Bonus Room Stair Ideas?

[SB440R/T]

So we are building our forever home this summer and I wanted to get your thoughts on some ideas for bonus room stairs. On the original plans the stairs were inside the house, but we didn't plan on using the bonus room enough to justify losing the space on the inside of the house so we extended the area in the kitchen for my wife. The original plan had the stairs on the lower right corner of the kitchen. Now I wanted to see what options are out there for stairs that won't take up too much space or can be used for storage. I thought of just doing a pull down staircase, but not sure I want that.

 

[maxpower_hd]

What is under the bonus room? Is there a garage under it? If so you could put the stairs in the garage or outside along a wall to the upstairs. Pull down in my opinion would be a deal breaker. I hate them.

 

[SB440R/T]

This should show it better. This is the truss design, the door area is not accurate. But yes, the garage is under the bonus room.

Front of the stock build, we expanded the garage to 35x25 and we took out the jut on the right.

 

[maxpower_hd]

That looks like a REALLY nice bonus room. I would hate to restrict access to it with pull down stairs. I would consider a deck on the back with some stairs at a minimum.

 

[Hobbit]

Possibly move the pantry to the other side of the kitchen. Start the base of the stairs at the end of the hall through the old pantry at the entry of the mud room. Or 90 degree turn at the base of stairs in kitchen. Your garage ceiling height will determine how much stair will protrude into the garage ceiling space.

 

[Ironcrow]

Start in the garage in the upper left corner, to a landing located at the mudroom window, turn 90 degrees and up over the mudroom, making a sloped ceiling over the washer/dryer?

 

[SB440R/T]

That looks like a REALLY nice bonus room. I would hate to restrict access to it with pull down stairs. I would consider a deck on the back with some stairs at a minimum.

You mean stairs on the back of the garage wall? The only issue is it is only me and my wife. So I now we will not use it too often. I hate dumping a ton of money on the build now. As it is I am not going to finish it drywall, electrical, mini-split, and floor but no carpet will be all that is done for the time being, I will knock out the rest on my own to save some money and keep the payment down. It is truly only a single story home.

These are the types of ideas I think would work in the garage without killing too much space.

 

[SB440R/T]

Possibly move the pantry to the other side of the kitchen. Start the base of the stairs at the end of the hall through the old pantry at the entry of the mud room. Or 90 degree turn at the base of stairs in kitchen. Your garage ceiling height will determine how much stair will protrude into the garage ceiling space.

I really don't want it in the house at all. If anything I want that room to end up being my Man cave that I can go to from the garage.

The ceiling in the garage will be 11'

 

[SB440R/T]

Start in the garage in the upper left corner, to a landing located at the mudroom window, turn 90 degrees and up over the mudroom, making a sloped ceiling over the washer/dryer?

That is an idea, I am sure extending that area in that corner would not be a huge deal, but I would need to find a new place for the water heater.

 

[SB440R/T]

Something like this on the left wall would be interesting, could add a lot of cabinet space.

That won't work because the pitch of the roof requires the stairs to turn in to the bonus room area.

 

[SB440R/T]

Possibly move the pantry to the other side of the kitchen. Start the base of the stairs at the end of the hall through the old pantry at the entry of the mud room. Or 90 degree turn at the base of stairs in kitchen. Your garage ceiling height will determine how much stair will protrude into the garage ceiling space.

Thinking having the stairs start where you said, in the pantry area, but in the garage and then turn 90 degrees might be an idea, not sure if from a design standpoint it would work, I would lose a little bit of space, but it would be a good compromise, the only issue is that is where my sink was going to go, but I am sure that would be easy to fix.

 

[Pluribus]

Would you have enough headroom/clearance at the door from the garage into the mudroom if you did the following? About 3/4 of the way toward the back of the garage on the left side of your drawing, have a partial flight of stairs going up to a landing in the back left corner. Then, turn 90 degrees right toward the house entrance to the mud room with the upper part of the stairs. (They'd follow the roofline up.)

I'd go for the minimum number of stairs needed on the lower part (before the landing) to allow adequate headroom on the underside of the upper part at the door to the mudroom. That way, you'll have the most unobstructed room from the garage door until the stairs start. The downside to any design with a landing and a 90 degree corner is reduced ability to get large items around the stair corner.

 

[rsanter]

Spiral staircase inside for daily access
Staircase with a small deck outside for bringing in furnature and for a quick escape for you if you piss off the wife

Bob

 

[bczygan]

An elevator?

 

[bczygan]

Or this, but make it more finished, and with a railing on one or both sides.

Bill

 

[Ironcrow]

Or this, but make it more finished, and with a railing on one or both sides.

