# Raising an extension ladder alone



## Georgepag (Nov 13, 2010)

Hi,
I have a 40 foot extension ladder. I hate using this ladder because it is very heavy and a real pain to raise. I’m painting my house and I need to use it. I can get the ladder raised but the problems start when I want to extend it or move the bottom in closer to the house. Thats when the ladder end pads catch on the bottom of the clapboards and prevent the ladder from going up. I end up bouncing the ladder trying to get it over the edge of the clapboard, probably not the safest thing. I can raise it with the rope if the bottom of the ladder Is close enough to the house (at a steeper angle that is not save to climb) but I can’t get the ladder closer to the house because the top is caught on the edge of the clapboard.
Anyone else run into this? How do ya u handle it? Am I missing something?
George


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

You can erect a 40 footer by yourself? Even in my best days a 32 by myself was about all I could do without help and I didn't even like to do that. Anything over a 28 needs someone else footing the base imo. 

The way to move an extension ladder without breaking it down is to prop it up plumb to the balance point, pick it up and walk it. Not a novice technique. Not fun if there's wind and/or rough terrain. 

You really shouldn't be doing anything with a 40 without a strong hand there to help. And I mean strong, snowflakes need not apply.

Be careful out there, real easy to get hurt playing with a 40.


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## Deaknh (Mar 24, 2018)

A 40 is tough. You have to hold it away from the house slightly and raise it up. I foot it against the house in the lowest position, then walk it until vertical. Then the fun starts, you'll need to balance it verically to extend it, with a touch more weight towards the house. I hate 40s.


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## Georgepag (Nov 13, 2010)

Sorry, not a 40, just checked, it is a 36 footer. To raise it I put the base against the foundation and use a large heavy trash barrel under the ladder to hold it up as I raise it. Lift the end, put it on the barrel move down to the barrel, lift the ladder, push the barrel forward, rest the ladder on it. Repeat until the weight of the ladder transfers enough to the feet so I can just walk it up. In my younger days I could walk it up no problem without aids. 

I hear you about getting the ladder verticle enough to be able to extend it but that’s the problem. It catches on the clapboards preventing me from lifting the bottom to move it closer to the house. I’m seriously considering getting some aluminum flat stock and making little skis to ride over the clapboards.


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## Deaknh (Mar 24, 2018)

You should be extending it before it hits the house, it won't catch siding that way. And use bumpers.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

If it's stuck you pull the bottom out away from the house enough to free it.
I do agree with the others about using some help on this one.
When I went to fire training school I was required to learn how to raise a 4 section class 1AA ladder using just two people now that was interesting when it started tipping in the wrong direction.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=extension+ladder+safety+training+video+


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

To avoid the problem of it hitting on the bottom of the siding and even chipping the siding, I always start high and move down, which is normal when painting anyway. If you make skis for the ends, then it ends up decreasing stability.

For big jobs I have a couple of troughs that I made from a 2x6 and a 2x4 nailed together, 8' long. I place them at a distance from the house which will work for all the heights that I intend to use with that ladder, and level them and stake them into the ground. Then once the ladder is up against the house I walk the bottom out to the trough and set it in. Then I use a seatbelt-type strap from HF and strap the bottom rung around the trough.

When the bottom is attached like that to the trough, the bottom becomes like a hinge point, which makes it easier to push the top of the ladder away from the house to raise or lower it, without the bottom skating out.

Once the trough is staked it's relatively easy to slide the ladder along and reposition.


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## Deaknh (Mar 24, 2018)

ChuckF. said:


> To avoid the problem of it hitting on the bottom of the siding and even chipping the siding, I always start high and move down, which is normal when painting anyway. If you make skis for the ends, then it ends up decreasing stability.
> 
> For big jobs I have a couple of troughs that I made from a 2x6 and a 2x4 nailed together, 8' long. I place them at a distance from the house which will work for all the heights that I intend to use with that ladder, and level them and stake them into the ground. Then once the ladder is up against the house I walk the bottom out to the trough and set it in. Then I use a seatbelt-type strap from HF and strap the bottom rung around the trough.
> 
> ...


That's a great idea.


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## Premium08 (Jul 28, 2014)

Do you have the rope and pulley hooked up on the ladder?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Why do you want to kill yourself with a ladder? How about some scaffolding or pump jacks?


