materiaal
EN 131 explained: what to look for when buying a ladder
· 6 min read
This explains the rules that apply in the Netherlands.
EN 131 is printed on almost every ladder, but what does it mean? The difference between a professional and a domestic ladder, why ladders over three metres have a wider foot, and what to check on the label.
A label worth reading
Almost every ladder in the builders merchant carries EN 131. That is the European standard for portable ladders: it lays down what a ladder must look like, how strong it has to be and how it is tested. Without that standard you could stand two ladders side by side with no way of telling which one is the heavier duty of the two.
But EN 131 is not a seal of approval saying "this is a good ladder for your work". It is a set of requirements, and there is more under that label than most buyers realise.
Professional or domestic
This is the most important distinction, and it is printed on the ladder itself. Since the standard was revised, ladders are divided into two types:
- Professional. Intended for daily use at work. Built heavier and tested against more and stricter trials.
- Non-professional. Intended for the home, for hanging the occasional picture or replacing a lamp.
If you work with it, you need the professional version. Not because the other one collapses straight away, but because it has not been tested for the load of going in and out of the van every day, and because after an accident you have to be able to explain that you chose suitable equipment. That is exactly where liability comes unstuck.
Why new ladders have a wider foot
Noticed that long ladders now have a crossbar at the bottom? That is not a sales trick. The standard requires a leaning ladder longer than three metres to be wider at the foot, with a stabiliser bar or fold-out feet.
The reason is simple: the longer the ladder, the further a small movement at the top carries down to the bottom. A wider foot makes toppling much harder. If you still have an older ladder without that bar, it is not banned, but it is less stable than what is sold today.
150 kilos, and what that number means
Ladders to EN 131 are tested with a load of 150 kilos. Note: that is the test load of the standard, not the weight you may calmly put on it. Your own weight counts, but so do your tools, a bucket, a roll of roofing felt and the force with which you pull or push while you are up there.
The parts of the standard
EN 131 consists of several parts. The ones that matter in practice:
- Parts 1 and 2: the requirements, the dimensions and the trials a ladder is tested against.
- Part 3: the marking and the instructions for use that must be supplied.
- Part 4: hinged ladders, such as folding ladders.
- Part 6: telescopic ladders.
If you are buying a telescopic ladder, check whether part 6 is referred to specifically. That is the only way to know it has been tested on the retracting mechanism, and that is exactly the part that fails on cheap models.
What to check before you pay
- Is there a marking on the ladder itself, not only on the packaging?
- Does it say whether it is professional or non-professional?
- Are instructions for use included, in a language you read?
- Are the feet replaceable? They wear out first, and scrapping a ladder over two rubber caps is a waste.
- Are the rungs firmly fixed in the stiles, with no play when you twist them?
What the standard does not do
EN 131 says everything about the ladder and nothing about how you use it. A certified ladder that is set up wrongly or left unsecured is just as dangerous as a bad one. How to deal with that is in securing a ladder.