Home Plans And Home Designs - Installing outside stairs
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Mike47
03-12-02, 12:02 PM
My fiance has a small house, she had a dormer installed about 2 yrs. ago When they installed it they put a new door out the back. But they didn't install outside stairs per building code. Now we have to install them but where the door is located leaves little room for them to fall. I have to build a landing and then have to figure out to turn and drop them Where can I find out to go about doing this We want to do this ourselves to save money but i'm a beginer carpenter HELP!!!!!!
Jack the Contractor
03-14-02, 07:40 PM
The very first thing you must do is go to your local building permit department. They will have the dimensions you need.
dreslough
11-07-04, 10:33 AM
I just moved into a house with a similar situation -- there is a door in the side of the house, but no stairs to it.
The tricky thing: The door is 12 feet above the ground. So I need to a build a small platform (e.g. 4' x 4') that is 12 feet off the ground, and then build stairs to it that run along the side of the building.
I'm pretty confident building the stairs, once I get the platform built (and there are lots of online plans for just stairs). But I don't know how to go about building the platform.
I assume I would use four pressure-treated 4x4s -- twenty-footers if I can find them, and stick them into sonotube-formed concrete footings. I need about 16 feet of each post to be above ground (a 12' high platform, plus 3-4' to nail railings). Does this make sense? I live in Connecticut and I'm not sure how deep the footings need to go, and/or how far into the ground the posts themselves need to go?
Thanks!
Clay
The tricky thing: The door is 12 feet above the ground. So I need to a build a small platform (e.g. 4' x 4') that is 12 feet off the ground, and then build stairs to it that run along the side of the building.
I'm pretty confident building the stairs, once I get the platform built (and there are lots of online plans for just stairs). But I don't know how to go about building the platform.
I assume I would use four pressure-treated 4x4s -- twenty-footers if I can find them, and stick them into sonotube-formed concrete footings. I need about 16 feet of each post to be above ground (a 12' high platform, plus 3-4' to nail railings). Does this make sense? I live in Connecticut and I'm not sure how deep the footings need to go, and/or how far into the ground the posts themselves need to go?
Thanks!
Clay
Doug Aleshire
11-07-04, 11:49 AM
Clay,
First things first. Location of the stair in regards to property setbacks. Unsure why a door was placed but no stairs as this makes me wonder if there is a setback issue. I am assuming that this is on the side of the home of which you have a neighbor?
You need to call the City and determine your setback requirements and to specificially ask about stairs. Reason being is they will allow up to 3 feet out from the framed structure but over that wold be a variance requestand/or engineering seal required. So first thing is to call about a "Permit" which you will need and then determine what you can or cannot do in your situation.
The structural part of the platform is no different than building a deck. I recently had to design a detached garage for a client. The issue with the City, even though the stair was on the interior of the property line, I could not go over 3 feet on the landing nor the balcony as it would increase the overall lot coverage.
I did a small 3D - is this helpful?
http://dougaphs.smugmug.com/gallery/278494
First things first. Location of the stair in regards to property setbacks. Unsure why a door was placed but no stairs as this makes me wonder if there is a setback issue. I am assuming that this is on the side of the home of which you have a neighbor?
You need to call the City and determine your setback requirements and to specificially ask about stairs. Reason being is they will allow up to 3 feet out from the framed structure but over that wold be a variance requestand/or engineering seal required. So first thing is to call about a "Permit" which you will need and then determine what you can or cannot do in your situation.
The structural part of the platform is no different than building a deck. I recently had to design a detached garage for a client. The issue with the City, even though the stair was on the interior of the property line, I could not go over 3 feet on the landing nor the balcony as it would increase the overall lot coverage.
I did a small 3D - is this helpful?
http://dougaphs.smugmug.com/gallery/278494