What is a ladder standoff or ladder standoff bracket?
A ladder standoff bracket is a purpose made accessory for an extendable ladder. It is positioned at the upper part of the ladder and is used provide your extendable ladder with extra stability.
This is achieved by standing off the top of the ladder from the eaves as in the feature photo shown here. This avoids having to lean the ladder against a plastic gutter which can deform, snap or cause the ladder to slide sideways.
The ladder stand off is usually quick and easy to add and remove from the ladder. Most ladder standoffs have V shapes which allow you to get closer when working near corners, down pipes and hip tiles.
Ladder standoffs are brilliant for cleaning out gutters and cleaning upstairs windows.
You are actually able to look into the guttering and reach into it a lot easier, plus it’s useful for awkward corners of buildings, and it allows you to lean onto the corner.
How to use a ladder standoff
The majority of ladder standoffs attach to your extendable ladders in one of two ways.
They will either clamp onto your ladder or will hook over at least a couple of your ladder rungs.
Which ever way they hook over, it is extremely important that you follow the manufacturers instructions.
Attach your ladder standoff when you are at ground level and then it goes up as you extend your ladder making you feel much safer as it provides a wider footprint than the ladder.
If you haven’t already got an extendable ladder, you can take a look at our extendable ladder buyers guide here.
Why use a ladder standoff?
Using a ladder standoff bracket can massively increase your safety and make you feel much more confident when working at height.
The standoff bracket is much wider than the ladder itself so increases stability.
The V shape allows it to straddle vertical downpipes by having the downpipe in the cut out V section. This allows you to work in line with the downpipe and not off centre meaning you are not leaning out.
There are also many ladder accessories out there that can help make your tasks easier and safer. You can read our article on ladder accessories here.
One big advantage is that it avoids you leaning the top of your ladder against a gutter that gives you not lateral stability.
If you have deeper soffits, a standoff bracket can also place you in a better position to access guttering.
Our ladder standoff choices for you
Heavy duty I-shape ladder stand off universal ladder accessory
What we like:
Amazon top choice
Provides much greater stability than a ladder alone
Has anti slip rubber pads which also avoids damage to surfaces
Lightweight
Very easy to attach to a ladder
What could be better:
Great for only flat walls but no V shape for corners
Needs some basic assembly with no instructions
Locking spring can be tricky at first but does give peace of mind
This ladder stand off is designed to be used on a flat wall surface. The rubber buffers will give you the confidence that your ladder will resist any lateral movement.
It will also protect the surface that you are pitching the ladder standoff against. This could be freshly painted render or your plastic fascia board.
It’s made from aluminium so the ladder standoff is very lightweight and is easily assembled and disassembled for easy storage.
It does need some basic assembly when it arrives but this is easily done with even the most basic tools.
It provides you with a much greater footprint increasing the lateral stability which is satisfying. It’s also very easy to attach.
You just hook it over the ladder rungs and pull the locking spring down to the nearest rung. This reduces any upward movement. The spring can seem a little strong at first but is satisfying when in place.
The anti-slip rubber pads also provide extra ladder stability when in use. Perfect for window cleaning, roof repairs and other tasks. We also like this because it’s popular and is an Amazon choice.
The only thing to remember with this ladder standoff is its flat design. It’s perfect for carrying out tasks to flat surfaces and in most cases, is all you need.
This design means you can only pitch your ladder and standoff adjacent to a corner or a vertical downpipe. Our next choices incorporate a ‘V’ shape design specifically for this purpose.
Ladder Corner Standoff
TB Davies 1400-001A, Universal V-Shaped Down Pipe Ladder Stand Off Accessory Kit
What we like:
Massively increases stability at high level
V shape design allows stability on building corners and over downpipes
What could be better:
Requires some assembly with basic tools
Hook overs are quite big
Sporting a four and a half out of five star rating on Amazon, this universal ladder standoff will fit any style ladder. It again, increases ladder stability by providing a wider footprint than the standard side stiles on a ladder.
On this particular example however, you have the additional flexibility of a ‘V’ shape design. This enables you to have increased lateral stability on flat surfaces but also on corners of buildings.
You can also straddle rainwater downpipes without having to set up adjacent them making you lean over.
When used flat on a wall, the rubber buffers give you peace of mind that it will stay in place and keep you safe. It’ll also protect your fascia or walls on a building from damage.
We like the ‘V’ shaped design because it can be nestled on the corner of a building for extra flexibility and safety while you work.
It could of benefitted from some rubber buffers inside the ‘V’ when used on corners but it’s a minor thing.
Made from aluminium, this ladder standoff is super lightweight and can be easily assembled and disassembled for easy storage.
It does require some minimal assembly and when hooked over the ladder rungs, the hooks can feel a little bigger than they needed to be but it is of a universal type.
Once the locking spring is in place, it’s not going anywhere!
Weight is 4.9 Kg
Universal ‘Complete’ Ladder Standoff
What we like:
Amazon Choice
Unique resting plate for tools or paint pots
Also incorporates a V shape design
Rubber pads on flat and within the V shape
What could be better:
A little heavier than other types because of the flat tool plate design
A little more expensive (but worth it!)
We really like this ladder standoff as it has a unique design of an extra strong alloy tray with a slip resistant surface.
It is set inside the ladder standoff and has been designed specifically to rest tools on or even a pot of paint that you might need to complete your task.
We were thinking of it resting a bucket whilst scooping out gutters!
This Amazon top choice also benefits from being able to be used on the corner of your property or straddling rainwater downpipes because of its ‘V’ shaped design.
It supports the ladder 360mm (or 1 foot 4 inches in old money!) away from the wall to comfortably enable you to reach into your gutters clearing those dead leaves.
Made from heavy duty aluminium, it is a little more heavier than the other examples. This due to the inside tool and materials resting plate but we think this is a minimal trade off.
It’s also marginally more expensive but it’s really down to the unique design features. There are 4 thick rubber wall pads that rest against the wall and two within the angle to prevent the ladder from slipping but also to protect your property.
We like that the internal ‘V’ angle has the additional rubber buffers. It’s also easy assembly with just 5 bolts and fits any ladder in seconds.
It comes with full fitting instructions in plain English and has a full lifetime guarantee.
Note: The tool and material resting plate is exactly for that and mustn’t be stood on!
Final thoughts
If you are regularly carrying out home maintenance and have tasks that have to be carried out at height, a ladder standoff is an essential asset to have.
It reduces lateral movement of a ladder at height by increasing it’s spread or ‘footprint’.
As we have shown, some have a flat design and some have a ‘V’ shaped design. Depending on your needs and tasks, either design will increase your safety and confidence.
We particularly liked the last example as the unique flat plate design enables you rest tools and materials on it allowing you to stabilise yourself on the ladder with your free hand.
The flat plate is purely for tools and materials however. It’s not for standing on. You must remain on the ladder.
Thanks for reading and remember…..stay safe!
