I need to change the light fixture in a 20 ft plus vaulted ceiling. It is in the center of the room so there is no wall to support an extension ladder.

How do professionals do this ?

Step Ladders available in the market only go up to maybe 12 ft.

Can you guys suggest what I can buy / rent to do this job.

Amit

1984 380SE

I helped replace recessed floodlamps in a former church using an extendable pole with a light bulb holder. The holder is spring loaded, so it has enough grip to encase the bulb, unscrew it, and remove, and well as doing the install.

They sell these at hardware stores.

There are rollaround extension ladders tall enough to do the job, but expensive for light duty use...and you have a pretty large ladder to store afterwards...

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

Look up Acrobats in the Yellow pages, hire three six footers, or call a light fixture store. Don’t ask Home Depot. Don’t forget to use a long life bulb. At great expense rent scaffolding. I think they use a long pole with a suction cup on it.

__________________
89 300E
79 240D
72 Westy
63 Bug sunroof
85 Jeep CJ7
86 Chevy 6.2l diesel PU

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane."
Marcus Aurelius

I'm shocked . . a how to change a lightbulb question in Mercedesshop . . . and nobody did a lightbulb joke?

How many does it take?

One to post the question
One member to tell them to do a "Search"
One to ask for a pic of which light bulb is being changed
Two to debate how much HP you get from the aftermarket bulbs
One to argue that diesel bulbs are way better.
One who promises to check the Haynes and CD-Rom for the procedure
One who want to know if there's interest in a bulb "group buy"
One who announces that he's working on a high performance bulb for us
One who wants to know if it's too late to get in on the group buy
Four members that believe that failed light bulbs are an administration conspiracy to keep us in the dark.

Be careful with that extendable pole with either a little grabber or suction cup. It should work, but it's pretty easy to break the bulb, leaving the broken off stem still screwed in. I did just that a few years ago. I waited until it was time to paint the celing anyway, and had the painters change the bulb when they put up scaffolding.

__________________
2002 E320 4-Matic
2008 Subaru Outback
2009 Subaru Forester

An extension ladder will not work as the light fixture is in the center of the room. So there is no nearby wall to support it.

Also, I am not just changing a bulb. It is the entire fixture that I want to take out and put in a chandelier.

In fact, there is another portion of the ceiling where I want to hang a ceiling fan. Again the same problem.

Any ideas ?

I don't necessarily recommend this, however, it seems to me you could use two extension ladders and make your own A-frame step ladder that would be tall enough.

Pro's would bring in scaffolding.

__________________
Glen Tokuhara
Beauty & the Beast and the wagon that could!

Definitely---->Scaffolding.
Don't take a chance of spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair.

__________________
2002 E320 4-Matic
2008 Subaru Outback
2009 Subaru Forester

Rent a tall step ladder. It should be no problem finding a 20'er.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I have never seen a 20 ft step ladder anywhere.

Has anybody seen it ? WHere can I buy it from ? Home Depot / Lowes has only as high as 12 ft.

Thanks,

Amit
1984 380SE

Ohhh...I though you were just changing a bulb!

Well, in THAT case, rent one of these:

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

I wasn't being facetious. I have seen them used in gyms and auditoriums. I have even seen them with a kind of upright extension ladder that goes up and down at the top. I assume rental stores carry such things. Perhaps not.
You're not going to buy one at HD.

There's a 20' step ladder here:

http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:6b3GOdfH5sEJ:www.laddersource.com/Fiberglass_step.HTML+20+foot+step+ladder&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

I'm guessing you'll need a mortgage to purchase it, but they should be available for rent.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Drag your kid's trampoline in from the backyard and offer'em $1. if they can unscrew the bulb and put a new one in.

Worst case you'll save on college tuition.

Plastique, through the roof.

Reseal roof with with visqueen weighted with 2x6's or cinder blocks to allow future bulb changes.

Rent 1 section of scafold and put your 7ft ladder on it.