Rigid ladders Rigid ladders are available in many forms, such as: •
Accommodation ladder, portable steps down the side of a ship for boarding. •
Assault ladder, used in siege warfare to assist in climbing walls and crossing moats. •
Attic ladder, pulled down from the ceiling to allow access to an attic or loft. • , a ladder laid horizontally to act as a passage between two points separated by a drop. • Boarding ladder, a ladder used to climb onto a vehicle. May be rigid or flexible, also boarding step(s), and swim ladder. • Cat ladder (US chicken ladder), a lightweight ladder frame used on steep roofs to prevent workers from sliding. • Chicken ladder, a ladder comprising a single central stile with each rung projecting on either side and used by chickens to climb into a coop. • Christmas tree ladder, a type of boarding ladder for
divers which has a single central rail and is open at the sides to allow the diver to climb the ladder while wearing
swimfins. • , a fixed ladder with a lower sliding part. A system of counterweights is used to let the lower sliding part descend gently when released. •
Escape ladder, a ladder used for emergency exit, for example a fire escape ladder • Extension ladder or telescopic ladder, a fixed ladder divided into two or more lengths for more convenient storage; the lengths can be slid together for storage or slid apart to expand the length of the ladder; a
pulley system may be fitted so that the ladder can be easily extended by an operator on the ground then locked in place using the
dogs and
pawls. 65 ft (20 m), 50 ft (15 m) and some 35 ft (10 m) extension ladders for
fire service use "bangor poles", "tormentor poles" or "stay poles" to help raise, pivot, steady, extend, place, retract and lower them due to the heavy weight. •
Fixed ladder, two side members joined by several rungs; affixed to structure with no moving parts. • , a ladder in the step ladder style with one or more (usually no more than three) lockable one-way hinges. Ideal for use on uneven ground (e.g. stairs), as a trestle, or when fully extended a fixed ladder. Some variations feature a central one-way hinge with extensible locking legs. •
Hook ladder or
pompier ladder, a rigid ladder with a hook at the top to grip a windowsill; used by firefighters. at a
grocery store •
Mobile Safety Steps are self-supporting structures that have wheels or castors making them easy to move. They sometimes have a small upper platform and a hand rail to assist in moving up and down the steps. •
Orchard ladder, a three legged step ladder with the third leg made so that it can be inserted between tree branches for fruit picking. • , a step ladder with a large platform area and a top handrail for the user to hold while working on the platform. • , a ladder that looks like a drainpipe but can be deployed instantly when required. •
Roof ladder, a rigid ladder with a large hook at the top to grip the ridge of a pitched roof. • , also known as a builder's ladder, has sections that come apart and are interchangeable so that any number of sections can be connected. • Step ladder, a self-supporting portable ladder hinged in the middle to form an inverted V, with stays to keep the two halves at a fixed angle. Step ladders have flat steps and a hinged back. • Swim ladder, a ladder used by swimmers to get out of the water, often on boats. • , commonly used to refer to a hybrid between a step ladder and an extension ladder with 360-degree
hinges; has three parts and can be taken apart to form two step ladders; e.g.
Little Giant. • , an "
A-Frame"-style ladder with a telescoping center section. •
Turntable ladder, an extension ladder fitted to rotating platform on top of a fire truck. • Vertically rising ladder, designed to climb high points and facilitate suspending at said high points. • X-deck ladder, a US patented ladder design that is a combination ladder and scaffold. in
New York City Rigid ladders were originally made of
wood, but in the 20th century
aluminum became more common because of its lighter weight. Ladders with
fiberglass stiles are used for working on or near
overhead electrical wires, because fiberglass is an electrical
insulator.
Henry Quackenbush patented the extension ladder in 1867.
Flexible ladders , 2006 •
Rope ladders or '''Jacob's ladders''' are used where storage space is extremely limited, weight must be kept to a minimum, or in instances where the object to be climbed is too curved to use a rigid ladder. They may have rigid or flexible rungs. Climbing a rope ladder requires more skill than climbing a rigid ladder, because the ladder tends to swing like a
pendulum. Jacob's ladders used on a ship are used mostly for emergencies or for temporary access to the side of a ship. Steel and aluminum wire ladders are sometimes used in
vertical caving, having developed from rope ladders with wooden rungs. Flexible ladders are also sometimes used as swim ladders on boats. ==Uses==