Step Stool
Step Stand
Step stands and step stools might not fit well in a Disney movie, where step parents, step siblings — heck, step anything—tend to be evil. But, in the real world, step-stuff can be good. When you need to change a kitchen light bulb and don’t want to stand on the wobbly table on which your family eats, step stands can be pretty, um, upstanding. And when you need to grab products from high shelves and don’t have the vertical range of LeBron James, step stools can be pretty, um, uplifting.
Step stools and their big brothers, step stands, can elevate your spirits. However, step stands can elevate your spirits about two to four feet higher.
What is a step stand and a step stool?
These two types of work platform are closely related, and could easily be confused with step ladders, too. How do you know which one will work in your industrial setting?
I call a step ladder the decrepit rectangular wooden thing leaning against the wall in my garage, which is totally unsafe but which I still stand on to prune huge bushes and short trees, power wash my house, and spy on my neighbors.
The ladders also have the oft-ignored warning printed upon their top steps (officially called “pail shelves”) which say “Please do not use this as a step.”
What are the similarities between a step stand and a step stool?
They both differ from the ladders in that their top step, called a “top cap,” is made to be stood on. They each serve as platforms that can be either stationary or rolling, meaning mounted on wheels, or casters, that are easily locked and unlocked.
Here are a few other common traits:
- Can be used indoors and outdoors.
- Legs have a non-skid, slip-resistant surface, such as rubber, to ensure stability.
- Most stands and stools for industrial and commercial use are made from lightweight aluminum or sturdy, heavy-duty steel. Fiberglass is another option. Many consumer brands are made of plastic.
What are the differences?
You might think of the step stool as the step stand’s little brother. The stand can have up to four steps, but may not be more than 32 inches in height. They are measured from the bottom of one of its feet to the top of its highest step.
Its side rails, or handrails, usually extend above the top step. Stands fold up for easy storage. A step stand would be perfect for a small, crowded storage room situation in which no one has a good view of the top shelf, nor can reach it, even though both copier paper and toilet paper are stored there, which means that employees need to get to those top shelves every couple of days. A folding stand can be opened and closed in seconds. And if you need paper, a few seconds can matter a lot. They generally are built with the same A-frame structure as ladders.
The stools also share these traits:
- Shorter than stands.
- Have only one or two steps.
- Can be easily tucked away, though they don’t have folding capacity.
- Are often used in commercial and industrial settings by workers who need another foot or so in height several times a day to get a better view and reach.
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