Louisville Ladder is recalling about 1.77 million attic stairway ladders in the United States because spreader bolts can break and cause a user to fall, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.
The company has received 11 reports of bolts breaking, including one injury report involving the neck, head and back. About 13,054 additional units were sold in Canada.
The recall covers specified Louisville, Featherlite, Lite and Century brand attic stairway ladders equipped with gas struts. It does not mean every ladder sold under those brands is affected.
Owners should stop using a covered ladder immediately and check the model number printed on the inside of the attic door. CPSC directs consumers to the recall registration site, Atticstairwayrecall.expertinquiry.com, with that number available.
Louisville Ladder will provide a free repair kit containing two replacement quarter-inch spreader bolts, washers, lock nuts and installation instructions. Consumers should not resume use until the specified repair is installed.
The affected products were sold at The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Do It Best, Orgill and other retailers nationwide, and online at Amazon, from November 2012 through July 2026. Prices ranged from $170 to $600.
The product type matters because an attic stairway combines a folding ladder with hardware that supports opening, closing and weight-bearing. A failed spreader bolt can change the ladder’s geometry or support while someone is climbing.
The count of 11 reports does not establish a failure rate for the entire population. Consumer incident reports can be incomplete, and a large recall can be ordered when a component defect creates a meaningful fall hazard even if relatively few failures have been reported.
Consumers should rely on the model lookup rather than appearance alone. The official recall notice contains the affected model list, identification photographs and company contact information.
CPSC identifies the action as recall number 26-661. Anyone with an affected unit should keep it out of service, request the no-cost parts and follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions before using the ladder again.