Home, Land, Property Buying and Selling - Two Story Home Maintenance
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : Two Story Home Maintenance
Keef_Ag
04-07-08, 09:02 PM
My wife and I are looking to buy our first home. I consider myself a novice Mr. Fix It that couldnt handle a lot of one story home repairs myself. However a lot of the homes on our list are two stories which is daunting as far as maintenance goes. From you more experienced home owners, am I worrying too much or should I be concerned? Thanks!
marksr
04-08-08, 04:50 AM
Welcome to the forums!
A lot depends on the house. Access to the 2nd floor exterior obviously requires a taller ladder. Aside from painting or roofing, the biggest maintainence would be keeping the gutters clean.
Is there any specfic maintainence that has you concerned?
A lot depends on the house. Access to the 2nd floor exterior obviously requires a taller ladder. Aside from painting or roofing, the biggest maintainence would be keeping the gutters clean.
Is there any specfic maintainence that has you concerned?
Keef_Ag
04-08-08, 06:40 AM
Nothing in particular. Just trying to grasp what it would entail. So you think just get a bigger ladder and its pretty much the same? What types of ladders are best for two story homes.
marksr
04-08-08, 02:18 PM
Houses and the lots they set on can vary greatly. I've used a 16' ladder on the back of a 3 story apartment bldg [big hill close to bldg] and needed a 32' ladder to paint a gable on a single story home.
IMO werner makes the best ladders but no matter what brand you buy it is important to know the weight rating. Most homeowner type ladders have a 200 lb limit but that is only half of the story; lite weight ladders are made thinner and aren't as sturdy/steady as a better grade ladder.
You also need to know how tall of a ladder you need. Just because the roof might only be 20' high, a 20' ladder would be way to short. You lose some height by having the ladder set on an angle. You must always have 3 rungs overlapped for safety, so now the 20' ladder is only 17' tall but since it's set on an angle it only goes up about 16'
Last but not least, you need to be comfortable climbing a ladder. If you aren't comfortable climbing that high it may be better to let someone else do it.
IMO werner makes the best ladders but no matter what brand you buy it is important to know the weight rating. Most homeowner type ladders have a 200 lb limit but that is only half of the story; lite weight ladders are made thinner and aren't as sturdy/steady as a better grade ladder.
You also need to know how tall of a ladder you need. Just because the roof might only be 20' high, a 20' ladder would be way to short. You lose some height by having the ladder set on an angle. You must always have 3 rungs overlapped for safety, so now the 20' ladder is only 17' tall but since it's set on an angle it only goes up about 16'
Last but not least, you need to be comfortable climbing a ladder. If you aren't comfortable climbing that high it may be better to let someone else do it.