Thread: Fibreglass vs Aluminium Ladders...

i use baileys ladders...have been for years, sized from 3' foot to 36' feet, all alloy easy to use and last for years

Fibreglas seems the go for electrical work (by law).

Plenty of good aluminium ladders to be had - been very happy with the Bailey's range for our general construction work. We've bought monsters (7m+ A-frames) from specialist ladder suppliers.

Steer clear of the jointed / clickey-clack ladders - I just toasted one we had left behind at one of our businesses. Slack and wobbly to start with and I ended up bending one of the aluminium sections doing low-grade stuff. Junk in my opinion.

Interesting note - the law here in Western Australia stipulates you must have 900mm "above" you (for hand holds) when working on a ladder (on a worksite or as a contractor anyway) which usually equates to standing no higher than the third run from the top!

Cheers, Antony.

Just to clarify, Gorilla make a range of different types of ladder (like Bailey), including single & double sided A frame stepladders, step/extension, extension, Mighty Max (presumably the "click clack" mentioned above, fibreglass, aluminium, etc.

Bailey make domestic (light/medium duty), industrial (heavy duty), and contractor (heaviest duty) ladders,

(Used to be my dept in bunnings )


Cheers.................Sean

I noticed this thread popped up again so to update I got the gorilla 6ft aluminium double sided model. I'm extremely happy with it and feels rock solid. For some reason the aluminium felt more solid to me than the fibreglass so inthe end I was happy to pay less for the aluminium.

If you do go for one make sure your bunnings isn't keeping old stock and look at the locking mechanism. Seems the older one was flimsy/clumsy. The current one is excellent (similar to the baileys). I noticed by sheer accident that the front ladder I pulled first was the older one when I went through the bunch looking for the best pick.

For the price I don't think the bailey contractor model (rated to 150kg) is worth the cost to be honest. I'm sure there will be people who disagree with me but that was my conclusion. I've been using the step ladder around the house prepping walls and am very happy with it. Went for the double sided option as a safety measure. I figured if I bugger one rung I still have a ladder for a couple of dollars more rather than writing the whole thing off.