Im doing traditional window cleaning and looking for ladders. I have a couple jobs coming up that are just your average size two story home. What size ladder will I need ? Is a 20 ft ok?
20 is good 24 is better. You should also think about 28 and 32 if you want to do gutters. I use a 21 ft little giant and a 24ft extension almost daily
Im guessing adjustable legs are a must?
Yes
… I have found 24’ to be the best all around. Definitely get some kind of leg levelers (not rocks or 2 x 4’s). If your ground is always flat 20’ may work but I live in the mountains and houses are built on all kinds of ground. I have only had to use a 32’ once in 10 years and that was just a couple of months ago to get up over a second story window awning I needed to clean.
Most stories are 11’. A 24’ extension ladder gives you 23’ of workable length. A 28’ extension ladder gives you 25’ of workable length. Then figure on average the feet are about 5’ away from the wall which drops your workable height a little bit. For 2 story I would say a 20’ extension ladder may leave you a tad short especially if there is slope of the ground away from the building. ALWAYS make sure you have solid footing of your ladder.
