# broken light bulb out of reach over stairs



## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

First- - -Make absolutely sure the power is OFF to that fixture--PERIOD! Now, if the fixture has a globe or cover over it, this will be a little more difficult. IF there is not a cover over the bulb you can purchase an extendable pole at most big box stores to change the bulb, and they have an attachment to remove a broken light bulb. There are ways to place ladders within stairways to safely reach lighting fixtures, this usually involves the use of more than one ladder for sure. This may not be for the average DIY person. It may be time to call in someone on this one. David


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## operagost (Jan 8, 2010)

Tater on a stick. :laughing:


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## Troglodyte (May 4, 2010)

Threads in two places, but in case someone on the internet finds this one, I'll point to the other, which has a few other suggestions

http://www.diychatroom.com/f18/broken-light-bulb-ceiling-over-stairway-72211/

Any my suggestion since I had so much fun drawing the ladder in ASCII was:

I had the same thing happen to me and the only thing I could do was take some scrap wood and build an inverse of the staircase to put an extension ladder on.

Staircase looks like:

_
■|_
■■■|_ 
■■■■■|_
■■■■■■■|_
■■■■■■■■■|_

Build a structure to look like (ignore the black boxes, html doesn't allow consecutive spaces):

_____
■■|_|
■■■■|

Place that structure on the staircase

_
■|_____
■■■|_|_| 
■■■■■|_|
■■■■■■■|_
■■■■■■■■■|_

Make sure your measurements are good and the structure is sound, you don't want to fall.


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## Scuba_Dave (Jan 16, 2009)

A picture of the stairs/area would help


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## cmelichar (May 27, 2010)

Thurman, thanks so much! I actually own the kit you referred to, with the telescoping handle, but I had forgotten that some of the attachments were intended for extracting broken bulbs. I pulled it out and read the directions, and I believe I can handle the problem the next time I visit that house. I plan to wear a BIG hat! I appreciate your help! cmelichar


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