Youngman Spacemaker Loft Ladder

Is the Youngman Spacemaker Loft Ladder worth buying?

Yes, the Youngman Spacemaker Loft Ladder is worth buying at £79.94 if your floor-to-ceiling measurement lands between 1.45 m and 2.6 m, because it is the least expensive certified fixed ladder here and the only one that opens as low as 1.45 m. It carries 10 wide, flat, slip-resistant treads with rubber feet on a 2-section frame, and 287 owners rate it 4.3.

Buy it if you want a low loft ladder one person can handle: at 5 kg it is light enough to lift into the opening alone. Look elsewhere if the ceiling is 3 m, because the Spacemaker stops 40 cm short of that, or if anyone climbing it is near the 100 kg it is built to carry, since most ladders here are rated to 150 kg.

What does £30.75 a metre buy on the Youngman Spacemaker?

Divide the £79.94 price by the 2.6 m it covers and each metre of loft access costs £30.75, which is £1.75 more per metre than the Abru 37000 charges for its 3 m. On a low loft that arithmetic reverses, because a shallow roof space leaves the taller ladders nothing to reach: the Spacemaker covers a band from 1.45 m upwards that no 3-section design can match.

The load figure is 100 kg, and that is the real ceiling on this ladder rather than a marketing number. It suits one adult carrying a box, not two people on the rungs at once. Ten wide, flat treads with a slip-resistant surface take you from the first step to the hatch, and the whole thing is built in accordance with EN 14975, the standard for loft ladders.

What comes in the box with the Youngman Spacemaker Loft Ladder?

The ladder arrives with its fixings, and that is all: no stowing pole, no hatch door and no board to cover the opening, so those are separate purchases. It is made in the United Kingdom in silver-painted metal and folds down to a package 167 cm wide by 11 cm high, slim enough to sit against a roof slope or behind a cold water tank. A unique shoot bolt fastens it shut at the top.

Fitting is a half-day job using the fixings supplied, and the rubber feet protect a landing floor from scuffs while you work. At 5 kg the ladder itself is a one-person lift, though a second pair of hands makes drilling the fixings straighter. The manufacturer's warranty runs for 12 months against defects in materials and workmanship.

Where does the Youngman Spacemaker Loft Ladder fall short?

The 100 kg load rating is the sharpest compromise, since the Abru 37000, the Werner Easy Stow and the BPS Slider all carry 150 kg. Anyone heavy, or anyone planning to carry boxes up with them, will notice that gap. Reach is the second limit: at 2.6 m it covers a low loft well and a standard 3 m ceiling not at all.

Two long sections fold together, so it takes more loft room when stowed than a 3-section ladder that collapses into a short stack. The warranty is short too, 12 months where the Werner Easy Stow carries five years for five pence more. Neither point matters in a low loft, but both count against it in a taller one.

How does the Youngman Spacemaker compare with the Abru 37000?

The Abru 37000 costs £86.99, £7.05 more than the Spacemaker, and the extra buys 40 cm more reach and a 150 kg load rating. The Abru also lands at £29.00 per metre against £30.75, so under a 3 m ceiling it is simply the better buy. The Spacemaker only takes over where the Abru cannot go, which is any loft below its 2.13 m minimum.

Against the Youngman 301000 telescopic the numbers are starker: that model covers the same 2.6 m for £189.95, which is £110.01 more than the Spacemaker. What those pounds buy is a ladder that folds into its own casing with no cutting to the hatch. If the opening is already sound and 5 kg is easy to lift, the Spacemaker does the same job for far less.