What's one of the tools you absolutely need when starting a renovation, almost without question? A hammer? Perhaps a tape measure? Shop-Vac? Cordless drill? All good ideas, sure, but what about a ladder? Oh yeah, a ladder! The tool we really didn't think about until we got to a point where we absolutely needed one...about two days into owning the house. (Lucky for us, the previous owner left this fiberglass jobby in the basement.)

 

Whether you're changing a lightbulb or hanging a new gutter, once you start working above your head there's a good chance you're going to need a little help getting up into those hard to reach areas. I think our ladder is yet another tool that we've used on at least one aspect of essentially every major project we've accomplished in our house. But I'm not talking about any old generic and run of the mill ladder here. I'm talking about our super duper transforming multi use and mutli purpose ladder. 

We just got to a point where a simple 7' fiberglass ladder just wouldn't be able to cut it. Back when we started to decide on the ladder we needed, I immediately started to look into the folding ladders. It seems obvious to me that we would need something flexible that would be able to fit into tight spaces, tall spaces, outdoor spaces, indoor spaces -- pretty much every space. 

To meet our folding ladder needs, we chose a 12' multi purpose and multiple position ladder. The ladder is aluminum, heavy enough to be stable but light enough to be portable, and flexible enough to fit all of our needs. The ladder's design pivots on hinges at three locations and has multiple lock positions at each, allowing for literally hundreds of different configurations and uses.

Don't be fooled by the extremely expensive versions of this type of ladder. I've seen some as much as $300. In my opinion all of that extra cash really doesn't get you much in the way of a lighter or more functional ladder, so don't waste the money on this.

As I said, this ladder has been our saving grace on so many different projects. Whether I'm propping it up on the front of the house to get to the transom windows...

...or I've got it configured in a way to allow me to access the hard to reach spaces in our stairwell to plaster or install molding...

...this ladder has come in handy in a variety of locations and is one of the more useful tools we own.

If you're in the market for a new ladder and think a flexible and foldable option might work well for you, I encourage you to look into the one we have. It has proven to be one of the best decisions we've made in tool purchases over the years. 

Do you have a foldable ladder like the one we're talking about? Has it become your right hand in renovations? Let us know.

Did you enjoy reading this post? Want to learn more about our first-hand experiences with other tools, devices or items used throughout our renovation? If so, check out our complete list of product reviews in our Toolbox Tuesday section. 

Note: We weren't compensated for this review. We simply want to share good products when we see them, and hope that learning from our mistakes can help save you time, money and frustration.