Anyone ever seen a moving staircase??

dereklovejoy

dereklovejoy

How Can i get better?
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alright this is my situation. Im starting to finish my basement with hopes to have a table down there (biggest table possible). I have a 36X28 basement, but the problem is that the stairs come down in the middle so i have one side that is about 13 ft and the other side with is about 17 ft wide, the the area for the stairs.

17 ft side would be nice to put the table on BUT the boiler and oil tank and other things are on that side so im stuck with the 13 ft side to work with. with the 28 feet depth i have no problems with that.

I was thinking that i could make a system to move the stairs out of the way after i come down them to play. Has anyone seen this done or know what would be a good way to do this. i was thinking just putting them on wheels and then having a couple pins that could lock it in place when i put them back?
 
I'm not sure I can visualize what you are talking about but what occurs to me are those staircases that you will find in the ceiling of a hallway, for example. You pull the hatch in the ceiling down, the staircase unfolds, and you have access to the attic. Would something like that work?

Here's a vid of what I'm talking about though this one is electric:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kDlHYsU-aQ
 
it would if i had outside access to the basement to move stuff like the boiler and other big items down there. i cant see carrying those items up a set of stairs like that.


i want to make my basement stairs that i have now mobile. They are not finished so its just a set of stairs comming down into the basement, no drywall or anything on them below the basement ceiling. i was thinking cutting them off at the ceiling, then putting it on wheels, but having it lock into place and when im downstairs take the locks out and push it out of the way.
 
dereklovejoy said:
it would if i had outside access to the basement to move stuff like the boiler and other big items down there. i cant see carrying those items up a set of stairs like that.


i want to make my basement stairs that i have now mobile. They are not finished so its just a set of stairs comming down into the basement, no drywall or anything on them below the basement ceiling. i was thinking cutting them off at the ceiling, then putting it on wheels, but having it lock into place and when im downstairs take the locks out and push it out of the way.
Click to expand...


Especially if this is the only way in or out of the basement, what you're talking about here is extremely dangerous and actually illegal. Should a fire or medical emergency arise and the stairs are not in place, you or someone you care about can easily get trapped.
 
take a picture for us if you can....some points:

this will greatly depend on your local codes, but the likely answer is no although having an alternate means of egress may help (walk out?).

i wouldnt *risk* anything with this because if you would happen to have an accident (fire) and a you and your friends family die because you couldnt escape it would be no good.

I am a home-building/home-improvment junkie, trying to re-engineer something like this is a waste, you would be better off (cheaper, functional) figuring a place to move the stairs....you *may* be able to simply flip-flop them and point them towards the boiler area, check that out first (no change would be needed to the entry point from house....remember you can use a couple of twists if you have the celing height for landings.

Consider a spiral staircase....ugly as sin, but they take up no space (and you must have alternate way in/out for furniture).

Pay 50 bucks to architect or contractor to give you an hour of their time to look at pictures/the place to see if any solution exists.

Worst case is not so bad, pick a new spot upstairs to be the new entrance to the basement! If you get lucky with no electrical/structural/plumbing in way, it could be a weekend job!
 
Hello, I am a lic finish carpenter and have built something like what you want, I know exactly what you are talking about, it will not be legal to code but who gives a shit. What you want is exactly what is used in stores to retrieve merchandise that is overflowed all the way on top like in Walmart, etc and you can move to other half of basement. Can it be made? Absolutley, all you need is some lumber (2x4,2x6) screws, bolts, etc and your good to go, you will also need some commercial casters and a rubber bump stop so you can keep it in place and is safer to some degree.
Good Luck, if your not up to the task, you could always higher someone to build it, its not that hard though to do, I did it once but my trade is building kitchens.
 
central staircases are often structural elements.. if its in the middle and you have no posts.. I guarantee you it is carrying load..

what you propose might be possible if money was no object.. it would cost a small fortune in either steel beams and or microlams ..

not to mention the engineers signature just to get the building permit..

I don't mean to rain on your parade.. just trying to be realistic..
 
its not supporting anything i have floor joists and no posts in the basement. just where the stairs go down the floor joists are spread wider apart and the stairs go in between them.
 
ha ha heeee heee

ok I knew one day my experience would benefit some one else.I
had the same problem.I will post some pics tomorrow night on how
I solved it .A few people have been to my house and can tell ya
I basically cut the stairs and added a base and support and put
wheels on the bottom so they role away.Almost like stairs that
roll up to board a plane :grin: One other way was to hinge them
and add a garage door opener to make them pull up and back
down .
 
thats what i was thinking of doing, they would fit perfectly into the space between the floor joists. i was think a couple small electric motors or something, but the wheels sound easier.
 
I don't have any better ideas than those suggested already, but I would suggest that you consult with your city inspector before spending a bunch of time and money on this project. If the staircase you build is not up to code, you may not be able to count your basement as living space if/when you decide to sell the home, since it would be more like an attic-type access. I would suggest building something that could be easily converted into a standard, fixed staircase in the event that you do decide to sell.

Either that or put in a spiral staircase... or a fire pole. ;)

Good luck,
Aaron
 
Not trying to squash your dream but

There are a few ways to get around your problem with the stair steps. The bottom line is that in your 13' wide area the largest table that will fit comfortably without using a stubby stick is a 7' table. Seem like alot of work for a barbox in the basement. I could do a drawing for you to show you if you like.

Kevin
 
that is why i would want to move the stairs out of the way since if i could move them over when playing down there i could have up to about 25 ft of space. making the overall space for the pool room 28X25
 
down the road

Code is one thing to consider; although many homeowners do not abide by it, contractors must.

Keep in mind that any system you come up with, you need to have a plan to reverse it should you try to sell the house. Code must be met before putting the house on the market.
 
I think you may have bigger issues in the future if you do something that is not to code. You may be denied homeowners insurance, and it may be near impossible to resell the home later, as an inspector should pick up on the code violation, and you may be required to fix it before the sale could go through. Whatever you do, if it is not to code, you should consider the ease of getting it back to code and the cost of that change as well.

I might consider something like a track with rolling stairs similar to some libraries. You can simply roll them out of the way when you want to shoot. You will also want to seriously consider, if you use any type of roll away system, the danger of someone opening the door and falling through the opening like you hear people do with elevator shafts.
 
Maybe I'm just not seeing the picture, but how bout one of those spiral
staircases? I think the metal ones can be like 5 feet in diameter. I've also
been in a house that had a regular set of stairs on one side of the base-
ment and a spiral set on the other. Just a thought.
 
jcrack_corn said:
Consider a spiral staircase....ugly as sin, but they take up no space (and you must have alternate way in/out for furniture)...
Click to expand...

I have the same issue, I want 2 tables in the basement (billiard + pool) and I actually have both. But the room isn't big enough with that damn staircase!

A prefab spiral can be had for $1500ish. My wife does not like the idea, though there is a basement door.

Can I really have only a billiard table at home??????? I doo not know.
 
Seems if you put a landing in, half-way down the stairs, then turned the remainder of steps 90 degrees to, it would solve your problem, assuming you have enough ceiling height.
 
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