The board on a ladder trick: Is it safe? 

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

Thanks for the tips!

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...

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.

Tied ladder is always a great idea. I imagine you used ladders professionally? Firefighter?

Good tip!

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 .

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: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ux8DYh3NUfs.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.

Elias Ha! I had no idea. Thanks for the tip!

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.

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 :)

Thank you!

Holy crap this was 6 year ago??? Good plan either way!

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

Scary stuff! But thanks for the tip on the foldable ladder!

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.

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: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n28tYo5T1Po.html

Yup!