The board on a ladder trick: Is it safe?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 พ.ค. 2017
- I needed to hang a giant metal star on the wall above the stairs down to our basement. But there was no easy way to reach the spot on the wall where I had to screw in the hanger.
Enter the board on a ladder trick, found in Popular Mechanics “Complete Home How-To” book.
Thing is, failure could mean a dangerous fall down a flight of stairs. Is this technique safe? In the name of science, I decided to give it a try.
Learn more at / the-board-on-a-ladder-... .
Essential Craftsman, "How not to fall off a ladder": • How to Not Fall Off A ...
Popular Mechanics, "Complete Home How-To": books.google.com/books?id=RTC...
Jimmy DiResta's tape tips: • ✔ DiResta Jimmy Tips 9
Other DIY scaffolding videos: • Build a Simple Plywood...
Here's where to find me on social media:
Twitter: / andrewreuter
Instagram: / reuter_andrew
Facebook: / projectlab.how - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
the simple addition would be to screw a third cleat between the 2 boards at the center of the span. great video and I accept your scientific methodology used :>)
Russ Veinot Thanks for the tip--and the scientific review! 😊 www.4sonline.org/images/Fig1.jpg
What Russ said! Sister the skinny planks with a cleat near the middle
Lol, I would have stood on the half wall and leaned across with a drill in one hand and bracing with the other.
Overkill at its finest. Really though, when it comes to your own safety, whatever makes you feel safe...go for it.
I've used this method many times . Good idea clamping the boards at the stairs. A single 2x10 is better. Avoid large knots that is where it will break.
Thanks for the tips!
Werner has an adjustable 16 foot ladder hinged every four feet which I used while stripping grass wallpaper from a stair well and painting the walls. Pretty versatile: 8 ft. X 8ft L shape; 12 ft x4ft L shape: 4ft x 8 ft x 4 ft П shape. I did put a sheet of cut 3/4 inch plywood on ladder for standing. I weigh 220lbs ladder was rated higher lbs. Used as you did with landing as one anchor and downstairs stair at other end. It was a multi-day job so I wanted to feel secure to concentrate on work & not fear of falling. It worked.
My thought is to test any idea like this on the ground or as close to it as possible while still providing an accurate test. I noticed you tested the boards in the air, like a live test, and I notice the boards bow a little. Whenever testing an unknown board with your life, prop the board up on the ground between some 4X4's and walk across and listen and observe. Then if you feel safe proceed to live test. If the 4 inch high test fails delete the video and tell nobody. Actually, if a safety test fails share that with everybody as well, you might just save a life.
You should not be up in the air at all. 2x6's are not strong at all especially if they buy white pine. 2x8 yellow pine or Doug. fir, hand picked with no knots and a hefty feel. Then tie them together with plywood nailed underneath. This will keep them from being uneven and also add strength. Then if you need extra strength you can add boards (2x4 or what ever) to the sides but needs to be both sides. Stop them just before contact points so as to not get in the way.
I also do not know why you went to all the trouble of tying the ladder down. The ladder is stopped at the bottom by the stair riser it can only move left to right and that is unlikely. Make sure you have enough of a angle on the ladder leaning against the wall. Clamping a cleat to the bottom of plank up against stair tread or nosing will keep plank from sliding back. I should tell you that I am a master carpenter with over 40 years experience and I have used this method many times and I won't risk my life on shitty scaffolds. I really do prefer manufactured aluminum planks. Also keep this in mind, the job is never as important than your life.
I always wondered what the deal with people hanging stars on the outside of their home was until I found out it was a cult
There are 2x planks rated specifically for this task. OSHA approved!
Elias Ha! I had no idea. Thanks for the tip!
I'm an electrician and I've used those drywall stilts a lot... The only time I fell is when a plumber left a small piece of pex pipe laying around. I would still never use them on a staircase thought.
Ah, yikes! How'd the fall go?
I strapped stilts on once when I was doing some drywalling. I took about two steps, sat down, and took them right off. I'm sure they work great once you get used to them, but that wasn't worth the risk of faceplanting in my case!
Andrew Reuter i learned how to use stilts by playing basket ball with them on... yeah eppic fail lol landed on my ass more than i was able to run with them lol
Eh the fall wasn't terrible. I grabbed onto a stud on an unfinished wall and swung all the way around it to the other side of the wall. I think I got a hand full of slivers.
