Showerthought: I chose a 6 foot ladder over my 8 foot one at the Denver job and my shoulders are still mad

Paige Chen · 2026-10-10T20:55:05.734887+00:00

Last Tuesday I showed up to a two story in Denver with both ladders on the rack, a 6 foot and an 8 foot, and I had to pick one to haul inside because the homeowner had a bunch of junk in the hallway. I went with the 6 foot since the keypad was only about 9 feet up and I figured one extra reach would be fine. Turns out the drop ceiling panel I had to pull sat right at 10 feet, so I ended up standing on the very top step (the one the sticker yells at you about) for 20 minutes running a 22 gauge four conductor through the plenum. My calves were burning and I said a few words the homeowner probably heard through the wall. The worst part was the motion sensor I mounted in the corner, because I could only reach it with my fingertips and maybe got one of the three screws actually biting into the stud. I went back the next morning with the 8 foot and redid the whole thing in 15 minutes flat. So now the 6 foot stays in the truck unless I can see the ceiling height from the driveway, which is never. How do you all decide on ladder height before you even knock on the door?

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Showerthought: I chose a 6 foot ladder over my 8 foot one at the Denver job and my shoulders are still mad | Alarm System Installers - HW Forums