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grover
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# Posted: 28 Mar 2014 14:19
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I'm looking for some good ideas for stairs that take up very little room. I mean almost no room. They will go up from the living room area to the loft and if I do stationary stairs they will be right in our walkway. I've been trying to find some way to design them to swing up overhead when not in use or that will slide up against the wall where they only take up the depth of the stairs/ladder. I've found a few ideas that look pretty good but I was wondering what you guys have come up with.
A few ways I've found so far...Use a small winch to raise and lower the stairs, counterbalances, even the piston type things that are use on car trunks (only bigger). The one I saw that slid up against the wall when not is use had small wheels on the bottom but I'm not sure how it locked against the wall or what it rode on where it is against the loft. I found most of these on youtube.
This one is pretty cool. http://www.home-designing.com/2009/05/foldable-stairs-industrial-designer
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razmichael
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# Posted: 28 Mar 2014 17:13
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Grover, a number of us have use alternating tread ladders as space savers. Not sure if it would work for needs but they are surprisingly easy to go up and down (with a bit of practice). Do a forum search on "alternating" and there are a bunch of hits. Mine are shown at My Build about half way down. Mine are a functional and easy to build design but some other have built some really fancy ones.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 28 Mar 2014 17:16
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That link shows a crafty idea, but you'd get sick of lifting every step every time you put it up. I like the stairs on a hinge idea, counterbalanced, so you just lift it up and it's out of the way. If it was counterbalanced, I bet you could use shock absorbers from car rear doors as you suggest, to slow and smooth the rate of rise or fall
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 28 Mar 2014 17:26
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FYI - an earlier thread on the subject: Space Saving Stairs
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stickbowcrafter
Member
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# Posted: 28 Mar 2014 21:06
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Why not just get one of those flush mount attic ceiling step systems?
-Brian
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grover
Member
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2014 22:42
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I think I will go with the alternating treads...maybe. Plan to rig up a iron pipe horizontally on the edge of the loft at the opening. I can put 2 slots in the staircase side. One slot to hang the staircase on that will hold it tight to the wall and another slot a little higher up that will hold the staircase in place while the bottom is pulled out from the wall 2 or 3 feet. It shouldn't take up much room that way. That should be a lot easier than designing a counterbalance and getting all the weights and pivot points correct.
Hope that makes sense.
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cbright
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 09:10
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Here are my alternating stairs... bottom of the page;
http://www.small-cabin.com/forum/6_3652_1.html
Super easy to walk down.... haven't even added a rail yet (but will)
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razmichael
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 12:19
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Quoting: cbright Here are my alternating stairs... bottom of the page
These are the ones I was thinking about when I stated up top "Mine are a functional and easy to build design but some other have built some really fancy ones". Always loved the look of you stairs cbright.
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grover
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 20:56
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cbright, I noticed you have a small backstop on each step. Is that to help stiffen up the step or is it just for looks?
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Bzzzzzt
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 21:03
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If you're just going to be taking yourself up and down, you might try one of these.
http://www.menards.com/main/paint/ladders-scaffolding/attic-ladders/compact-small-spa ces-aluminum-attic-ladder/p-1747445-c-7976.htm
The opening at the top is only 18"x24" so if you needed to put furniture or other larger things in the loft you may need to have another opening to hoist things up and down, but the price and compact design may work well for access.
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knock
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2014 22:11
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Grover - you may want to consider the weight of the ATD when deciding that it will be moved frequently. I used 2x8 s to make my ATD that reaches a 8 1/2' height. It is so heavy I can barely move it once, much less than daily. Make sure it is lightweight if you plan to move it alot.
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cbright
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2014 15:34 - Edited by: cbright
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Quoting: grover cbright, I noticed you have a small backstop on each step. Is that to help stiffen up the step or is it just for looks?
Not really needed.... mostly for loosk and to prevent your foot from sliding out the back (which is probably impossible anyways). Treads are made from 2x12 lumber, so it is still about 5.5" wide at the skinny part.... more than strong enough for anyone.
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