Just realized my attic ladder was one bad step away from killing me

I went up to grab holiday bins last weekend and the top section of my folding attic ladder gave a nasty creak, so I checked the hinges and found two rivets had sheared halfway through. That ladder was only 6 years old and rated for 250 lbs, but I'm a bit over that with gear in hand, so it was on borrowed time. I pulled the whole unit out, paid $180 for a replacement with steel pins instead of rivets, and bolted it in with 3 inch lag screws into the framing. The old one had just drywall anchors holding the trim plate, which is apparently pretty common on budget installs. Anyone else ever catch a failing ladder mount before it gave out, or am I just the lucky one this month?

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the_patricia23d ago

Insurance might deny your claim if that ladder ever fails, since it's a "maintenance issue.