I was going to post to say that I’m still baffled, but I think I get it.
Each individual rung is rectangular. We’re not talking about the empty space between rungs and side rails, correct?
If so, that makes sense.
How tall is the ladder? Go up half way, bounce a bit, and see if it feels/sounds safe. Then flip it over and go up the other half.
If it is ten feet, the most you will fall is 5 or less.
mmm
A few years ago I was sitting in my old sky-chair when it suffered hardware failure. I fell four feet, landing on my ass on concrete. I was in pain for weeks.
Right.
As we would say in the army, if there is any doubt, there is no doubt - especially when it comes to something that can kill you. Get rid of it.
After doing the above, grab a higher rung & then you can lift your feet off the ground; your weight is your weight, if it’ll support it hanging from it, it should support it if you’re standing on it. The advantage is that if that higher rung does break, your feet are only an inch or two off the ground so you’re not really going to fall
Ha ha, yeah, I wouldn’t recommend testing it over concrete.
Or a floor of Legos.
mmm
I didn’t recommend that, because there’s a non-zero chance that if the rung breaks you are going to yank it down on the top of your head with maximum force!
I was thinking something similar. The OP said something about how the ladder is almost too heavy to carry alone. So why not just replace it with an aluminum ladder? There are tripod-type ladders that are lighter and might work better in the garden.
Completely agree except that fiberglass ladders are safer than aluminum ladders. That’s what I would buy.
I have a wooden ladder that I “inherited” from my parents, and I remember it from my childhood so it’s at least 40 and maybe over 50 years old. It somehow looks to be in perfect shape, and I still use it occasionally, but it worries me. This thread reminds me to replace it.