Equipment and Safety

Safety First - Use a Ladder Stabilizer
Doing it yourself is NOT worth being seriously injured...OR killed!

In addition to needing a ladder or ladders, your most important equipment is a stabilizer bar (see picture). About a $40.00 investment at Lowe’s, Home Depot or your local hardware could save your life. A commonly available stabilizer bar is made for Werner - a very common brand name in ladders. Their stabilizers come with installation instructions that are fairly simple.

Whether you are a contractor or a do-it-yourselfer, you really risk life and limb without a stabilizer bar. According to one source, about 100,000 people in the U.S. are injured annually, while over 300 die in "simple falls" from ladders. We're not talking "simple falls" here.

Statistically, if you fall over 11 feet, your odds of surviving are only 50%.

In 2002, a former chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Hugh Shelton, spent 38 days in Walter Reed Army Hospital for spinal cord injuries because of a ladder accident.

The Werner stabilizer bar attaches at or near the top of a Werner ladder. It will not properly fit most other brands of ladders, and with another brand of ladder you could be increasing your risk even with a Werner stabilizer.

The stabilizer in addition to making the job safer will make it easier. Without a stabilizer, any brand of ladder including Werner will have to lean against your gutter and will be in your way. With the stabilizer, the leg ends of the stabilizer sit on the roof, and keep the ladder from leaning on and bending your gutter, as well as keeping the ladder out of your way.

Even with the stabilizer there are some dangers you should be aware of.

First, ladders can be very difficult and dangerously deceptive to safely move. The easiest Werner extension ladder to move is a 20-footer (which makes its collapsed length just over 12 feet with the stabilizer attached). The 20-footer is adequate for most one-story homes and can be moved by a reasonably strong healthy person even with the stabilizer attached.

Most two-story houses (and some one-story) will require a 32 footer and we strongly recommend that you have a good strong helper when moving a 32-footer. Occasionally, but rarely, a house with very high gutters will require a 40-footer Werner ladder.

The 40-footer requires (believe me) two very healthy people to move. Anything requiring more than a 40-foot ladder (maybe even more than a 32-footer), will require renting a cherry picker from your contractor rental equipment company or hiring a contractor.

Note: For the do-it-yourselfer, you may want to consider renting a ladder instead of buying one, especially if you need a 32 or 40 foot. Do not forget however, you will need a way to get it home and return it or you may have to pay extra to get it delivered.

One of the dangers you may face, especially if the ground is uneven, is not getting the ladder straight up side-to-side. If it’s not straight don’t get on it even with the stabilizer. Additionally, make sure the bottom is far enough away from the house to keep the top against the house once you have mounted the ladder. If you do not feel comfortable climbing on ladders, we recommend you hire a local contractor to install our product. 

Another precaution that should be taken when moving a ladder is to collapse it to its shortest length. For example, an extended ladder may be movable even by one person when it is vertical (straight up and down).

However if you do not understand the laws of physics, it can quickly become unmanageable and dangerous even for two people if not handled properly. 

When collapsing a ladder (especially a 32-footer or longer), one person should put a heavy foot on the bottom rung while the other hand-walks the rungs while lowering or raising the top end. Otherwise when hand lowering or raising the ladder, the center-of-gravity can rapidly change and the ladder can “flip out” and the top-end will land anywhere it wants to.