... since apparently we have such a wealth of experience here in this area:

1) Can anyone recommend a good 18 foot indoor ladder, preferably of the telescoping type, that WON'T make marks on my walls? This is the disadvantage of having high ceilings... I currently have a Werner ladder which is OK, but a pain to move and store, and as mentioned... tends to make marks and even wall damage wherever I use it.

2) I have exposed brick in a couple areas where the mortar has seriously begun to crumble. Is it better to use one of these "mortar repair" type products, so as to patch individual spots (which I've seen that this mortar already has had someone do to it, and the patches don't exactly match the original mortar), or to just redo the entire mortar?

TiA

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2020 05:08PM by PeterB.

Ladder Covers: $10
[www.homedepot.com]

But since you don’t like the ladder??
How much does your current ladder weigh?
I have an 18’ multi position ladder Werner ladder. The 22 little giant is $229 at Lowe’s and weighs 44lbs

I was surprised to find the gorilla ladder 22’ reach $190 at HD with a weight of 37lbs.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2020 05:38PM by Carm.

As for number 2. Depends on how much time you want to spend on the area. How much is your time worth to you?
You don’t need patch type stuff, just buy the mortar mix and use that.

This link has a lot of info: [www.familyhandyman.com]
Along with a lot of ads

Get a multi position ladder such as one of these

They're easy to store, not too heavy and very versatile. As for protecting the walls, either use the ladder protectors as noted above or use a few old t-shirts. I worked for a high end painter while in college. The boss always had a stock of old, white t-shirts for wrapping around ladder ends, wiping up spills and all kinds of other things.

For the mortar replacement, make sure that you get all the loose mortar out, wire brush and clean well. Then use mortar mix.

The ladder I have -- I believe this one: [www.lowes.com]

... the ladder covers are probably the most cost-effective solution; didn't even know those existed, thanks!

As for the mortar ... I'll read up on it, but yeah ... I do have to consider what my time's worth.

---

Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

One thing I heard about recently that I didn’t know before is that you can get a frosting-bag type bag for premixed mortar which may help tuckpointing, like this.

It’s not a miracle. You want to use premixed mortar or mix your stuff really, really well, because if you don’t, any slightly dry parts of the mortar mix will get stuck in the spout. And you still need to be careful. But it’s better than just trying to trowel it in, I think.

If you want to match mortar, how about this: Collect the old mortar, smash it up, and use it as a top-dressing on the fresh mortar before it sets. I don't know if that's a good idea, just a shower thought.

Quote
PeterB
The ladder I have -- I believe this one: [www.lowes.com]

... the ladder covers are probably the most cost-effective solution; didn't even know those existed, thanks!

As for the mortar ... I'll read up on it, but yeah ... I do have to consider what my time's worth.

Just wrap the top with an old tshirt and tape it on. Free.

---

C(-)ris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Throwback Thursday Signature:

Quote
C(-)ris

Quote
PeterB
The ladder I have -- I believe this one: [www.lowes.com]

... the ladder covers are probably the most cost-effective solution; didn't even know those existed, thanks!

As for the mortar ... I'll read up on it, but yeah ... I do have to consider what my time's worth.

Just wrap the top with an old tshirt and tape it on. Free.

I had some extra carpet padding that worked very well on my telescoping ladder, however it is only 12 foot, but still very convenient!

Anything soft that is preferably white to avoid color transfer should work. Some colors can transfer off with movement.

Not sure which is suitable for your ladder, but Werner also makes stabilizer/standoff types of things like this:

[www.homedepot.com]

You still may want to add padding, but the caps claim to be mar resistant. I think that's mainly because they aren't digging into the wall at such a sharp angle. I have one of these for the 22 ft version of your ladder. Only used it once, but I also have vaulted ceilings, and this helped me access an awkward section that is otherwise unreachable (that little bit of standoff allows me to position the ladder at the correct angle).

Come to think of it, I have a smoke detector in another awkward location that would be less awkward if I used this standoff.