Nunyo Bezo Ha! That'd give a person one heck of an advantage, except for all the face planting...
No need to worry, the ladder was against the riser so it wasn't going anywhere and your boards were fine. Well done 👍🏻
Or.. you could have used an extendable ladder run it up to where the wall meets the ceiling or anywhere on the wall where the angle is acceptable with a buffer to protect the surface. OSHA approved ;)
Just grab a Werner extendable ladder, it’s made for this. Little overkill on this.
Good tip!
If I was your wife by the time you come back up those stairs i be gone.......
[EDIT D'oh! Didn't realize this video was 6 years old, dammit.lol] As I am north of 225 in my pajamas, I'm thinking what I would do is just use two or three 2x4's on edge set the max width of inside the ladder dimension, and screw a piece of 1/2" etc., plywood on top and bottom of them. The flexing of the wood in the horizontal plane just freaks me out too much...
Holy crap this was 6 year ago??? Good plan either way!
I would have stood on the knee wall that runs along the stairs, used a zip it, self drilling wall anchor, instead of a plastic mollie, run in my screw, have the wife take the drill, hand me the star, and vacuum up the little bit of dust on the stair carpet. But, that's just me, a dumb ass carpenter that walks on 3 1/2" top plates two stories off the ground.
Currently chuckling with a look of horror on my face. :) Good luck with your future top plate acrobatics!
In all honesty, I never enjoyed walking frame walls, but it was part of the job as a framing carpenter. I was a piker compared to some carpenters I've worked with. They could walk backwards, with a tape measure, bending over to mark layouts for joists, trusses or rafters. A flying Walenda I am NOT. lol
nice ! a hour of building to screw in 1 screw.....
How did I even end up here? Had it been a beautiful painting/drawing, etc or a unique work of art maybe I could understand, but all of that for some big, ugly star? 😂 I hope that you've gotten out the boards again since then to change it! 👍
Where'd you even find an Acadian star?
Lemtil Interesting, never heard of that. My wife got it as a Christmas gift. Maybe there's some secret family history I don't know about?
Those types of stars are really common in the US in big box stores as wall art. I suspect you could find them in any Target or Walmart in the country, in fact. Def would be able to find them in some of the big box home decor stores as well.
6 hours to do a 15 minute job ????
You could always jam a board so it is sticking straight up under both boards and resting on a stair step. With one end of the boards clamped to the floor and a couple clamped together on the ladder the boards above shouldn't move and a bit of hot glue will keep the support from wandering away as well as your weight on the vertical board.
Not a bad idea. Could screw down into the boards to supplement the hot glue, too.
I like to sometimes use hot glue to hold things in place while I screw them together.
This is a really bad idea. I learned the hard way. NEVER, EVER use a middle board to the ground or whatever, it becomes a fulcrum and causes one end of the plank to rise up and become loose and then will swing, possibly throwing you to the ground. In my case I was only about 5 feet in the air and I broke my heel and could not work for a year.
Hmm that's possibly a good point. Just doubling the thickness for a case like this would probably be simpler, easier, and faster and suffice.
The cleat or plywood on the bottom is essential .
why not just add board to the stairs to make an even platform to put the ladder on...
Not sure how you mean... Can you elaborate?
@@AndrewReuter I meant to lean the ladder against the wall you put that metal star on, and add boards to the step below so the legs are at even heights.
Gotcha. Could be worth a try. Wouldn’t have to trust the board that way! Just need to be confident that that “step” board wouldn’t slip...
@@AndrewReuter Yea, exactly :)
Andrew, let me give you some background on me. I'm a 25 year old gamer/postman and I stumbled across your videos somehow. I'm going to say this,
don't. stop. making. videos.
these are the most interesting project videos I have seen in a while(i watch diy videos quite often), and the way you film these are amazing. keeps you interested. and you've got one hell of a personality.
I don't say this sarcastically.
keep it up, my good man.
Thank you!
Did I really just watch this??? Omg
It does work and it is safe
Hah! Try 38ft in the air. Siding houise solo. Turn the ladder upsid down and it will fit on one stair platform, He He ... You should get a foldable ladder worth the money. Harbor freight has a geat deal and quality, compaird to others for the $
Scary stuff! But thanks for the tip on the foldable ladder!
where do i start...dont use unequal width planks. they flex very differently. dont stick clamps above board unless you want to trip on them. use straight grain single yellow pine plank. touch plank against end wall so it wont move. keep one hand touching wall as you walk. tie ladder off to nutsack. dont starve pretending to be a carpenter...
nurd, u could of done it from the edge of your bar
This gut thinks that OSHA is a small town in Wisconsin.
total weight should include your tin (maybe lead) foil hat...
pray tell, what homeowner is gonna let you screw your plank to their wooden tread?