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

I've been a painter for 40 years, mostly working on my own and I can't tell you how many times I've moved a 40-footer by myself. In the old days, 40 footers were wood. There's not a whole lot of magic in moving them. What you have done is what I have done. Certainly angles, weight displacement, a bit of arm strength, and even some circus moves are required to move them. I won't lie, I've bounced them 4 feet or so in either direction from near the top so I didn't have to go back down to the ground and move it. 

Sometimes scaffolding/pump jacks aren't feasible because of uneven ground or obstacles in the way, but, Guap0 is correct, they sure make things much easier. 

Now, I'm too old to CLIMB a 40 footer, let alone MOVE one.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I've also moved/erected 40' ladders by myself, not a fun job but doable. The outfit I worked for when I was young had wooden 40' ladders but he always provided a helper.

Might not be the safest method but I always raise the ladder while climbing it .... and that includes bouncing it off of the siding if it gets hung up. I've always cut the rope on a new ladder - don't want to get my feet tangled up in it.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Good point about the rope, Mark. It isn't much help anyway once you crank up the ladder extension up past a certain point. I do keep the ropes on my smaller ladders as they ARE a big help on them.


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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

Painting IMO, should always be starting at the top and working downwards. This way any paint drips or sags can be corrected while working downwards with the ladder. Not so easy to do, as one works upwards on the ladder from the bottom.


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## ChuckF. (Aug 25, 2013)

Another thing, not all 40ft ladders are the same, there are different classes of ladders. There are Class IAA, IA, I, II, and III, the III is the lightest duty ladder and the IAA is the heaviest and a heavy-duty ladder weighs more and is sometimes wider.

When you look at ladders in the store or on the internet the difference in Xft ladders might be 65lbs vs 80lbs, and that doesn't sound like much, anyone can lift an 80lb barbell, right? But can you lift that barbell from one end, because that's more like what you are doing with a ladder, so a few pounds can be the difference in being able to handle the ladder and not.

On the other hand, a higher class weight ladder has a much better feel to it. When you are halfway up a light ladder, it bounces and flexes with every step and just doesn't feel good, but you do get used to it.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Personally I wouldn't own a type III ladder! they tend to get real wobbly as they age.
Does anyone even make a type III 40' ladder?


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## Deaknh (Mar 24, 2018)

I don't think so.


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)




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## Malt-N-Hop (8 mo ago)

I have a Werner 1540-2 Type IA40' that is 90# on the ground and seems like 180# once in the air. I made a modification to the ladder guides to let me use the ladder single handed. With the mod, the two segments are raised individually and then the upper segment is joined to the lower segment.

Modification - The lower ladder has a set of guides at the top, the upper ladder has a set at the very bottom and ~3' from the bottom. I removed the two aluminum rivets from the right-side guide that is 3' from the bottom of the upper ladder and replaced them with aluminum bolts with wing nuts.

Use - Remove the modified guide from the upper ladder. Raise the lower ladder and prop securely against the wall. Lift the lower ladder and rotate the feet up and toward the wall, lower the lower ladder. Raise the upper ladder, position the upper ladder top rails just into the lower ladder guides. Bring the bottoms of both ladders together with the upper ladder bottom a tad to the left. When the rails meet, slide the upper ladder to the right, aligning the rails and engaging the 3' left side upper guide. Raise the upper ladder, engaging the upper ladder bottom guides on to the lower ladder rails, until the rung locks catch a rung. Replace the modified guide on the upper ladder rail and lower the feet to required position.

Hint - I use a small platform under my ladder to always have a level base (3'x1'x4" made of plywood and 2x). I put the lower ladder w/ feet raised on the forward edge while doing this. This gives lots of clearance for the upper ladder guides to engage the lower ladder. After assembled, the ladder is repositioned to the center of the platform. Use what is handy to raise the lower ladder off the ground, otherwise you'll have to lift the lower a few inches while guiding the upper to engage.

Used aluminum bolts to minimize galvanic corrosion since the ladder is in the elements year-round and there is no sheer force applied.


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## Old Thomas (Nov 28, 2019)

I stand up the ladder with the bottom the correct distance from the house for the height I want to use. Then I get between the ladder and the house, push the top of the ladder out to the balance point and extend it with the rope. Then rest it on the house.


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