Can’t Reach? You Need a Ladder
Need to reach, clean, or do something higher than you can reach? Then you need a ladder. Ladders have been used for centuries by humans to access places or things that are higher than we can reach. Some ladders are fixed, and some are portable, some are short and some are tall, some are telescopic and some fold, but all are useful to humans looking to get up a little higher.
Two types of ladders include fixed ladders and rope ladders. Fixed ladders are what you imagine when you think of a typical household ladder — metal or wood uprights (also known as “stringers”) with fixed rungs for climbing. Fixed ladders are generally portable and tare intended to be leaned against a vertical surface, such as a wall or pole before climbing. A rope ladder, in contrast, supports the rungs with rope and is hung from above.
Over the years people have come up with ways to modify ladders to make them more convenient to use and store. An Orchard ladder has a third leg to make fruit picking easier. A roof ladder has a large hook at the top to grip the ridge line of a roof. A turntable ladder is fitted to a rotating platform to make fighting fires and rescuing victims quicker and easier. An extension ladder is a very long ladder divided up into sections that fold or slide back onto each other to reduce it’s size. A telescopic ladder has stringers (the vertical pieces) which actually slide into each other to reduce the size of the ladder for easier transport and storage.
Ladders were originally made of wood. In more recent years though, aluminum has become the material of choice for ladder manufacture as it is lighter and lasts longer. Rope ladders are still prevalent and useful for any situation where you require a ladder that stores in small spaces, is very light weight, or handles curved climbing surfaces.