Ideas for Ladder Storage

[dps136]

I am working on organizing/renovating my garage. Drywall, paint, cabinets, lights etc. I plan to have it very neat, clean and organized. However, I have a 6ft, 8ft, and 12ft step ladders to store. Any thoughts on how to store these that is not unsightly, but gives easy access to them. Right now they are just leaning against a wall in the corner.

Thoughts?

 

[Steevo]

Ladders are a pain to store, for sure. I hang mine. Step ladders vertically, and extension ladders horizontally.

I saw a good setup in a thread here once where the ladder was up against the ceiling, but then you'd need a ladder to get to it . . .

Search for this phrase"Talk to me about ladder storage"
There is a multi-page thread on the topic.

 

[rlitman]

I've gone one against the ceiling. There's a pair of hooks over my garage door. I hook the top of the ladder onto them. About 8' away from the hooks, on the rafters, I have a pulley, and a rope hanging down from there. I clip the rope around the bottom rung, and pull the ladder up to the ceiling, then tie the rope off to a cleat on the wall.

At my in-laws, I hung a bike like this, over the door. It's a great way to use otherwise useless space.

 

[Dan'sGarage]

dps -

Here's my 2 cents....

I made a mount for the 8' and 6' ladder out of scrap 2x4. I basically mounted two pieces of 2x4 flat onto the top of another 2x4 board I lagged into the wall. Then I screwed in vertical boards to these two to form a partial I beam. I only made it just long enough to hold the 8' ladder and added about an inch more before putting in the face board. I can slide the 8' on top of the horizontal boards and then just hook the lip of the 6' ladder to this edge.

They both fit very well and the I-beam is short and strong enough to support both. I then use a bunjee cord to wrap around the two and secure them to the wall.

For the 12 extension ladder, I got a piece of 10' 2x4 and lagged it close to the ceiling. But before that, I screwed in some of those garage storage hooks (with the screw ends) to this board. The 12' ladder rests horizontally, and is out of the way. See the pictures below. To get it down, I do have to use the 6' ladder but since it is so infrequent, it doesn't bother me.

hope this helps...sorry for the fuzzyness of the last two pictures...I tried to crop them to illustrate my point.

 

[Rickster]

Eye bolts into ceiling joists with V shaped metal rods hanging down. I hang the huge-assed extension ladder from front to back on the garage ceiling. Than hang the 12 ftr next to it and the 6 ftr I hang off the extension ladder.

 

[browntown]

I'm thinking about sticking them outside since fiberglass and aluminum shouldn't break down much right? My dad has his ladders up against the side of his house that noone sees, plus it's protected by most of the rain by the eves.

 

[pantera1]

Good topic.

After reading this, the extension ladder is going on the ceiling with the pulley method.

 

[kbs2244]

My extensions are hanging from ceiling hooks.
Mostly because they are a seldom used thing.
The step ladders are hanging on hooks at ceiling height on the walls.
This lets the casual stuff be leaned against the walls under them and not stick out into the room too much.

 

[olytdi]

I'm thinking about sticking them outside since fiberglass and aluminum shouldn't break down much right? My dad has his ladders up against the side of his house that noone sees, plus it's protected by most of the rain by the eves.

Aluminum should be fine. Fiberglass can degrade via UV exposure. I'd probably make sure the fiberglass ladder is covered or never sees sunlight. Secondly, if any of these are extension ladders, the rope(s) may also be susceptable to UV degredation. But ropes like dacron would be stable.

I store my aluminum extension ladder behind the shop. Step ladders and combination ladder (gorilla-like) get stored vertically like Steevo. Lastly, I have a beast of a 12ft wood step ladder that I hang horizontally high up in the shop since I rarely need it. But it's a bear to get down, use, and get back up. I can barely carry it around and manipulate it. I may use a pulley system in the future to more easily store it.

 

[jweller]

I hang mine just like my kayaks.

I built my own, but this one is only $25 on amazon and you can't build it for that. Hmmmm, I think I accidentally found a great deal


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EUL2DO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[headwrench]

just my .02 , but storing your ladders outside is only helping the local crooks. they can use the ladders to gain access to your upper windows for easy entry to your house. in this day of , shall we say, hard times, it seems that some are looking for a free shopping spree @ our expense. again just my .02

 

[1965gp]

Agreed- I used to store them outside but that presents opportunity for crooks

 

[rlitman]

just my .02 , but storing your ladders outside is only helping the local crooks.

My 32' extension ladder doesn't fit anywhere inside. I have it in a locked fenced-in area next to my garage, but I also run a steel cable through all my "outdoor" ladders, and attach that to a seriously thick eyebolt in the wall.

 

[gabedad]

just my .02 , but storing your ladders outside is only helping the local crooks....

I store my longer one behind my barn

I live in a ranch so..

 

[DoyleDee]

You will find out about UV exposure with a fibergalss ladder the hard way.. I wondered why I felt like I rolled my arms in fiberglass...then I thought of my ladders. I have since painted all of them.
I have all of mine stored in my shop now. The biggest is a 12ft a frame and I store it above my built in room in my shop. The rest stay upright nearby.

 

[dps136]

Hey guys, thanks for the advise..... I'll have some pics up soon of the project.

 

[Dan_inthewind]

I keep my step ladder hung on the wall ready to use as it is the one I always reach for first. The thing about a long ladder is you never need one till you need one. Then you never need one again. So do as the others have suggested and hang it right up on the ceiling. I paint a lot so the long ladder provides a nice spot to hang things from wire.

 

[ihredo4]

I have 2 eight foot counters that axtend directly away from a side door. The cabinets have an eight inch space behind it that is unused. I put 2 "L" brackets behind it and slide my extension ladder right down behind the cabinets. Works for me.

 

[bad_idea]

My father has an extension ladder stored in the crawl space under his house. For the frequency that he needs it, the storage location is justified.

 

[waltmcq]

I had my 2 extension ladder outside laying against the back of the shop. But the leafs kept piling up and rotting on the inside tracks. the shorter 16' one was easy to stand up and hang from a hook. The 28 footer caused a little more thought, a hook didn't seem to want to hold it very well. I cut a couple pieces of angle and drill a hole in each. Then I threaded a 3/8" piece of round stalk. I stand the ladder up between the angle and slide the rod through a rung and put a nut on it.

 

[5lima30]

I store my longer ladders outside under the lean-to addition on the end of my garage. Theft isn't a problem in my rural area. If it was I would just lock the ladders up with a bicycle lock. YMMV.

 

[bacpacker]

Step ladders are hung on a wall out of the way. 28' extension, I found a gambrel system from Cabela's for ladders, kayak, & canoes. It works well and get the ladder up against the rafters totally out of the way. I had it on the wall for a while, but it was just too ackward to get down and put back up. With the gambrel, just hook it up, and pull the rope. Much better.

 

[karl1672]

I've been using these from HD for a year or so (they come in a couple of different sizes). They work out pretty well, haven't had a crash yet (they're screwed into the bottom plates of the trusses).