Stairs & Scaffolding

Step, extension and multi-position ladders:

a step ladder stands on its own and is the one for painting a wall or wiping the blades of a ceiling fan. An extension ladder leans against a wall or roof edge and slides out in two sections, for gutters, the water tank on the roof or a sheet of zinc that has lifted. A multi-position ladder folds into either shape, and suits someone with room for only one ladder. Werner, Louisville and Cuprum are the names most often on the label.

Frame scaffolding, rolling towers and swing stages:

steel frame scaffolding goes up when a wall or a high ceiling takes days rather than hours. Each section stacks on the one below, with platforms to stand on, locking wheels or levelling bases underneath and guardrails at the top, and frames of different widths will not stack together. For a single room there is the folding rolling scaffold, a light tower that fits through a door. The towers of Punta Pacífica and Costa del Este are painted from swing stages, platforms hung on cables from the roof. The block going up comes from building materials, the drill and level from construction tools.

The pound rating and the rail material:

the label on the side rail gives the duty rating: a household ladder is rated around 200 lb and a trade ladder 250 to 300, and that covers you plus whatever you carry, so a painter with a full bucket wants the heavier rating. Fiberglass rails do not conduct electricity when clean and dry, which makes them the choice near wiring or the meter. Aluminum is lighter and cheaper, but it conducts. A 6-foot step ladder reaches the ceiling in most homes; in an apartment with a small service closet, a shorter one is easier to live with.

Owning scaffold frames against hiring them by the section:

firms around the country rent out frames, braces and platforms by the section, so a used set pays off only if you will put it up often. New, a folding rolling scaffold costs about $100 to $200, and a 6-foot fiberglass step ladder runs from about $90 to around $190 depending on its rating. A used set is priced on rust and on what is missing: frames without braces, pins and platforms are not a working tower, and the buyer will knock off whatever it costs to complete. A ladder loses value another way. Once the side label has peeled off nobody can confirm its rating, and that costs more than any scuff.

Rails, rung locks and scaffold welds on a used set:

sight down each rail. A bowed or twisted ladder can fold under load, and a bent rail cannot be put right. Push every step and rung by hand; one that moves in its joint is a reason to walk away. On an extension ladder, run the fly section out, watch both rung locks drop over a rung, and check the rope and pulley. Fiberglass left on a patio in the sun turns rough and sheds glass fibres. It is mostly cosmetic, but a rough rail holds dirt and may stop insulating. On scaffold frames, look for bent legs and cracked welds, check that the braces lock onto their studs, and pass on tube where rust has pitted the metal rather than sitting on the surface.

Listing a ladder or a stack of frames:

photograph the side label close up, because brand, height in feet and pound rating answer most questions before anyone calls. Add the feet and locks, and say if it was ever repaired. For scaffolding, give the number of sections, the frame width and a count of braces, pins, platforms and wheels, since the buyer is weighing your set against a rental quote. Say where it is, Santiago or a building basement in San Francisco, and whether a pickup can reach it: a dozen frames will not fit in a car, so whoever collects needs a truck bed and a helper.