subject: Telescoping Ladders: Perfect for Everyday Home Use [print this page] When you don't have a lot of space in a room and you need to reach some high spots, a telescoping ladder is what you need. A telescoping ladder is one of the best hassle-free equipment you can have in your homeit combines security and safety with convenience to provide sure-fire ways to perform those DIY home repairs or cleaning. Generally, these ladders are folding ladders that fold outwards (like a telescope, thus the name) until they form a full-scale step ladder. So a telescoping ladder is basically a ladder that can be stored neatly into a closet.
As you can imagine, the main point of telescoping ladders is portability and convenience. Being rather compact when folded and lightweight, these ladders can easily be carried and tucked away in small spaces. And when unfolded, a telescoping ladder would be just around the size of a regular ladder and can reliably support a decent amount of weight. Perhaps the only trade off for portability is more limited weight-supporting capabilityit won't be able to carry as much as a regular ladder can.
In general, regular ladders can hold up to in excess of 300 pounds. A telescoping ladder is reliable at around 225-250 pounds. The locking mechanisms used to set the metal bars supporting the unfolded ladder can only hold so much weight, after all. Upon unfolding or extension of the telescoping ladder, spring-loaded metal tubes lock into their proper places, and the metal bars are placed for support. Being a mechanism of locks and springs however, a telescoping ladder can't distribute weight as effectively as one solid bar can, and pressure can be placed extraneously on the small metal knobs. Too much weight and the entire ladder can bend or break at one or multiple pointsso heavy duty work is not recommended.
But in terms of portability and everyday use, telescoping ladders come out on top. Probably only rope ladders can match them for their ease of storage and convenience. Of course, rope ladders can't compare in reliability and will need to be set up first (meaning you still need a ladder to get up there and tie the rope ladder in place). So for everyday home use, a telescoping ladder scores five out of five stars.
Telescoping Ladders: Perfect for Everyday Home Use
