The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Painting Ladder

There are so many factors that go into a painting job. Here is something you might not have thought much about: what type of ladder you should use.

It may sound a little bit arbitrary, all things considered, but it’s actually pretty important. A good ladder not only enhances your ability to do what you need to, but it also ensures that you are safe and secure while you work.

While painting isn’t inherently dangerous, climbing up an unsafe ladder certainly is.

That in mind, read on for a guide to choosing the perfect painting ladder.

Step Ladder

The ubiquitous step ladder that most people already have in their home is a fine option for many painting jobs.

The step ladder is going to be good for reaching heights of up to twenty feet, though sticking to the thirteen-foot range is better for the purposes of stability. Generally speaking, most users will utilize the step ladder for single story paint jobs.

The pros are pretty simple. Step ladders are affordable, you can use them for much more than just painting, and for basic paint jobs on a stable surface, they will perform just fine.

The problem? They do have their limits. If you need more than 15-20 feet of range, the step ladder is not going to cut it.

Telescopic Ladder

The telescopic ladder is a little bit more versatile than the step ladder. This tool is designed to extend so that you can reach much greater heights than you would be able to with the step ladder.

The telescopic ladder can push you past the thirty-foot range, which will help people who are trying to do larger projects, like painting a house.

Their weight rating also usually factors in the users need to carry tools, which contributes to the stability factor of the tool.

One of the key issues with a telescopic ladder is that good ones are generally more expensive than the step ladder.

They also have a stability issue to consider. Because of their collapsible nature, many products are not as stable as the user would hope for them to be.

Understand, of course, that this a defect, and not a guaranteed feature of any telescopic ladder. The issue is that if you don’t buy a well-made product, you face serious safety concerns.

You can solve this issue by buying for quality, but of course, doing so is usually pricey.

Step Stool

The step stool won’t help you scale the walls of your home, but it will be perfect for painting interior walls. The step stool only increases your range by several feet, but often enough that is all that you need.

Like the step ladder, many people already have a step stool in the home, which means it won’t contribute to the startup cost of your project.

The benefit is that step stools are versatile, affordable, and very stable. The only downside is that their range of use is limited.

NOTE: we also have a guide here where we go over our 5 favorite painting ladders

Conclusion

As you can see, selecting a ladder for a paint job isn’t all that hard. In fact, it often involves utilizing tools that you already have in your home.

The process of safely selecting a ladder is simple: consider the maximum height that you will need to reach and select something that can comfortably accommodate it.

That was the post for this week guys. Apologies for not publishing more posts, but I’ve been busy painting my mobile home. Also, if you are to take on a painting project like this in the future, I would recommend this article from Mobilehomeliving.org. Even though I have many years of painting experience, this guide just had some extra good tips that helped me speed up the process.

Feel free to leave any questions below, and I’ll get to them soon!