How do you hang stuff over stairs in situations like this?
I know my wife was fine with it because it decreased the chances that I would die while hanging up decorations. Your mileage may vary.
Please let me know your thoughts on this technique. Have you used it before? Have you done anything similar? Have you heard of this type of thing going wrong for anyone? Life itself is dangerous, so of course something like this can't be foolproof, but my hope is that you folks might have some valuable things to share for people considering attempting something like this. Read the full post at medium.com/project-lab/the-board-on-a-ladder-trick-is-it-safe-24443b86bcb4.
Thanks for watching!
FAQ
What about using a vertical board to support the plank under the middle?
MrJoncz suggests this is a bad idea: "NEVER, EVER use a middle board to the ground or whatever, it becomes a fulcrum and causes one end of the plank to rise up and become loose and then will swing, possibly throwing you to the ground. In my case I was only about 5 feet in the air and I broke my heel and could not work for a year."
Andrew Reuter I've seen similar things done. I wonder if it would of been safer to use a standard scaffolding board instead of the 2x6. I'm curious, what do the tie downs on the ladder provide? And also screwing the boards down at the top of the stairs? I'm not doubting the method as being safe, but I believe these little things to prevent a potential slip with the board or ladder do not add much compared to a more robust scaffolding board.
A standard scaffold board would almost certainly work better, though you might have a tough time making it fit into the top rung of the ladder. Jon Peters has a decent DIY version that could be modified for this purpose though: th-cam.com/video/Ux8DYh3NUfs/w-d-xo.html
The tying down and clamping of the board and the ladder all worked together to keep the things from slipping out from underneath you. I didn't want to have to worry about the ladder tipping over if I leaned too far, for example. Might not be very likely, but I thought the peace of mind was worth the extra work.
Dude, you seriously over thought this. I've done this, although with a couple of differences. I have a Little Giant ladder, although it's still reasonable with the ladder you had. I also have 2x10 planks I use as ramps on my trailer. One of them was more than enough for my job, even though my stairwell was deeper (longer plank).
Here's where you over did it. There is zero reason to anchor the ladder. Dude, you have it leaning against the wall, exactly the same as if you were going to climb it directly. It's not going anywhere. I'm not even going to address the next owner who pulls up the 1970s shag and wants to refinish the stairs--with two screw holes in it.
You could have gotten all the bracing you wanted (and some added reinforcement for the planks themselves) if you'd attached a cleat at the ladder end to force the ladder to stay in place (which it was going to, anyway) and then attached one to bear on the leading edge of the top step. That both locks the plank(s) in place from slipping away from the ladder, and bears against the cleat by the ladder, so nothing goes anywhere.
On my job, I had a 10' plank. I walked it all the way to the end of the stairwell to hang paper. You went, what, 3'?
In all fairness, you seem young and possibly haven't had enough of these tasks. I was probably 35 when I did mine and I've been doing stuff like that all my life. Still do, and I'm past 70.
seriously
Yup!
2:00 Jesus, I already lost interest.
LOL! In all seriousness, I really did debate "just leaning over." But it's a 3-foot gap with at least an 8-foot drop from that edge. Much more precarious when you're actually there. And what are you going to do when you are cantilevered across the stairs and your foot slips? Those medical bills aren't worth it for hanging a silly star. See this video for a good take on ladder safety: th-cam.com/video/n28tYo5T1Po/w-d-xo.html
My word that guy likes to talk! The content was decent but I couldn't stand listening to him talk for more than about 40 seconds
where do i start...dont use unequal width planks. they flex very differently. dont stick clamps above board unless you want to trip on them. use straight grain single yellow pine plank. touch plank against end wall so it wont move. keep one hand touching wall as you walk. tie ladder off to nutsack. dont starve pretending to be a carpenter...
where do i start...dont use unequal width planks. they flex very differently. dont stick clamps above board unless you want to trip on them. use straight grain single yellow pine plank. touch plank against end wall so it wont move. keep one hand touching wall as you walk. tie ladder off to nutsack. dont starve pretending to be a carpenter...