Folding Attic Ladder

A folding attic ladder elicits different images to different homeowners. For such a seemingly straight forward product, there is a lot of variety among the product offerings. It largely depends upon the placement of your attic entry ways. You may have multiple entry ways from various closets and hallways throughout your home. In all likelihood, though, access is limited to one door way, hatch, or such. The way that you access the attic impacts the type of ladder or staircase that you may see leading to this part of your home.

Comforting the House

In many cases there is actually a staircase that leads to a doorway, straight into the attic. If that is the case, then there is obviously no need for a folding attic ladder. Instead, though, it brings up the issue of blocking drafts of cool or hot air. This is where the insulated blanket can come in quite handy. Many home owners utilize such blankets to further block air exchanges between the attic and the livable portions of their homes. Such blankets are generally quilted on one side and metallic on the other. Blankets exist for any type of entry way into the attic space.

These blankets, thus, insulate your home from the cross currents of air from the livable section of your home into the unfinished upstairs. Adding a barrier to the upstairs entry way makes for less heated or cooled air being lost to the unregulated upstairs. This creates greater comfort in the rest of your home and leads to less attic mold. In addition, it also allows you to reduce the heating and cooling bills, even if just slightly. It will also keep animals and stuffy and stifling odors at bay as well. Consider buying an insulating blanket or barrier if you are also going to be purchasing a new folding stair case for the upper region of your house.

Material Makeup and Design Elements

In addition to blankets, there are also a variety of folding attic ladder materials that homeowners can find for accessing their attic space. Beyond a stair case, many homes have a ladder that either works by folding out of the way, or that telescopes up and down. Either one of these types of ladder work perfectly well. It actually can depend a great deal on the space surrounding the entry way down on the ground. If you have to reach a seven foot ceiling, you may find that a folding ladder or telescoping ladder with a good pull cord can make it far easier to access your upstairs.

Again, if you have been looking at the same entry way into your upstairs for years, then you may believe that all folding attic ladder products are the same. Manufacturers provide a great degree of variety for homeowners in terms of the materials and features that make up a folding ladder. For one, you may find steel, aluminum, and wood folding attic ladder products rather readily. A great number of these products are made for folding so that they can hide away back into the ceiling. Otherwise, the folding attic ladder may be quite obtrusive in a hall way or a major space in your home.

Including Renovation Plans

Your folding attic ladder may have been a great part of your home when you just barely remembered you had an unused upstairs area. Once you are planning on renovating this often forgotten space in the home, though, it can become important. It may be that you no longer want a folding, or portable item, but instead want a permanent set of stairs. This is often the case in such a renovation. Though, if it is in a major hallway of the house, you definitely will not be able to utilize the present location of your folding attic ladder as the permanent home for your stairs. Instead, you may have to rely on your architect or engineer to provide alternative locations for your new set of stairs.

If you are not in need of a stair case so much as a handful of repair suggestions, know two important facts. For starters, you can actually purchase replacement parts for this product, without having to make a costly replacement on what is probably one of the least often used pieces of equipment in your home. If your door just will not spring shut, then it is likely that yes, the spring has gone. It is perhaps one of the most integral parts of this hatch into your upstairs. And, fortunately, the manufacturers and after-market parts manufacturers make such replacement springs for your folding attic ladder. Beyond that you may want to start by investigating whether you can just replace a broken or aging part rather than making a full replacement.