18' Extension Ladder

I have no idea what this company is like to deal with, nor have I ever owned a "new" wooden ladder. My only experience was with some my Dad had laying around the farm that had broken rungs, cracked and splintered rails, etc. They have since mysteriously disappeared...

Personally, I feel ladders used in the fire service are the best. They are typically aluminum, however. Not to mention more expensive. Just put the label "fire service" on anything, and the price instantly goes up.

They're built with a 750# rating, with a 4:1 safety factor (i.e. engineered to hold 3000#).

Annual testing includes supporting ladder 6" from either end, and loading it with 500#, and checking the deflection. (You'll need NFPA 1932 for all the specific details of the test).

Anyway, several of our members over the years have picked up (by sealed bid) ultra heavy duty home ladders that no longer pass their annual Fire Service test...usually after 30 years (in my low-volume department) or so the longer ladders start having more deflection then the test standard allows. A 35' three section that fails makes a nice 12' single & 24' extension ladder.

Some of the west coast FDs still run wood ladders, and my understanding is San Francisco FD still builds their own in the FD Shops.

Wood extension Glenn? Good exercise, if nothing else. Use it safely.

Mark