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I moved into a home where we have diagonally facing track lights placed on a 27-foot high beam. All but two of the lights have gone out. I don't see how I can reach them with even the tallest A-frame ladder. All of the long bulb changer seem designed for downward-facing bulbs. I did see something for changing upward facing chandelier lights, but I don't think it will fit around the bulb in this case. Any ideas?

living room with high ceiling lights

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    I measured and the fans are 16 feet off the ground and then the track lights are another 10 feet. The scissor lift would need to be able to go up 7 concrete steps on our front porch.
    – Justin
    Commented Sep 4 at 20:19
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    Take a look at quality LED replacement lamps...Maybe swap out everything while you're up there.
    – gnicko
    Commented Sep 4 at 21:20
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    An extension trestle ladder offers a smaller footprint for a given height. The tallest I found in a little hunting is a Werner E7416 with a highest standing level of 13' 5". Not enough. Are you comfortable in a climbing harness? Are those structural beams? Ever been on belay? Ascenders, pulleys, bosun's chair, ... . You might even be able to start from the second floor and cross under the intermediate beam. Tip: You want webbing over the beam to reduce scuffing the beam and damaging the rope.
    – HABO
    Commented Sep 5 at 1:39
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    Regarding the climbing ideas presented by HABO, someone from a local climbing club might be willing to do it for a small compensation. Though check first how the legal side goes in your country, i.e. who is responsible if they make a mistake.
    – jpa
    Commented Sep 5 at 9:29
  • To expand on @jpa's comment, consider a situation in which an uninsured person falls, breaks their back, becomes paralyzed and is not covered by insurance. How are they to pay their medical (and other) bills, and what will they live on? Their lawyer will be looking for deep pockets, which may include your house. "Sorry man, I don't have a choice." If someone else is doing it, make certain they are suitably insured.
    – Technophile
    Commented Sep 6 at 23:38

5 Answers 5

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Most equipment rental companies have a small telescoping man lift for indoor work that is small enough to wheel through a standard doorway and light enough (relatively, of course) to get up a few stairs. With the help of a couple coworkers and a ramp, I've gotten one of these up the 6-step landing at our office building quite a few times.

It is much easier to work from one of these than a ladder since you don't have to worry about steadying yourself, giving you the use of both hands. Additionally, you don't have to assemble and then disassemble scaffolding in your living room.

I don't know where you are located, but random googling shows them available from several rental companies for around $100/day.

This one is just an example:

Genie telescoping lift model AWP-25S

enter image description here

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    I have 35 ft ceilings and this is what I use when I need to get up here.
    – Roddy of the Frozen Peas
    Commented Sep 5 at 11:12
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    How does the occupant go up and down in these? Pneumatics?
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Sep 5 at 11:30
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    @EndAntisemiticHate: I would guess hydraulic, though I can think of ways to do it with a cable.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 5 at 13:08
  • @EndAntisemiticHate There's a single master hydraulic cylinder in the bottom mast unit that pulls a series of chains in subsequent units.
    – user71659
    Commented Sep 6 at 0:08
  • @user71659 Thanks. Are the hydraulics powered by electricity? I don't see a power cord in the images, but maybe there is room for a battery in the base between all the wheels.
    – End Antisemitic Hate
    Commented Sep 6 at 5:53
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Rent or buy scaffolding.

30ft high you want safety, the first wrong/bad step/slip down will hurt.

There are mini size scaffolds, but unsure if rental companies carry them.

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    FYI, we now know that the lights are at ~23 feet. You'd need three or four sections to get to a suitable standing height.
    – isherwood
    Commented Sep 4 at 21:20
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An extension ladder. They come up to 40'. If you are not used to ladders, get a harness and lanyard, loop the safety rope over the truss, and tie it to something below. Don't use an A-frame ladder. They are very unstable, especially once you pass 10 feet. The worst fall I've ever had was on an A-ladder. Rental yards have extension ladders, but given that a lot of things in your house are up there (fans, pictures, mirror), you might as well have one handy. If given a choice, aluminum ladders are lighter.

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    One quick note, an aluminum ladder, while light, also conducts electricity, which should be considered for getting close to lighting and ceiling fans (a bad knock on an electrical device might knock it off its wiring and expose wires to the ladder and you). A fiberglass extension ladder may also be reasonably light and won't conduct electricity.
    – Triplefault
    Commented Sep 4 at 22:32
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    Either type of ladder at that length will be a tank. It will take at least 2 people to manage inside a home. Three would be best.
    – isherwood
    Commented Sep 4 at 22:40
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    With that floor, you really need to consider the risk of the ladder slipping. So it has to be properly steep, and braced at the bottom by either a heavy trustworthy person or 2 sandbags (as @isherwood says you already need 2 competent people plus ideally one who can be trusted to hold doors if no more)
    – Chris H
    Commented Sep 5 at 8:27
  • A 10m (33ft) 3-section ladder collapses to only 4m. If the home in questions is as spacious as it looks (e.g. come in from that enormous deck) this could be done solo. It shouldn't though. Another thing sometimes done is to strap the top of the ladder to the building, mainly to stop it tipping sideways; that could be done here too (the first thing you do after climbing up, and the last thing you remove before coming down for the last time). That would be in addition to securing the base, but is a good idea if using a fallible human at the bottom
    – Chris H
    Commented Sep 6 at 10:55
  • * Whether or no you are used to ladders, take safety measures. And turn off the breaker that powers the lights (someone may absentmindedly flip the switch).
    – Technophile
    Commented Sep 7 at 1:34
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I'd hire an aluminium scaffolding tower, at about £100 for the first day for that height (call it $150, or $200 for a weekend)

The parts are light and quite manageable even for one person to carry and most models can be assembled solo (though for working at height I'd want another useful person present).

Prep the floor space in advance, then do all the high work you can think of including upgrading to longer-life bulbs, cleaning etc.

Also start the main job fairly early in the morning. That maximises daylight if you've got either all your power off or inadequate temporary lighting, and means if you need to go out for parts you can (this might even trigger my rule of not starting on a Sunday, because the relevant shops close early here).

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  • Pre-wiring the new fixtures to the extent possible.
    – Technophile
    Commented Sep 7 at 1:36
  • @Technophile if going for new fixtures, that's a good idea, though there's often very little you can do (I've just bought some new spots and there's nothing at all to do until I get them in place). It might be a case of going up once, openinginspecting, preparing the new ones, then swapping. I'd just change the bulbs to LED spots.
    – Chris H
    Commented Sep 7 at 8:11
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    Alternatively, if your storage is as spacious as your living space, buying a second hand tower would be reasonable. Then you've got it to hand
    – Chris H
    Commented Sep 7 at 15:21
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Rental companies have tall A frame ladders. Have them deliver if your vehicle isn’t up to the task. Have two people to muscle the ladder into position (they’re heavy).

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