DIYHD87" Knotty Pine Wood Sliding Library Ladder Rolling Ladder

This ladder is amazing.It was delivered in great condition and went together well - all the parts were there and directions were clear. It's very sturdy and will be used to reach the bed loft in a tiny house.Our builder shaved off the legs a bit so we could lean the ladder out a bit further - it's now at an angle that's less steep and more comfortable for older people to use. He also build a sort of lip on reverse side of ladder - at top. It hangs over a sort of lower lip that's nailed along floor of loft. The ladder won't move once you've hooked it in.The hand holds that are built into the ladder are perfect and give you a place to hold on to all the way to the top.The ladder can be lifted off the lip when not using it and stored against the wall.We build a 16" barrier wall at top of loft - a picket fence look that leaves an opening for the ladder.Our ladder is up against the wall, so we put a grab bar on the wall at the top of ladder; it's to the right of ladder and is something to hold on to while hoisting yourself into the loft.The post of the picket fence barrier serves as another hand hold for stability.

The kit was easy to assemble and allowed me to build the bookcase of my dreams. I got the wheels for it and two lengths of bar track, built a 6-foot-wide by 10-foot-high bookcase from red oak, and finished both bookcase and ladder to match in mahogany gel stain. It's quite sturdy and glides smoothly with or without a person's weight. I couldn't be happier.

I read the many critical reviews of this ladder. We purchased it in spite of those reviews because other reviewers gave detailed workarounds for the problems encountered during assembly. The ladder components arrived undamaged. I could tell right away that the manufacturer had improved its quality control because the ladder’s hardware came sealed in plastic bags, and not loose in the box as some had reported. Also, there was a single page of instructions, whereas as others reported no instructions. The assembly video on Amazon was more helpful than the instructions page, however. I recommend viewing that before beginning assembly.The ladder’s rails were straight, and the treads (except for one) were unblemished. The blemish was not structural and we were able compensate for it by placing the tread where it wouldn’t be seen. We didn’t have any trouble lining up the holes in the treads with the corresponding holes in the rails, as other reviewers did. Also, the treads fit cleanly in their slots in the rails. None of the treads were too thick for their slots, as other reviewers found. The manufacturer provided an Allen wrench to fasten all of the hardware to the treads and rails. Using that was pretty tedious, and I recommend using a hex bit with a power screw driver. Assembly will go much faster.The ladder uses 4 tension rods to help stabilize it. We had problems with 2 of the tension rods during assembly. The holes in the rails to accommodate those tension rods were slightly too small. The tension rod fasteners had to be forced into the holes, and this caused the wood to be splintered around the holes. We had to repair the splintering using wood glue and wood putty. Before putting the tension rods in-place, I recommend testing the fasteners to see if they are too large for their holes in the rails. If so, use a drill to slightly enlarge the holes. Doing that will save you the grief of having to repair splintered wood.We’re pleased with the way the ladder finally turned out. However, I can only give it 4 stars because of the extra time it took to make repairs.

Bought this as a way to get access to the loft in my garage (along with a library shelf rack). It's pretty heavy when assembled so you might need some help. The wheels are roller-blade style and slide SO well that you definitely will want to lock them in place before getting on the ladder. I was worried about sagging because the uprights are in 2 pieces, but that was not a problem given the heavy-duty steel brackets that hold the uprights together. There were a couple of holes that were not drilled precisely and I had to use a 1/4" dill on them, but other than that assembly was a breeze.