How many ladders does it take to change a light bulb?

December 20, 2023 3:22 PM

I have a very strange question. I know what scaffolding is, but is there such a thing as a "ladder platform"?

Our place has 13 foot ceilings in the living room, and a track light that snakes around the ceiling area, containing 19 cans. We haven't touched these lights since we moved in two years ago, basically, and they're starting to burn out (four have burned out in the last 3 weeks). I have replacement bulbs ready to go, but I'm running into some difficulty in envisioning how I'm going to actually change the bulbs. That difficulty? Condo living.

I need a stepladder, as there's no way to lean an extension ladder on anything (17 of the 19 cans are basically in the middle of the room, not by a wall). I was hoping to rent a 12 foot ladder, which would make all this super easy, but I have been informed that the elevator in our building will only accommodate a 9 foot ladder. We are on the 7th floor, so my choices are the elevator or navigating a big ol' ladder up 14 flights of fire escape stairs, which have a landing half way between each floor and a bunch of 90 degree turns. Which, no.

If I stand on the next-to-top rung of a 9 foot stepladder, I'll still have a significant stretch to get my hands on the bulbs to replace them. Short of actually renting scaffolding, is there such a thing as a platform I could put a ladder on to give it another foot or two of height?

Assume:

- That the question is not about light bulb types, replacing the track light itself with something easier to maintain, or anything not related to "how do I replace these dead light bulbs with these living light bulbs?"
- That I cannot build such a thing, as again, condo dweller in a downtown area (also: extremely untalented!)
- That I cannot bring the ladder up the outside of the building
- That I cannot, for cost reasons, hire the work of changing the bulbs out to someone else
- That I can rent any piece of equipment I need that might help me do this
- except one of those cherry picker things, which my building will not allow (even the indoor kind)

Or also: Am I missing a more obvious solution here?

posted by pdb to Home & Garden (15 answers total)

There are special telescoping poles you can buy for changing some light bulbs that are high up.
posted by drezdn at 3:29 PM on December 20, 2023 [8 favorites]

Or also: Am I missing a more obvious solution here?

Yes.

And here is the pole you'll need for it.

Note: I have no experience using these so I don't know how well they work.
posted by bondcliff at 3:30 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ah, I should have noted: I bought one of those, but they won't work with the cans I have. The cans are not recessed (maybe "can" is the wrong word, apologies), and there's a flange on the front of the...thing that holds the light bulb in place that needs to be unscrewed in order to get the light bulb - which is secured to the flange by a wishbone-shaped pin - out. Similar to, but not identical to, this.
posted by pdb at 3:36 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh my good Mefite! You at last get to experience that which I have long dreamed of trying: a telescoping ladder.

Maybe. If you need a freestanding version, you might have to look around at rental places to find one.
posted by amtho at 3:59 PM on December 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: This one looks promising.

Also try searching for "scaffold ladder".
posted by amtho at 4:05 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I think your best option will be to find your local rental place and ask about a Baker Scaffold set. Should be smaller than standard scaffolding and easier to bring up in the elevator. Failing that, describe your situation to them and see what they suggest.

In case you haven't considered this, I would do all of the fixtures while you have the equipment, and use quality LED bulbs. Hopefully this will put off this chore for a long time.
posted by snoboy at 4:06 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Could you use TWO ladders, with a sturdy plank or platform placed between them, like a bridge? With perhaps a third ladder (or some other tall, strong thing, such as a tree or a professional basketball player) propping up said bridge?
posted by Dr. Wu at 4:14 PM on December 20, 2023

How tall are you? A 9' ladder should be fine to reach a 13' ceiling for most people. The hard part would be finding a 9' stepladder, since they generally come in 8' and 10' heights.
posted by ssg at 4:30 PM on December 20, 2023

Response by poster: @amtho: that second one looked interesting, and it led me to Home Depot, who actually rent a similar thing, so problem solved. Thank you!

@snoboy: that's exactly the plan. Spend a few hours on Saturday replacing all the light bulbs with long-life LED's, and then when they start to go in a few years replace the whole setup with something better.

@ssg: I'm 6'2". a 9 foot ladder means I'm standing at about the 8 foot level, which means a lot more stretching than I'm comfortable doing if both feet are not planted firmly on the ground. I am...not always confident of my balance on a ladder, so the closer I am to my target and the less I have to reach, the better.
posted by pdb at 5:02 PM on December 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

Is your unit the only one with this fixture? If not, it seems like it would be a good investment for the building to own a ladder that fits into the elevator and can be used for this purpose.
posted by soelo at 6:36 PM on December 20, 2023 [4 favorites]

Wait, as a 6+ foot person, a 13 foot ceiling means you can only go up less than 7 feet on a ladder before you're bending over to keep your head from hitting the ceiling. Doesn't that already place you no higher than two rungs down on the 9ft ladder the building will allow (and even then you wouldn't be reaching higher than the top of your head). I think either something's off with the numbers or a taller ladder isn't actually going to get you any more height here.
posted by nobody at 6:22 AM on December 21, 2023

(Oh, and since you mentioned balance: if the reason for wanting a taller ladder is the extra stability of having more than two rungs above you while you work, note that at the height in question -- assuming the numbers aren't off -- it sounds like you'd be able to easily stabilize yourself by placing a hand on the ceiling itself.)
posted by nobody at 6:26 AM on December 21, 2023

I'm 6'2". a 9 foot ladder means I'm standing at about the 8 foot level, which means a lot more stretching than I'm comfortable doing if both feet are not planted firmly on the ground.

If you're 6'2" and your ceilings are 13', that means you need to stand around 6'6" off the ground to get your head just a little below the ceiling, which is where you'd want it to be comfortably able to work with your hands at ceiling height, so a 9' ladder seems plenty tall to keep your feet on the third rung from the top. You don't want to be stretching to reach from a ladder, but you don't want to be crouched down either. Standing normally is stable.
posted by ssg at 8:12 AM on December 21, 2023

I have two Little Giant ladders (I had to get a second one because I wasn't envisioning building a climbing wall when I got my first, and it was just a bit too small). They shrink down to about half their max A-frame height, and they are rock solid. They come in various sizes -- I have used a 22-foot one to pick cherries, but that size really needs two people to set up and take down. The small ones are easier to deal with. (Note that some of their products are now made in China -- check before you buy).
posted by novalis_dt at 5:09 PM on December 21, 2023

nthing Little Giant adjustable/extendable A-frame ladders. Mine is about 6 feet tall normally, but extends at least another 4 feet. Then it can open as an A-frame. As a 5'9" individual, I can easily perform light and fan maintenance on my 14 foot ceilings while staying off the top rungs.
posted by MonsieurBon at 8:33 AM on December 22, 2023