Thread: Light on a ladder ???

Hey folks, I hope all of you are surviving this economy.

Have built a small log home for my wife and I. The walk-in closet is a bit small but was the only place I could put the attic drop down ladder.
Would it be a big no-no to mount the closet light to the bottom of the ladder door? If not electrical, maybe battery operated?

I can almost hear the laughter.
Thanks in advance.

Similar Threads:

• Short Attic Ladder
• Light switch location
• Light switch position.
• light bulb beats pvc
• From the old board, light bulbs incessantly burning out

Originally Posted by Frank Lutz

Hey folks, I hope all of you are surviving this economy.

Have built a small log home for my wife and I. The walk-in closet is a bit small but was the only place I could put the attic drop down ladder.
Would it be a big no-no to mount the closet light to the bottom of the ladder door? If not electrical, maybe battery operated?

I can almost hear the laughter.
Thanks in advance.

Laughter indeed! Battery operated would be the way to go. What about on the wall?

Perhaps Gunnar would lend you one of his miner's lamps?

Install a fluorescent strip light on the wall above the door header (inside the closet). Plenty of room for a fixture there.

Dom.

Originally Posted by Frank Lutz

I can almost hear the laughter.

Almost? Should be loud and clear.

Well everybody needs a good laugh now and then. Glad I could supply that for you guys.

knew it wouldn't fly, but wondered if anyone had ever seen it done.
I've seen much worse.

Over the door will work just fine.

I think my favorite is the floor heater consisting of a truck radiator mounted in a hole in the floor, hooked up to the hot water heater, complete with a small circulation pump and an under mounted box fan for that forced air affect.
Laugh all you want, the darn thing worked really well.

Thanks for your time guys.

Originally Posted by Frank Lutz

I think my favorite is the floor heater consisting of a truck radiator mounted in a hole in the floor, hooked up to the hot water heater, complete with a small circulation pump and an under mounted box fan for that forced air affect.
Laugh all you want, the darn thing worked really well.

Frank,

I bet it did. And didn't cost $7k to have it installed like a FAU would.

OK,

I'm also laughing, but what really is the problem technically or from a code stand point?

What would be wrong with an enclosed surface mounted light fixture with an appropriate connector and flex conduit connected to a j-box in the ceiling adjacent to the fixed portion of the stair hinge?

Laughing is over for me..... when we start describing how to jury-rig some of the oddities we see everyday. We're kind of like the policeman who begins to accept the behavopr of the thugs he sees everyday.....

Serious tongue-in-cheek follows!

Ken, let's start with the surface mounted light. If there was a specific model light prescribed, then wewould could read the UL approved instructions and see if there was a mounting option to the underside of a fold-down ladder. Assuming there were no heat issues, light could be mounted in all positions, wiring issues, height issues, breakable bulb type, etc... we could move on to the flexible conduit.........

The flexible conduit would also need to be a UL approved installation described in the installation instructions. The bend radius, length of the flex cable, wiring from the fixed terminus of the flex cable, position of the fixed mounts at each end of the cable, etc... would all have to be considered.

Admitted, this is all conjecture because we haven't found the hardware yet.

Why not use a battery operated LED light??? I cringe when I see bare light bulbs, CFLs, or florescent tubes in closets. My graphic description to a buyer is to imagine your wife or child is putting something on the top shelf and breaks a glass bulb.... first thing they do is to look up and see what broke..... just in time to get a faceful of glass! If you're lucky you get to clean up the mess, unlucky is a trip to the ER !!!!

PS: If the closet is small, it wouldn't be the first closet we've seen that didn't have a light!