# Forum Home Renovation Structural Renovation  attic ladders and storage

## atreyu

Hi,
I have received 2 quotes for attic ladders to be installed including flooring for light storage in my roof space. 
Apart from $600 difference in cost, the major difference between companies is that one supplies a timber ladder and the other supplies aluminium ladders.
I have 12 ft ceilings. 
After then doing a bit of research, I find no other company (besides the one in question) recommends timber ladders due to weathering, weight etc. I wonder why this company has suggested timber? They are the more expensive one but they do seem very professional and organised and have been around a long time.
Does anyone have anything to suggest here?
Thanks

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## r3nov8or

The place I went with could supply both timber and aluminium. They recommended aluminium because they also specialised in plywood attic fit-out, and said that timber ladders "loosened up" considerably even after the use they got during a couple of days of attic fit-out. They supplied timber because some people wanted it for aesthetic reasons

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## Cecile

I would be really interested in the approximate price of these things installed.  we have 2700 ceilings and have already had a light fitting and switch installed in the roof space in preparation to store stuff up there.

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## atreyu

Cecile,
My quotes have been from 2 companies. As I have said one do an aluminium ladder and the other a timber.
The timber ladder company quoted on complete works- ladder, installation, flooring for 3m x3m area at $3,100 (including allowance for $300 of electricians fees)
The aluminium ladder company quoted the ladder at $1265, installation at $285-385 depending on ceiling type, plus extras such as handrails ($165) internal handrail in roof ($104), flooring $77/m2 so all up around $2,600. 
Hope that helps a little

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## Armers

My folks place has 2.7 ceilings, we got wooden steps and got flooring in the space above...  
Electrician did a single light switch and a double GPO + 4 bayonets...  
Ladder + flooring cost around 3k (cant find quote at the moment.) 
Sparkie was a cash job so can't comment there...  
They did an awesome job... I can link the company if you want. Its been a great use of wasted space... that vs storage this ends up being cheaper.  
Cheers

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## r3nov8or

6-7 years ago my 3-piece folding aluminium ladder kit was $920, materials only. Similar to this folding one Access Ladders Queensland

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## Boeing777

I've just had a timber ladder (a medium duty one with handrail and lock) and 29m2 of flooring installed above the garage for $3900 by attic ladders in Virginia, Brisbane. I went with them because they did the same thing at the parents house nearly 10 years ago and the timber ladder and mechanism is still as good as new. From memory the quote was $1200 for the ladder (installed) and $2700 for the flooring - they were the cheaper of two quotes, apprently my roof needed some modifications because the trusses were spaced unsually close or something.

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## PhilT2

I was working at one place last week that just had an imported timber ladder installed. All I can say is people in that country must be a lot lighter, I wouldn't have trusted this one for anything more than once a year use to put the xmas tree away. If you are going to store heavy boxes and/or need frequent access have a serious look at the quality of what is on offer. A fall could be a bit nasty.

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## Bloss

Timber or aluminium are fine - both used extensively in North America & EU. Just buy quality and one that has some standards compliance. Weathering & weight are simply not relevant in this situation. The design of the let down and push up mechanism and the frame construction takes into account weight and they are indoors so no weather factor.

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## degarfs

so can i find out at the end, which company did you go with? 
at the moment, i am also thinking of attic storage and i have to decide by this week. 
any comments on the following two companies? 
1) attic ladders - www.atticladders.com.au 
2) attic conversion centre - www.atticconversioncentre.com.au

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## r3nov8or

I can recommend the tri-fold aluminium I linked above (Access Ladders QLD).  No experience with the brands you've linked.

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## Reppan

I went with a company called Attic Ladders here in Sydney. I went with the ladder that could handle a lot of weight (400kgs) especially if you are carrying heavy items up to store. The only ladder I could find that specified it could handle this weight and actually looked really good was the Deluxe timber ladder they had. Got it fully installed for $1870 and it includes a metal hoop railing inside the roof space + a strong timber hand railing on the actual ladder. I am very happy with the end result, it looks great and is strong.

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## Bloss

400kgs? Even if you weigh 120kgs (lose some weight!) anything that is that dense (and can fit up a ladder access to a roof space) should not be in an attic storage area anyway. Ceilings are not floors and attic storage areas should be used ONLY for light weight low density storage - ie empty suitcases, boxes of clothing etc - not books or magazines or anything that is heavy. Point loads are not suitable for such areas and can cause sagging or occasionally catastrophic collapse and the wright of any 'flooring' installed and the ladder need also to be counted. Unless of course you have had it engineered and constructed and know what loading it is capable of holding safely.

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