How to put a ladder on stairs to reach light fixtures
Standard ladders cannot maintain balance on angled steps, which leaves high fixtures and ceiling lights completely inaccessible for bulb changes or cleaning. Using an adjustable-leg ladder that straddles the stairs with independently locked heights provides a stable platform and eliminates the danger of wobbling.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1renting an adjustable leg ladder that straddles stairs
- 2using a multi-position ladder with independently adjustable leg heights
- 3Wedging a ladder into stair steps
- 4Using rollers on extension poles
- 5Renting scaffolding
- 6Hiring a professional painter
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“How do I paint it safely without injuring myself or having the ladder potentially slip out from underneath me?”source ↗
“Had a similar nightmare in my old place, ended up renting one of those adjustable leg ladders that sort of straddles stairs, it locks each side at a different height and was way less sketchy than I expected.”source ↗
“I cannot reach the screws from any position and cant figure out how to place a ladder on the stairs that would be stable.”source ↗
“The other problem I have though are the walls that are perpendicular to the stairs I would need either scaffolding or some other type of articulating ladder to reach the area closer to the top of the stairs to cut in.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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