Indy Total Construction

When you want to get into your attic there is no reason why you should not use an ordinary ladder, provided it is secured to the opening in some way – by hooks and eyes perhaps, but whatever you do, never use a pair of step ladders. In trying to climb out of the attic and groping for the top of the steps with your foot, you could easily knock them over, leaving you stranded, or worse you might fall with the ladder causing physical injury.

One drawback to using a normal ladder is that you will need somewhere to store it and you will have to go to the trouble of digging it out of storage every time you want to get into the roof space — or it may be in use elsewhere in the house.

A much more satisfactory solution to the problem of climbing into your attic is the proprietary extendable attic ladder. This sits just above the trapdoor on hinges or pivots screwed to the inside or top of the opening frame and can be pulled down whenever you need it. Such a ladder, with its own built-in storage, makes your attic much more usable and accessible.

Purpose-made attic ladders are usually produced in aluminum with 2 or Sin wide treads. Most have two or three sliding sections with a safety catch that must be released before they can be extended. Some are linked to the trapdoor by a special bracket so that they come immediately to hand when you open it up.

When closed, the ladder lies across the tops of the joists next to the trapdoor, but it swings upwards over the opening before it can be pulled down, so it is essential that there is enough height above the opening for this.

Another important factor is the size of the opening itself which must be large enough to allow the ladder to pass through. This is not usually a problem if you are making a new opening, but if you want to fit the ladder to an existing opening, you will have to take some careful measurements. You will also need to know the distance from the floor of the attic (not the ceiling) to the floor of the room below.

For extremely limited attic space, there is a concertina attic ladder that folds up compactly rather than sliding.

Attic ladders can be simple or complex in design with risers and balustrades just like a proper staircase. Most come with some form of automatic trapdoor catch operated by relatively light finger-tip pressure on the door itself.

Obviously, the method of installing an attic ladder varies from one make and model to another, but usually it is quite a simple procedure. Often all that is necessary is to screw the hinges or pivots to the framework of the opening (on the same side as the trapdoor hinges) and fit the automatic catch to the other side of the opening. There may also be travel stops to adjust on the ladder and a bracket to fit to the trapdoor to hold the ladder so that it is easily reached.

Doors are subject to constant use, so it is understandable that they don’t always open and close properly. All doors have the same problems. They are caused either by the frame and door or by the hardware. Door and frame problems include:

• Swelling

• Warping

• A loose fit

Wood swells when moisture gets into it. Never sand or plane a swollen door. Wait until the weather gets drier or remove the door and keep it in a dry, warm place until the swelling goes down. If the door continues to stick even after the wood is dry, inspect it to find out where it is binding. Then lightly sand the area until the door moves freely. Seal the wood and finish with paint or varnish. The sealer and paint will keep moisture from swelling the wood again. Be sure to seal top and bottom of doors as well.

Humidity can also cause doors to warp. A warped door lets heat out in the winter and, in summer, lets heat in. You can straighten a warped door by removing the door and piling weights on the, bulging part. But it’s usually easier to pry loose the side stop and renail it to fit the warped door.

Since there is always a little swelling and shrinking, doors should be smaller than their openings. To have the door work properly but fit tightly, use weather stripping. The simplest weather stripping is adhesive-backed plastic foam. To install it, first clean the door stop. Remove grease and dirt. Then press the weather stripping along the top and side of the door frame

Seal the bottom of the door with a folding (hinged) threshold seal, or use a special aluminum-plastic strip that tacks into the threshold. You can purchase weather stripping in specific lengths or cut it to size.

Self-adhesive weather stripping is pressed along the door stop as the paper backing is removed. Since straightened doors fre quently warp again, it is easier to move the door stop to fit the door than to try to reshape the door. Remove the stop. With the door closed, draw a guide line on the frame and renail the stop along this line.

The bottom of the door can be sealed with a special strip attached directly to the door. Another type of seal, made of plastic and aluminum, fits right into the threshold.