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Put your best ladder foot forward

Extension ladders come with feet that pivot so that they can bear fully against a hard surface, as shown in the drawing. When using the ladder on soft ground, the feet can be rotated to a vertical position so that the serrated edges bite into the ground.

This is a handy feature, but I’ve found that whenever I move the ladder from place to place on soft ground, the feet want to pivot back to a horizontal position. With 20 ft. of ladder hovering overhead, this is not the time to be standing on one leg trying to coax the ladder feet into vertical with my other leg.

To prevent this problem from occurring, I’ve wrapped a sturdy rubber band around the bottom of each ladder leg. As shown in the drawing, the band holds the foot in a vertical position even when I move the ladder.

Andrew Sheppard, Madison, CT

From Fine Homebuilding 172, pp. 30 July 1, 2005

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Put your best ladder foot forward

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