STAIRS FOR CARPORT ATTIC--IDEAS

[KRECKER]

I am in the process of building a 24'x30' carport. This will be built with trusses and will have attic space that I would like to be able to access. I really do not want a permanent stair case, but would like to have a type of folding (sucide) stair, but better. The opening needs to be a minimum of 36". The problem is that all of the folding staircases that I have been able to find only have an opening of 25 1/2". I believe that it would not really be possible to modify one of these to make because from a structural stand point this would compromise the strenght.
Does anybody have any great IDEAS?

Thanks

Don

 

[bcarter]

How tall do the stairs have to be?

One thought is to use a ladder... If space is an issue I've seen telescoping ladders that take up very little space. No idea how they are to work with but its a thought...

 

[KRECKER]

Bill,
Ceiling height will be 9 1/2 feet. I am only going to use this for outdoor Christmas decoration storage, ie. wire forms that can't be broken. Will not be putting anything heavy up, but would like to have stairs or steps that do not require other storage.
I have thought about ladders, etc, but just don't want to go that route unless absolutely necessary.

Don

 

[chim]

One of my sons just bought a property that has a detached garage/workshop. In the garage part there's a pull-down (hinge-down, actually) stair to get to the second floor the previous owner used for storage. It is a nearly normal sized stair that has hinges at one end. When it isn't in use, it can be swung up and fastened out of the way.

Maybe you could build a stair that would fit between trusses and hinge it? The back/bottom of the stringers could be covered with 1/4" plywwod and painted to match the ceiling. Mount the assembly so the plywood goes up against the ceiling when the stairs are in the "up" position.

I know all about rickety pull-down ladders from our previous house. That's why we had the builder of our current house use attic trusses and a full-size stairs to make a real attic................chim

 

[Spencer]

My dad built a stairway up to the attic above his garage last November. It will be kind of hard for me to explain but luckily I kept the photos he emailed me. The stairs do not go all the way down to the floor. He made two separate "landings" that the ladder will rest on when its in the down position. The landings are on casters to easily move them out of the way and the lower landing also "nests" inside the larger landing.

Hopefully the pictures will explain this better than I can.

Here is the first picture. This is from the attic looking down into his garage.

 

[Spencer]

Here is a picture of the top of the stairs. The stairs are hinged right there to the attic floor. I think he used a large piano hinge. You can see the shiny metal right above the top stair. The stairs extend up above the attic floor for the couterweight system I will show you in another photo.

 

[Spencer]

This picture shows the counterweight system. He has approximately 100 pounds of sand in that Rubbermaid container. He says that the stairs move with very little effort this way.

 

[Spencer]

Here is a picture of the landings he made. The reason he had to go with landings is because he did not have enough room for a full size stair. He has very limited space in this garage but he has done wonders with what space he does have.

 

[Spencer]

Here is a picture showing the smaller landing partially nested inside the larger landing. I could be biased but I think my Dad is a pretty creative guy. Hopefully one day I will complete my pole barn and be able to make some projects myself.

 

[Spencer]

Here is a picture of my Dad when he visited one of my jobsites that happened to be near his house. He likes any excuse to take one of his toys out for a spin.