Greetings to all from Sydney Australia
I have been trying (unsuccessfully thus far) to locate a plan for an Attic Ladder. It is the type constructed in three sections that hinge together allowing it to be folded up and stored in the ceiling void when not in use. The ladder is available commercially here in Sydney and is probably fully imported as they are asking AUD $880.00 which is a bit steep as I estimate the cost of materials to be well under $100.00. Can any member please direct me to a site that is likley to have a plan
Replies
You might want to think about a ( for want of a better term) sliding ladder. ladder is one piece,sides from 1X oak for strength, mounted on a fold down door 'bout 4 1/2 feet long with slides or rollers to help the ladder extend down and back up after the hatch is pulled down. Just need to have sufficient attic space for the ladder in it's closed position. Way the hell stronger and much more elegant than a fold-up attic stair.Jim Devier
Hi Jim, thanks for that tip. That may be an option but I've yet to see one here in Sydney Australia so I am of the opinion that height in the attic may be the sticking point. Unfortunately modern houses aren't designed with a lot of space in the attic these days.
Regards
Max Bancroft
[email protected]
Maybe someone here could send you one as a "gift" :)
I have sincerely had my doubts about Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy for many years so I wont be expecting an unexpected present nor will I be holding my breath waiting for it to arrive. But if someone out there is absolutely burdened down with too much money or simply has a guilty consience about how they made it . Who knows what can happen. The Karma bus might just back up somewhat and go away.
My floor to ceiling height is 2700mm. The ceiling joist spacing is 500mm centers
Regards
Max Bancroft
That's about 8'10", and 19.5" joist spacing.That's pretty narrow joist spacing. Is the roof trusses or stick built? You'll probably need to header things off to get a wide enough space for a reasonable ladder.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Hi DanH, since Cyclone Tracy blew away most of Darwin back in the sixties the building standards here have been upgraded to cope with expected winds in all localities throughout Australia. Roof design is all truss type and all new homes have their roof and wall frames computer designed, cut out and nailed together in especially designed factories. six ply sheeting or 6mm Masonite is used to brace walls and corner windows are a no no. The completed frames are delivered to the site on Semi trailers equipped with unloading cranes which takes all the heartbreak and back break out of that job. The new standards still didn't help residents of Ipswich in Far North Queensland several weeks ago when a Cyclone Larry rated at force five + went through the area devastating the locality consisting of buildings designed to old and new design standards. The wind gusts far exceeding those experiences in Katrina. All new homes have ground floors that are reinforced concrete slab on the ground with 400mm wide piers drilled down onto bedrock. Steel ribbed reinforcing rods are anchored into the concrete slab every ten feet . The top of each rod is threaded and used to tie down the top plate of the wall frame. With homes designed to cope with those winds still failing, you don't wonder that some folk are resorting to concrete dome housing to beat the cyclones. see http://www.binisystems.com and take the 15 minute professional documentry video tour. From site clearing to completion takes one week depending on the size of the dome. They are so heavy and streamlined the wind just whistles over them. I reckon they'd work in the U.S. Tornado Alley too.
Incidentally,
I have re-measured my Floor to ceiling height. It is 2.600m which is 8' 6 &1/2"
the inside measurement between the ceiling joists is 0.565m which is 22 & 1/4"
see attachments of my home
regards
Max Bancroft
[email protected]
Edited 4/10/2006 2:30 am ET by Crabby1
Edited 4/10/2006 2:37 am ET by Crabby1
Max,Nice home you have there. Very cool landscaping, and cute kids, too.Breaktime has a resident builder of concrete dome structures, goes by Cloud Hidden, IIRC.Why not design your own ladder? They are simple, and your height is custom anyhow. I'd look into counterweights, since they are safer and cheap to make your own. All you really need to find are the special hinges, and Bob's your uncle.Bill
With a truss system, why do you need a ladder -- any usable space up there anyway.The new measurements make the ladder a little more practical -- with trusses you couldn't easily header off any joists.The hinges for the ladder sections are the tough part -- need to be strong and narrow. You can't afford to give away any width, as it's all needed for the tread width.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
Hi Bill, My Wife has a wonderful eye for color in the garden and I'm adept at doing the upkeep. In my youth I trained as a telecommunications technician and worked in that field for 43 years. I accepted a redundancy package at 59 and operated a one man business for 8 years as a handyman turning my hand to a variety of projects . I designed and built quite a number of wrought iron gates for customers. I have an electric welder so fashioning hinges for the ladder would be a chinch. However I would prefer to work to a patten that is known to work first time every time thereafter. So this why I am trying to locate a plan. Also as I am now 67 and have retired from the workforce I have time on my hands. I try to spend my limited cash once only. Do it once and do it right has always been my endeavour. Thanks very much for your suggestions. Its a breath of fresh air to talk to folk on the other side of the world they are such a friendly bunch.
regards
Max Bancroft
[email protected]
Have you seen these stairs?They telescope and will fit a 22.5" opening so you wouldn't haveto cut your trusses.They aren't what you where asking about in your original post,but they might give you another idea of what is available.http://calvertusa.com/indextemplate.cfm?file=allumteleexistingopenigs.htm
Edited 4/11/2006 7:32 pm ET by butch
Hi Butch, many thanks for your input. the answer is no I haven't seen this product here in Sydney Australia. I guess I'd describe it as being a kind of concertina style of attic ladder. I now weigh about 13 stone and if I remember my imperial measurements correctly it is 14lb to the stone. The ladder is said to be rated to 265lb which is about 18 stone. So that's a safe margin of loading. We have hundreds of huge multi acre hardware stores throughout this country similar to what I imagine your Lowes Hardware chain to be. I have sent off an email to http://www.bunnings.com.au enquiring if this product or something similar is available through them. Their "Contact Us" page doesn't have the facility to attach a photo of the product so my email will probably take forever to get a response from them. wish me luck and once again many thanks for the suggestion.
regards
Max
[email protected]
Not a literal gift, but if a US spec folding staircase will work for you, it might be possible to ship one over there.
The tricky part is the spring balance system, though older ones used a pulley and weight system.
The basic design isn't that complicated. A ladder of appropriate length, cut into three roughly equal lengths. Hinges applied to allow it to fold into a Z shape and stack on the hinged hatch door. The spring balances basically work on the hatch door.
My vague recollection is that there's nothing remarkable about the ladder sections, other than they obviously must be stronger and better braced than for a solid ladder. I do recall that the ladder rail cuts are at an angle, but I think this is just so that when things are stacked on the hatch they will form a pyramid of sorts so that the ladder ends don't interfere with closing.
Generally a rope hanging down a foot or so from the hatch to allow it to be pulled down.
Note that a 9-foot ceiling is probably the limit for something like this, and the standard units are probably designed for 8 feet.
To DanH
you mirror my thoughts on the matter exactly and are correct in regarding the metal bracing, springs etc. as the only unknown technicality. Hopefully this post will bring news of a plan somewhere. Many thanks for voicing your recollections regarding the ladder.
Max Bancroft