Electric loft ladders

The ladder comes down on its own. No pole, no pulling, no standing on the landing wrestling with a spring. It is the answer for a high ceiling, for a loft used constantly, and for anyone who has quietly stopped going up there.

Book a free survey How it compares

When this is the right one

We fit all four types, and we fit this one when plenty of firms will not. These are the three situations where it stops being a luxury.

All four types

The ceiling is high
Concertina mechanisms reach a floor to ceiling height of up to 4.6m. On a tall Victorian landing, where a folding ladder simply will not reach, this is often the only option.
Fit
Getting up there has become a problem
Shoulders, knees, balance, confidence. A button removes the part of the job that puts people off, and the loft goes back to being usable storage.
Feel
The loft is in constant use
A home office, a workshop, stock for a business, or a boarded loft you finally use properly. If you are up and down every week, the thing that wears out first on a manual ladder is your patience.
Who

What it means for your hatch

Electric concertina ladders are made to measure, which is why they suit awkward ceilings. Openings start from 750 x 530mm on a made to measure unit, and compact versions exist from around 370mm. There is one extra requirement the other three do not have: a power supply at the hatch. That is an electrician's work, quoted separately and plainly on the price list, and we organise it as part of the job rather than leaving you to find someone. The same electrician can put a light in the loft while they are there.

Hatches and enlarging an opening

What it is like to live with

What actually changes day to day once the ladder comes down on its own.

A button, and that is it
Up or down, from the landing or from inside the loft. The novelty wears off. The convenience does not.
Rated 200kg per step
The heaviest rated of the four, because the mechanism is built for commercial use as much as domestic.
It needs power at the hatch
The one genuine catch. A spur near the hatch, fitted by an electrician, priced on its own line.
Folds into almost nothing
A concertina stacks into the hatch box rather than lying along the loft floor, so you keep the space beside the opening.

How the four compare

Electric against the other three, on the makers' own published numbers. It reaches furthest and carries most, which is the whole argument.

Type	Smallest opening published	Reaches	Rated load	Landing needed
Aluminium	Varies by model, measured at the survey	Up to 3.58m on the tallest models	200kg maximum loading	About 128cm of landing for a folding ladder
Telescopic	From 520 x 600mm	Up to 2.6m	150kg, the standard minimum	Least of the four, it collapses into itself
Timber	From 1110 x 550mm	Up to 2.80m	160kg per step	About 128cm of landing
Electric	From 750 x 530mm made to measure	Up to 4.6m	200kg per step	About 150cm, it drops almost straight down

Published manufacturer figures, read September 2026: the timber and metal ranges via Fakro and Premier Loft Ladders, the concertina figures from the Supreme and Piccolo, the telescopic minimum opening from Loftshop, and the landing figures from Fakro's own guide. The exact ladder we fit depends on what your supplier stocks, and we measure your loft before we quote.

Questions about electric loft ladders

Why will some companies not fit electric loft ladders?

Because they need a power supply and a made to measure hatch box, so it is a bigger job than dropping a standard ladder into an existing opening. We fit them, and we organise the electrician as part of the work.

How high can an electric ladder reach?

Concertina mechanisms reach a floor to ceiling height of up to 4.6m, considerably further than a folding or telescopic ladder, which is why they suit tall landings and converted buildings.

What happens in a power cut?

They have a manual release so you are never locked out of your own loft. We show you how it works before we leave.

Is it suitable for someone with limited mobility?

It removes the pulling and the overhead reaching, which is usually the barrier. The climb itself is still a climb, so we look at the angle and the handrails with you and give you an honest view.

The other three

If your ceiling is ordinary and the loft gets used twice a year, one of these will do the job for less, and we fit all of them. Boarding is often the better place to spend the difference.