My uncle has wooden drop down attic stairs installed in his home.
Unfortunately, the rivet holding the ladder at the top has broken.
These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
Bobbie
[email protected]
On 11 Jul 2004 10:47:47 -0700, [email protected] (Bobbie Verstraete)
wrote:
>My uncle has wooden drop down attic stairs installed in his home.
>Unfortunately, the rivet holding the ladder at the top has broken.
>These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
>cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
>suggestions are welcome.
>
>Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
Just as a personal observation, in my experience, if one of the rivets
has broken the others are probably questionable. I would seriously
consider replacing the entire set. I got halfway down a set of those a
couple years ago when they suddenly dropped me about 6 inches when
something broke. I removed them and replaced. Like a ladder that has
broken, it is smarter to replace than take a chance. Falls can be very
hard on you, even if only from ceiling height.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
If you are the person that will be doing the repair, then I would yes it
worth the time to replace the rivets (all of them).
If you have to hire someone else to do the work, then I would hire them to
install a new ladder.
"Bobbie Verstraete" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My uncle has wooden drop down attic stairs installed in his home.
> Unfortunately, the rivet holding the ladder at the top has broken.
> These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
> cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
> suggestions are welcome.
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
>
> Bobbie
> [email protected]
"Bobbie Verstraete" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
> cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
> suggestions are welcome.
I think there's only 2-3 companies who are producing attic stairs in volume.
They all follow a standard cutout dimension. You can buy a good wooden set
for under $100. If you want to step up to metal, I think you're looking at
close to $200. They are available at Lowe's and Home Depot.
Money should not be the governing factor for repair/replacement. I'd
consider replacement and go with a heavier duty set.
Bob
"Edwin Pawlowski" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:infIc.3120$m%[email protected]:
>
> "Bobbie Verstraete" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> My uncle has wooden drop down attic stairs installed in his home.
>> Unfortunately, the rivet holding the ladder at the top has broken.
>> These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
>> cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
>> suggestions are welcome.
>
> Not being able to see them, I can't say for sure. In many cases
> though, a rivet can be replaced by a bolt, nut, washers. A new set is
> about $200 IIRC.
>
>
>
If you go with the nut/bolt option, make sure that you either use a second
nut as a "jam" nut or use a locking nut. You can't tighten down the nut
enough to use a lock washer, if you still need the joint to move.
NJBrad
Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
<snip>
> Like a ladder that has
> broken, it is smarter to replace than take a chance. Falls can be very
> hard on you, even if only from ceiling height.
ONLY from ceiling height? ;-)
I like your sense of understatement, Tim.
Patriarch
Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 03:51:42 GMT, patriarch
> <<patriarch>[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
>>news:[email protected]:
>>
>><snip>
>>> Like a ladder that has
>>> broken, it is smarter to replace than take a chance. Falls can be very
>>> hard on you, even if only from ceiling height.
>>
>>ONLY from ceiling height? ;-)
>>
>>I like your sense of understatement, Tim.
>
> Many years ago I fell 20+ feet on a construction job. Didn't get hurt
> too badly thanks to all the things I hit on my way down that sort of
> broke it up into a series of 5-6' falls.
>
> Falling from any height hurts big time.
>
> Tim Douglass
>
> http://www.DouglassClan.com
>
A good friend, an electrician, fell from 8', off of a platform. It almost
killed him. He plays golf left-handed now, but nowhere as well as before.
Woodworking, once a hobby, is now something he appreciates, but cannot do.
He supervises a crew now, rather than being hands-on, in his specialty.
I buy only good ladders, and use them with care. Don't like those folding
attic ladders at all.
Patriarch
"Bobbie Verstraete" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My uncle has wooden drop down attic stairs installed in his home.
> Unfortunately, the rivet holding the ladder at the top has broken.
> These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
> cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
> suggestions are welcome.
My daughter has nearly the same problem, but the rivet didn't break, it just
pulled out of the hole. Haven't gotten to it yet, but I'm going to repair it
with a bolt and doubled nuts to lock them.
--
Nahmie
The law of intelligent tinkering: save all the parts.
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"Bobbie Verstraete" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> My uncle has wooden drop down attic stairs installed in his home.
> Unfortunately, the rivet holding the ladder at the top has broken.
> These stairs are about 30 years old, brand unknown. Would it be more
> cost and time effective to replace them or can they be fixed? Any
> suggestions are welcome.
Not being able to see them, I can't say for sure. In many cases though, a
rivet can be replaced by a bolt, nut, washers. A new set is about $200
IIRC.
On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 19:42:13 GMT, patriarch
<<patriarch>[email protected]> wrote:
>A good friend, an electrician, fell from 8', off of a platform. It almost
>killed him. He plays golf left-handed now, but nowhere as well as before.
>Woodworking, once a hobby, is now something he appreciates, but cannot do.
>He supervises a crew now, rather than being hands-on, in his specialty.
I am very grateful that I never hurt myself seriously in a fall. I was
often worried that what happened with your friend, or worse, would
happen to me. I've always hated heights, but seemed to end up working
up high a lot.
>I buy only good ladders, and use them with care. Don't like those folding
>attic ladders at all.
As I've gotten older I have gotten heavier and the ladders I trusted
when I weighed 200 lbs don't seem so good now that I'm 275. Factor in
some tools and stuff and don't even consider a ladder rated for less
than 300 lbs.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com
On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 03:51:42 GMT, patriarch
<<patriarch>[email protected]> wrote:
>Tim Douglass <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>
><snip>
>> Like a ladder that has
>> broken, it is smarter to replace than take a chance. Falls can be very
>> hard on you, even if only from ceiling height.
>
>ONLY from ceiling height? ;-)
>
>I like your sense of understatement, Tim.
Many years ago I fell 20+ feet on a construction job. Didn't get hurt
too badly thanks to all the things I hit on my way down that sort of
broke it up into a series of 5-6' falls.
Falling from any height hurts big time.
Tim Douglass
http://www.DouglassClan.com