Attic access.

[BellyUpFish]

Looks like I'm going to be building a new shop soon and in the plans, I'd like to have a bit of storage area in the attic/upstairs.

What I don't really want to do is lose shop space for traditional stairs, so what I'm considering is just going with some traditional attic type drop down stairs and a dumb waiter to hoist up the items to go upstairs.

For those of you who might have gone this route - no traditional stairs - do you regret the decision?

 

[kbs2244]

A big part of this decision is how often you are going to be going up there.
If it seasonal stuff (3 or 4 times a year) I would just use a ladder.
But if it is every week then the stairs may make sense.
(But I really do not like the folding style. They all seem flimsy.)

 

[BellyUpFish]

Ducksface- I should have plenty of room to stand up. At least 7'. It'll be full 40' and as wide as I can get it.

Kbs- hard to say. Not daily, but I plan to use it.

 

[fteufert]

I have the fold down stairs, and I do use them often. They are a bit flimsy, but it was either use them or give up space.

 

[BellyUpFish]

I thought about welding up some stairs and using an HF winch to pull them up and down.

 

[Alan Douglas]

There have been several discussions of folding attic stairs here in the last year, with various suggestions of how to take the least floor space. I installed a set in my attic last November, replacing a rickety wooden stair. Aluminum stairs are more rigid than wood, but most seem to come with gas springs, versus the coil springs with the wooden stairs. Gas springs leak and lose strength after a few years. I re-used the coil springs of my old stair, with a new aluminum ladder; it works fine but naturally took more time than simply installing a new ladder as it came from the factory.

 

[thewatusi]

Try and find an old steel fire escape staircase and rig it up on a hinge with a weight and pulley.

 

[tejka2]

My garage has a floored attic space. I was faced with the same issue and eventually went with the traditional fold down aluminium attic ladder. While that works ok for getting me in and out of the attic it proved cumbersome for anything bigger than a bread box. So, I built my own dumb-waiter system using an electric hoist that I bought at Harbor Freight and a cart that I built and attached wheels to (see pic. I dont have a pic of the entire cart will post if necessary). It basically has 4 chains that come from each corner of the base of the cart and go up to a rectangular frame that is the same dimensions as the cart (about 4 feet high). From there the chains are all brought together to a center-point about 6 inches above the frame that attaches to the hook from the hoist. The hoist is mounted directory above the 2'x4' hole that I cut in the floor in the attic. ( I boxed out the hole and have subsequently insulated the ceiling and finished with metal siding). My plan is to eventually replace it with another cart constructed of tubular steel. But this one has lasted for years and seen alot of use. Hope this helps. (P.S. I think Liftmaster makes a version of this but last I checked it ran about $1,500).

 

[Worsedog]

There have been several discussions of folding attic stairs here in the last year, with various suggestions of how to take the least floor space. I installed a set in my attic last November, replacing a rickety wooden stair. Aluminum stairs are more rigid than wood, but most seem to come with gas springs, versus the coil springs with the wooden stairs. Gas springs leak and lose strength after a few years. I re-used the coil springs of my old stair, with a new aluminum ladder; it works fine but naturally took more time than simply installing a new ladder as it came from the factory.

I also was concerned about the gas springs leaking. But I gave it a shot anyway. The metal fold-up stairs I have are made by Werner and have been up for over eight years now.

I have not heard of a rash of the gas springs failing like you do on cars. I think the biggest reason is that when the stairs are closed the springs are at "rest" as opposed to being compressed all the time like in a vehicle.

 

[pattenp]

I did the folding ladder and attic trapdoor with a hoist. No regrets. It's what I had to do.

 

[bad_idea]

I have the attic trap door w/ block and tackle and a ladder. Works well, but nuisance compared to staircase. Space is a premium, so no space for a staircase. Of course, due to a limited amount of space, I use the attic for storage of routinely used items.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

I think I mentioned it on some other thread once but I bought the folding ones at HD that were rated for 300 lbs or so, took them off the 16"W piece of particle board and attached them to a piece of 3/4 hardwood plywood that took full advantage of the opening size I had.

Steps were reasonable sturdy - held me at 180lbs plus anything I wanted to carry up them and the larger opening meant I didn't have to fight to get it through the opening. If I did it again I think I'd fab a couple rails I could attach in the attic lip so I could slide heavier items up or down... That would be a compromise to the dumbwaiter idea which would obviously be better.

 

[ctgoodman]

A big part of this decision is how often you are going to be going up there.
If it seasonal stuff (3 or 4 times a year) I would just use a ladder.
But if it is every week then the stairs may make sense.
(But I really do not like the folding style. They all seem flimsy.)

I agree with just use a ladder if it's only a couple times a year and you put that hoist in place. If I had to go up there regularly I would just build the stairs. You can store stuff under them and they will be much more sturdy and easy to traverse. If you did something like a pull down you still have to clear that area every time you pull them down. That was a huge issue I had in my old house with the attic access. Stuff always being in the way when I went to use them.

 

[Trey T]

I have the Racor PHL-1R lift that I modified to be used as a hoist to bring heavy stuff up and down from attic. I also have the widest (25" i think) aluminum ladder you can buy at HD or lowes.


I use my attic system several times already and I don't regret a bit.

 

[bczygan]

Elevator

Forklift

Outside stair

Man lift

Bucket truck

Hoist

Spiral stair

Knotted climbing rope

Rope ladder

Ratlines:

 

[Falcon67]

No, but I have a shed to put heavy/big junk in. I did use a Werner aluminum stair that takes up way less floor space than a set or regular stairs. That has turned out to be kinda handy because there is ALWAYS something parked on the ladder landing spot. It is a little harder to run things up because it's pretty steep.

 

[woodrail]

Build the stairs. You're not getting any younger and you knees will thank you.

 

[4AudiQ]

Here is an unusual idea:

 

[over40pirate]

I saw a garage that had 2 x 6 (?) attic floor joists. The owner built a staircase from 2 x 6's (maybe 2 x 8's he treads were at least 2 x 8's) The staircase was set between 2 joists, and hinged with 2 large bolts.
The bottom of the staircase had a rope attached, which went up to a pulley, over to another pulley at the wall, and down to a boat trailer winch.
A nice setup for carrying boxes, etc. up to the attic.
He was planning on adding a hand rail.
He was planning on a small platform, with a winch for lifting heavier stuff.
It was a new install. I recommended a worm drive winch, to prevent it getting away from you if you let go of the handle. Happened to me, lowering a 500# swing keel on a sailboat. Almost broke my wrist!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I merely have an access panel that lifts up and out of the way and I use a ladder. When I lowered the ceiling, I had to add an access panel to get to the older attic door. I still use a ladder for that. If I can put it up through that hole or carry it up the ladder, I probably shouldn't be putting it up there.

 

[rburke65]

I am so very glad I bought the attic truss WITH a 42" stairway. In gladly gave up the space.

 

[lynnbilodeau]

Here is an unusual idea:

Before someone invented the folding ladder set up, that is what all the attic access stairs used to look like. My mom's house has that (minus the gas pressured lifts of course) has a set up very similar, and it was built in 1952.
The stairs are not quite that heavy duty, but same principles.

 

[Screwtape]

This is what I've put in my garage. The lift is unfinished in this shot but currently uses garage door tracks on the wall to keep things moving straight. That combined with a small spiral staircase is perfect for me.