…That is the question facing homeowners who need a ladder for a special project, but aren’t sure whether to buy one outright or hire one.  This situation usually arises when the homeowner has a ladder or two, but they aren’t quite suitable for the job, perhaps painting a stairwell.  If the task can be completed inside a day, then hiring can work out a lot cheaper than buying the same ladder new.  However, the hire costs over a week actually work out to be around half the price of actually buying the ladder for yourself.

Hiring a combination ladder for two weeks works out at around £110 for a 1.9 metre model.  You can buy practically the same ladder for £99 including VAT and delivery from Midland Ladders: the Youngman 2 metre combination ladder can be delivered to your door, brand new, in 24 hours.  When you add in the petrol costs of getting to and from the equipment hire place, plus the logistics of transporting the ladder (roof racks and ladder brackets cost money, and it might not fit inside the car even with the seats down) then the cost of hiring equipment actually goes up quite a lot.  Even hiring the ladder for a single day at around £30 works out to be a lot more than that when you have factored in the petrol and transport equipment costs.

Roof ladders are another type of access equipment that most homeowners do not have, and hiring one of these for a week will cost between £60 and £70.  There is also the hidden cost of petrol and transport equipment; hiring a van to pick up a hired ladder and take it back all costs money, probably the same amount that buying the ladder would!  The added issue with hiring access equipment for use outside is that if the weather unexpectedly turns, you are left with a bigger hire bill as you’ll need the ladder for longer.  You could end up paying £120+ to have a roof ladder for two weeks when you only needed it for one.

Rather than hire a roof ladder for a one off job, consider spending less money (£28.50) on a universal roof hook.  This piece of kit stores flat, takes up very little room and instantly transforms any straight ladder into a roof ladder.  With free next day delivery from Midland Ladders, the roof hook option is more economical than hiring a whole ladder, and you can lend the roof hook to friends and neighbours in the same situation.

Fibreglass ladders are the exception, as they do cost a lot more new than aluminium ones.  Generally speaking, the requirements for a fibreglass ladder can be done in one day, as you only need to use them for electrical work.  As long as a project is well planned and all the electrical installation can be done in one day, you’ll only be spending around £30 (not including petrol and other transport costs), compared to £150 for the same ladder to buy (approximately 3 metre extension ladder).

When weighing up whether to buy or hire, think about the cost of buying the ladder you need versus the petrol and transport costs plus hire charges for the length of time you need the ladder for.  If it’s just for one day, and you’re confident you can get everything done in the time, then hiring a ladder will be cheaper.  However, if there’s a chance you will need it for a length of time, then you may as well buy the ladder outright, especially with at the prices Midland Ladders sell them at!