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Premier Loft Ladders - The Preferred Choice

Glass loft hatches provide a valuable source of natural light in otherwise dark areas of a home. Also, they can be an attractive original feature in period properties. However, they are often the only means of access to the home’s loft and finding a glass loft hatch ladder is not easy. Premier Loft Ladders were able to offer an innovative solution for this very problem, allowing the owners of a traditional Victorian home the benefit of easy access to the loft, as well as maintaining period features and not obscuring the natural light.

The challenge…

The only means of access to the loft for the owners of a traditional Victorian home was via a glass loft hatch. Getting into the loft meant carefully positioning a ladder at the top of the staircase. Then, once at the top of the ladder, the glass loft hatch could be lifted up and placed to the side of the opening. As such, getting into the loft was both difficult and dangerous.

In addition, the existing opening was very small at just 660mm x 660mm. Increasing the size of the opening would be very difficult. It would mean not only structural alterations to the ceiling joists, but also a new glass hatch.

Glass loft hatch in Victorian home

Glass loft hatch in Victorian home

The home-owners wanted an easier way to access the loft, without loosing the period features or natural light that the glass hatch offered. Also, they wanted to avoid any structural ceiling alterations.

The Solution…

Because of the small opening size a concertina loft ladder was the best option. However, the problem with most loft ladders is that they obstruct the opening when in the closed position. This is fine for projects with a solid loft hatch, but presents a problem for glass loft hatches. Therefore, a loft ladder was needed that could be positioned away from the opening when not needed.

The solution was a loft ladder designed for vertical wall openings. These ladders are specially adapted to sit in a vertical position. As a result, they can be positioned on a mezzanine floor or behind a loft door. Furthermore, the ladder needed to be as small as possible to fit within the tight opening. Therefore, the Piccolo Premium Vertical was the obvious choice.

Piccolo Premium Vertical concertina loft ladder. Premier Loft Ladders

Piccolo Premium Vertical concertina loft ladder.

Glass loft hatch ladder - Piccolo Premium Vertical from Premier Loft Ladders

Piccolo Premium Vertical loft ladder for glass loft hatch.

The Piccolo Premium Vertical is fitted to the floor of the loft, next to the glass loft hatch. As a result, it does not block the light and was almost entirely out of sight. This also meant that the glass hatch could be hinged upwards. Therefore the hatch is kept clear of the opening and the hinges cannot be seen from below.

The installation was done by Sam Beardsley Carpentry, who has experience installing other loft ladders supplied by Premier Loft Ladders. Installation only took a couple of hours, including adding hinges to the glass loft hatch.

“It’s nice and compact and comes pre fitted to a plywood base which simply screws into the sub base prepared before hand in the loft space”

Sam Beardsley, Sam Beardsley Carpentry

The results…

The Piccolo Premium Vertical has provided a much safer and easier means of access to the loft. Furthermore, the innovative damped hinge mechanism allows the loft ladder to be positioned out of view when stowed. As such, the period features could be maintained and the ladder is completely out of sight. In addition, costly and messy ceiling alterations were avoided.

“The Picollo is beautifully engineered for a nice, light pull down ladder.”

Sam Beardsley, Sam Beardsley Carpentry

Glass loft hatch ladder photo gallery

(click on an image to see it full-size)

Other loft ladders for small ceiling openings…

Premier Loft Ladders offer a range of loft ladder solutions for small ceiling openings. The Piccolo loft ladder can fit within an opening as small as 510mm long by 370mm wide. Alternatively, for a heavy duty commercial project, the Elite loft ladder can be used within openings from as small as 620mm long by 430mm wide. Explore our full range of concertina loft ladders to find the perfect solution for your project.

Or contact us to discuss your requirements.

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