How to Climb a Ladder Safely

Setting up an extension ladder at the correct angle is the key to working safely on the walls or roof of your house. Make it too steep and the ladder could tip over backward. Give it too much angle and it could bend or the bottom could slide out. This article shows the right way to set up a ladder.

Steps   

Basic Technique  

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    Set the ladder at the proper angle by creating a right triangle with your body, as shown in the photo.
  2. Make sure the feet of the ladder can’t slip backward. On soft ground, flip up the ladder shoes so the spurs poke into the ground. On decks, screw down a cleat.
  3. Make sure the top of the ladder is resting on a flat surface and doesn’t slide or wobble when you put weight against it.
  4. When climbing the ladder put your hands on the outside of the ladder and let it slip through your hands as you climb. Do this rather than grabbing from rung to rung. With this technique your hands will never be off the ladder if a sudden change of conditions were to make you unstable. If you're not able to do this then make sure you always have at least three points of contact at all times. Move only one arm or one foot at a time.


Additional Precautions   

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    Use add-on accessories to help stabilize the top of ladders. Rubber or soft plastic "mitts" that slip over the top of the ladder rails provide a good grip on the siding and protect it from ladder damage. Ladder stabilizers are another great add-on accessory. The large rubber pads grip almost any surface to keep the top from slipping sideways and help spread out the load to prevent damage to fragile siding materials like vinyl or aluminum. Stabilizers also span window openings and hold the ladder away from the building to allow work on gutters and overhangs.

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    Level the feet. Note that even with the ladder at the correct angle, it can still tip sideways if the feet aren’t level with each other and on solid ground. It’s unsafe to stack boards under one of the feet to level the ladder. Instead, scrape out a shallow trench under the high-side foot. The claw of a hammer is perfect for this task.


Tips   

  • If you're leaning the ladder against a second story roof or gutters, tie the ladder to roof jacks, clip it to the gutter with bungee cords, or rope it to eyebolts in a 2 x 4 screwed to the fascia. Otherwise, wind can blow the ladder over.
  • Before climbing a ladder which is set on the ground, jump up and down on the first rung to firmly plant it in the soil.


Warnings   

  • Don't reach off to the side - move the ladder instead. This will entail climbing down and up again and will take much longer. But keep in mind that most ladder falls occur when the climber reaches too far to the side.
  • A fully-extended ladder is very top-heavy. Lower it before moving it or you could lose control of it, especially in a wind.