Ladder brace to not dent gutters


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Old 02-26-04, 07:31 PM
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Ladder brace to not dent gutters

Is there a ladder extension which keeps ladder of a gutter?

Thanks
 
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Old 02-26-04, 11:02 PM
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They make such a thing. It's called a ladder stand off. After you put it on, you extend the ladder enough so that the stand off rests on the rof rather tahn the gutters. Any home improvement should have the near the area where they sell the ladders
 
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Old 02-27-04, 05:12 AM
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Thanks Gary.

Im looking for this stand off to install gutters. I see pictures of them on walls but my eaves are 24".

So resting them on the roof is safe as well?

Mike
 
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Old 02-27-04, 01:35 PM
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There are some that will hold the ladder out for you on that 24".
Also think if you have a short one It would go on the fascia and you can rest the gutter on it to hold it up while you nail it. Then there is the ladder jacks this lets you put a beard from ladder to ladder. You can put the spike and ferrule in from on the roof. This way you dont have to move the ladder all the time. ED
 
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Old 02-27-04, 02:50 PM
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Thanks Ed.

I plan on hangers & not spikes.
 
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Old 02-01-09, 01:34 PM
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Ladder Stand off

Take a look at thegutterbuddy.com I think you will be pleased with that, portable and fits all standard 5" gutters
 
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Old 02-02-09, 06:31 AM
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I would recommend that if you're using an extension ladder with standoffs, put them only on the roof. The fascia is the last place you would want them to be touching, they'll just get in your way, and it's such a small area you risk slipping off.



I've had a ladder with standoffs on the wall kick out on a co-worker because of the angle he was forced to work on. The roof is really the only place I would want to see them set up for eavestrough work

If you're not totally confident on your ladder setup, then don't even start climbing
 
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Old 02-02-09, 09:33 AM
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Apologies in advance for the near rant, but...

A recent study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Columbus Children’s Hospital in Ohio identified 2,177,888 cases of ladder related non-fatal injuries treated in ERs between 1990 and 2005 - and that doesn't count the people who experienced falls but did not present themselves for treatment... or the people who left the hospital in a bag. So IMO for homeowners (this is true for anyone of course, but homeowners are likely to be less experienced in using ladders than people use them daily in their work) considerations of ladder use and accessories should be first and foremost about safety.

I take this especially seriously because as a young man I went off a 2-1/2 story roof while stepping off a ladder.

Remarkably I survived without serious injury, primarily because I went down through trees that broke my fall, but that moment when I realized I was going down will stay with me for the rest of my life, and it conditions everything that I do with and around ladders.

I still climb ladders in my daily work (home inspection) and in a situation where the risk is relatively high (I'm putting them up and taking them down frequently, by myself, and I don't have much choice about the weather or other conditions under which I do so), but in the 40 years since I went off that roof I have retained a high and healthy level of fear when I use them. It's nice not to bang up the gutters, soffits, drip edge and shingles, but it's a lot more important not to bang up yourself.

With that in mind, here are a few comments:

The big risk when using a ladder for such tasks as painting soffits and cleaning gutters is that the ladder is going to slide sideways at the top or outwards at the bottom, either because it's unstable at the base, or because the user is reaching to the side, or both.

One of the big advantages of the style of ladder stabilizer show in Rob_c's picture (I use this particular model myself, at home inspections, because it comes on and off quickly, there are others of similar design) is that it greatly increases the side to side stability of the ladder. I've never had a ladder slip sideways the top when using one when the stabilizer legs where resting on the roof, even though I sometimes have to step around the ladder to step onto steep roofs, which places considerable sideways load on the ladder. The chief limitation of that type of stabilizer that it works best on roofs with a pitch above 5/12 as at lower roof pitches you may find that the stabilizer will not keep a ladder out of contact with the gutter if the ladder is at a reasonable angle. (Down to about 3/12 it will however reduce the load on the gutter, depending on the height of the gutter below the edge of the roof and how far it extends out from the soffit).

When I have to use a ladder where I can't use the stabilizer I tie the ladder off to the gutter immediately upon reaching the top. I use one of several different lengths of custom made Python tiedowns, but "bungee cords" will work as well. If possible I try to get at least one end around a gutters support. Of course this is not keeping the ladder off the gutter, but at least it's keeping the ladder secure the top, as my wife points out "dead inspectors write no reports"...and dead homeowners don't complete the project.

The other end of the ladder also present significant hazards, unless you are erecting the ladder on a close to flat and stable surface which provides good resistance to slipping you are at risk of having the ladder go out from under you.

On uneven surfaces I use these removable levelers, I have one set of extensions and matching brackets on all three of my ladders.

If you have any doubt at all that the surface will not provide sufficient resistance the slippage don't go up the ladder unless you've made provision to secure the base, if you can't do this, don't climb the ladder - a very experienced home inspector I know received permanently crippling injuries when the base of the latter he had erected on a composition decking surface slipped out from underneath him.

Some of these accessories may seem expensive "overkill" for occasional homeowner use, but knowing what I do now, and having experienced how much safer (and pleasanter) they make ladder work, I would buy and use them for any job requiring a ladder. I probably have 5-6 hundred dollars in ladder accessories, IMO, It's some of the best money I've ever spent, I not only use the ladders for my HI work but also around the house and at my rental properties, and I'm much more comfortable knowing that every time I go up a ladder I've taken every reasonable step I can to improve my odds of avoiding injury - just about any trip I have to take to the emergency room is going to cost me far more than that in medical costs and lost productivity ... assuming I survive, that is.

Finally, never get complacent about the use of the ladder because the height does not seem significant.

A few years back home inspector in the next suburb over was found dead at the bottom of ladder he had placed against a soffit on a single-family ranch home.

No one knows exactly what happened, but I'm pretty sure when he drove up, and saw that it was a one-story house with a low pitched roof, he was thinking "piece of cake".

Just my .02 worth...
 
 

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