Bill

I like that. The problem with store-bought attic stairs is they are cheap flimsy ****. And it's smart how this stair comes down in a spot that will typically be clear of clutter so you're not always moving stuff to use it.

 

[CNGsaves]

Spiral staircase inside for daily access.
Staircase with a small deck outside for bringing in furniture and for a quick escape for you if you piss off the wife.

Bob

^ ^ ^ This. Nothing worse than building nice bonus room and no easy way to get sheetrock up there when finishing, or furniture when complete.

I'd put in french doors so that you would have wide opening for bringing in items from the patio deck. Also, build the deck railing in such a way that it is REMOVABLE so that future changes in furniture can be handled.

 

[ejkuhl]

Would you have enough headroom/clearance at the door from the garage into the mudroom if you did the following? About 3/4 of the way toward the back of the garage on the left side of your drawing, have a partial flight of stairs going up to a landing in the back left corner. Then, turn 90 degrees right toward the house entrance to the mud room with the upper part of the stairs. (They'd follow the roofline up.)

I'd go for the minimum number of stairs needed on the lower part (before the landing) to allow adequate headroom on the underside of the upper part at the door to the mudroom. That way, you'll have the most unobstructed room from the garage door until the stairs start. The downside to any design with a landing and a 90 degree corner is reduced ability to get large items around the stair corner.

This would be my idea also. The headroom above the Mud room door would be the only issue.

 

[Gerald O]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200759
Move the door to the mudroom to the left rear corner to go to an outside landing. Then replace the window with a door into the mudroom from the outside landing. Then build the stairs like shown in the plans in my second post, only reversed.

 

[ddawg16]

How about a spiral stair case? That is what I have in my garage.

 

[maxpower_hd]

OK. Well if I had used a pull down set of stairs like the one in the video maybe I would have liked them better. I would accept that. I'm thinking the deck and stairs leading outside should still be added as well. May even be a fire code if you want to use it as anything but an attic.

I know you say you won't use it but you probably will if you set it up as a man cave.

 

[njk4o5]

what about stairs on a hinge that raise/lower using a chainfall? saw it on HGTV the other day inside a house for access to the loft. The stair hangs up 10-11' above the kitchen and when they need access for the loft they lower I down

 

[Gerald O]

Something like this only reversed to go into the rear-left side. Move the pantry elsewhere, then move the door into the garage to the end of the hall where the pantry is now.
This is an 11' garage ceiling. It takes a lot of steps to go up that high.
Water heater can go under the steps.

 

[SB440R/T]

Something like this only reversed to go into the rear-left side. Move the pantry elsewhere, then move the door into the garage to the end of the hall where the pantry is now.
This is an 11' garage ceiling. It takes a lot of steps to go up that high.
Water heater can go under the steps.

Not a bad idea actually.

I was also thinking of something like this.

 

[SB440R/T]

Or this, but make it more finished, and with a railing on one or both sides.

Bill

I like that, not to crazy and out of the way too.

 

[SB440R/T]

OK. Well if I had used a pull down set of stairs like the one in the video maybe I would have liked them better. I would accept that. I'm thinking the deck and stairs leading outside should still be added as well. May even be a fire code if you want to use it as anything but an attic.

I know you say you won't use it but you probably will if you set it up as a man cave.

I am not really a big fan of putting the stairs outside. I would have to put an access hall coming out of the side of the house in order for that to work.

 

[SB440R/T]

what about stairs on a hinge that raise/lower using a chainfall? saw it on HGTV the other day inside a house for access to the loft. The stair hangs up 10-11' above the kitchen and when they need access for the loft they lower I down

Not even sure if I know what that means, seen it again anywhere?

 

[Gerald O]

Thing to keep in mind is that any fixed stairway will have to meet building code for minimum width, maximum step riser height, and minimum step tread (depth). Your plans look like they originally called out 16 risers from the living space floor level. With an average tread depth of 10" that means you'll need 15 treads for a total of 150 inches run length--about 12 feet. Keep these figures in mind when sketching in ideas. Plan for about 7.5" rise per step and 10" run per tread.

On the other hand, a pull-down stair is considered a ladder and is not subject to these limitations. But then that greatly diminishes the usability and forget bringing up any large items.

 

[SB440R/T]

Good point, I will have to get with my builder and see what he says. Also have to clear it with the wife if I decide to take up some of her kitchen space, thought at about 19x15 for a kitchen she should be fine.

 

[SB440R/T]

How about a spiral stair case? That is what I have in my garage.

How do you get stuff up there? Got pictures from inside the room?

 

[TractorJeff]

My house has a Spiral Stair case like the photo.
No mattresses, no furniture, no appliances!
All that has to go up the outside steps leading to the second floor deck.