What the load rating actually covers
A loft ladder's load rating isn't a ceiling on the weight of the person climbing it. It's a ceiling on everything that travels up and down on the ladder at once, the person and whatever they're holding.
TB Davies describes its own figure as "the maximum weight of the user including boxes or items being carried into or out of the loft space".
Why the wording matters
That phrasing settles a question a lot of people get wrong when they first look at a rating. The number on the box isn't asking how heavy you are; it's asking how much weight the ladder can take in total on a single trip. A box of Christmas decorations, a suitcase, a bag of insulation offcuts, all of it counts against the same figure as your own weight.
What this means going up the ladder
Someone near the top of their own body weight already has very little of the rating left over for anything in their hands. Someone lighter has more room to carry something heavier. The rating is shared between the two, not stacked separately, so it's worth doing that sum before you decide what to carry up in one go rather than two.
Load ratings by maker and ladder type
These are the load ratings each maker publishes for its own ladders. The figure changes with the material the ladder is made from.
| Maker and ladder type | Load rating |
|---|---|
| Fakro timber ladders | 160 kg |
| Fakro metal ladders | 200 kg |
| TB Davies ladders | 150 kg |
| Werner ladders | 150 kg |
| Youngman ladders | 150 kg |
Figures are taken from each maker's own published specifications for that model line. Models and ratings get updated, so check the current datasheet for the exact ladder before you buy.
Where the weight limit actually comes from
A loft ladder's load rating is tested and published against BS EN 14975, the British and European standard for loft ladders, formally titled 'Loft ladders. Requirements, marking and testing'. BSI lists it as current and under review, which means the version in force now could be revised later without changing its name.
The standard itself sits behind a paywall. No test figure, load value, angle or tread width from it appears on this site, because it has not been read at source. Where a weight limit is given here, it comes from a maker's own datasheet or installation manual, named and dated alongside the figure.
Why that distinction is worth knowing
A standard sets the method a maker must test against. It does not publish the resulting number for any one ladder, that comes from the maker. Two models built to the same standard can still carry different ratings, because the rating reflects that model's own construction.
It also means a maker's rating can outlast the standard it was tested under. If BS EN 14975 is revised, a ladder already on the market keeps the rating it was given at the time, until the maker retests or reissues it.
None of this changes what the rating means for the person climbing. It still has to cover the user and everything carried up, and it still comes from whoever made the ladder.