction boathook. The materials aren't strong, mine broke and I turned a replacement end plug with the male broom thread from solid aluminum rod on my lathe. Broom thread taps and dies are available.

I recognised it correctly. :-)

"... The Tautline Hitch is essentially a Rolling Hitch tied on the standing part of a tight line after it has been secured around a object. ..."

I got a single-section ladder 3.44m length. It proves to be perfect. At a lean of about 1:4 it "just right" rests against the horizontal roof beams. I can swing from leaning one way to leaning the other way to do both ends of the outbuilding, without leaving the outbuilding. The ladder is long enough for the job, but when upright doesn't reach the roof in all the midwidth. Which means the ladder will store flat against the back wall. Being single-section, it intrudes very little off the wall into the workspace. Happy :-)

Did I "over-egg" this? Well I got it spot-on right first time, which as a probability seems randomly improbable. It's so nice scooting up to the roof space easily and securely on a wide robust ladder.

Thanks for all suggestions. The ladder with the "locking hinges" caught attention.

Thanks for all suggestions. The ladder with the "locking hinges" caught attention.

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My neighbor has a 16' z-fold ladder he left outdoors to be rained on and the locking mechanism doesn't always automatically catch, as indicated by the red slide snapping inward. Mine is stored folded double upright inside a shed between the ceiling joists and operates smoothly.

My feet greatly prefer the square rung version to the round rung one.

I use it to erect a temporary gantry track extension by balancing the heavy channels on boards across the rungs. After the outer track end is supported I lift the ladder over the track since it has no interfering cross bracing like a stepladder. My 16' ladder isn't high enough to erect horizontal shed beams but would be if I could back my pickup truck into the intended floor space to raise it. I don't need to because I have other heavy lifting gear.

With two such ladders (mine + his) supporting a scaffold plank (his) between them the outside steps significantly extend the working length, to both ends of a section of gutter. Construction skills and equipment are common in this neighborhood.

Thanks for the realism on this.

Did you wind up with something like this?

HOWEVER, because I live in a place with some of if not the worst solar radiation in the world plastics break down. Even fiberglass ladders break down if left outside. I have fiberglass ladders I hate to use, because I itch for days afterwards.

I was suggesting an extension ladder or one half of an extension ladder. A much more solid device.

Apologies didn't see this for a while. Been busy on the fence and pointing the garden wall, in the remaining time before deep late autumn and winter weather sets-in.

I got a "simple" single-section ladder of just the right length. Found one available. Ordered mail-order because that had it delivered to the door. No need to work out how to transport.

Leans at 1-to-4 angle against horizontal timbers, yet is short enough to go upright against the end-wall to store.

Happy days :-)

I can spin it around about the vertical axis through 180deg at any gap between the roof trusses, to face the opposite direction.

I am very pleased with the simplicity and light weight. I am pleased with myself for seeing this simplicity.

Regards, Rich Smith