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This document assists in inspecting attic stairs, folding or pull-down attic stairs and ladders, and attic stairway railings, landings, & treads, and related conditions for safety and proper construction.

A stair inspection checklist provided in this document outlines information to collect during a field investigation of the condition of an interior or exterior stairway for safety defects. Having investigated cases of severe injury related to falls and railing collapses we developed this field data collection checklist. We also include references to key documents on building codes and stair and railing safety. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Attic Stair Inspection & Safety Concerns

We've had several reports of severe injury involving collapsing attic stairs, including involving home inspectors as well as occupants. Attic & Basement stair defects can be grouped by the stair type:

Conventional or home-made attic stairways - hazards and defects

Defective & Unsafe Attic Folding Stairs or Pull-Down Attic Stairs

Watch for these common folding attic stair or ladder defects:

• Attic pull down stair spring and hinge bent, loose, broken - risk breaking spring or hinge parts striking users pulling down the stairs (See photo at left). Check the pull down stair arm and hinge parts for
  • Bent stair arm parts
  • Loose rivets securing the hinged pull-down attic stair ladder to the hinge point on the stair frame (photo at left)
  • Spring popping off of top of the spring carrier (photo at left)
  • Spring arm loose, not remaining parallel to its hinge mount (photo at above right)

Catalog of Common Stair & Railing Specifications, Stair & Rail Defects & Trip Hazards

Stairway, Railing, Landing Basic Dimensions & Rules

• Attic stairs are often non-standard, steep, missing railings; attic folding stairs or pull-down stairs have special requirements for securing, fitting, etc.
• Balusters & Railing Enclosures (vertical posts comprising the barrier in guards and railings)
• Basement stairs and basement walkout stair covers
• Checklist & Form for stair inspections is provided here
• Codes: building codes for stair construction are similar but not identical, as we compare in some notes
• Exterior stairs may present additional non-standard tripping hazards
• Fire stopping is required on interior stairs in some constructions
• Guards (railings on landings and open hallways, porches, screened porches, balconies that are more than 30" above floors or grade)
• Lighting: shall be provided over stairs, with switches at top and bottom
• Railings: required on any run of any continuous run of steps comprising 4 or more risers
• Stairway headroom, height, width width and stair dimension specifications
• Stairway landings are required depending on stair total height or in other conditions
• Step riser specifications for height, angle, etc.
• Step tread specifications for width, depth, uniformity, & examples of defects
• Stair tread nose requirement on some treads, shape and angle requirements

Separate specifications are provided for circular stairs and winder stairs

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• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia^® Website
• InspectAPedia Bookstore lists recommended books, organized by topic & available for purchase. Most of our articles also include a list of recommended books for the specific article topic as well as other references, and information sources.
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• Additional technical contributors & reference sources for this article are listed below.

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

  Attic stairs
  Balusters & Railing Enclosures
  Basement Stairs & Walkout Covers
  Books on Stair Construction
  Checklist for Stair Inspections
  Codes for Stairs
  Exterior stairs
  Fire Stopping for Stairways
  Guardrails on Balconies & Landings
  Lighting over Stairs
  Railings on Stairways
  Ramps, access
  Stair dimensions: width height &c
  Stairway headroom
  Stairway landings
  Step riser dimensions
  Step stringer defects
  Step tread dimensions
  Stair tread nose dimensions
  Winder stairs

• Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for permission to use illustrations from their publication, The Illustrated Home which illustrates construction details and building components. Carson Dunlop provides home inspection education, publications, report writing materials, and home inspection services. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
• The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code.
• American Stairways, Inc, Memphis TN, 901-795-9200

Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair

• Our recommended books about building design, inspection, and repair, and about indoor environment testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore.
• "The Elimination of Unsafe Guardrails, a Progress Report," Elliott O. Stephenson, Building Standards, March-April 1993
• "Are Functional Handrails Within Our Grasp" Jake Pauls, Building Standards, January-February 1991
• Slips, Trips, Missteps and Their Consequences, Second Edition, Gary M. Bakken, H. Harvey Cohen,A. S. Hyde, Jon R. Abele, ISBN-13: 978-1-933264-01-1 or ISBN 10: 1-933264-01-2, available from the publisher, Lawyers ^ Judges Publishing Company,Inc., www.lawyersandjudges.com sales@lawyersandjudges.com and also from the InspectAPedia Bookstore (Amazon.com)
• The Stairway Manufacturers' Association, (877) 500-5759, provides a pictorial guide to the stair and railing portion of the International Residential Code.
• The following stair books and other books on stair history, design, and architecture can be purchased at our Amazon-Supported InspectAPedia Bookstore
• Steps and Stairways, Cleo Baldon & Ib Melchior, Rizzoli, 1989.
• The Staircase: History and Theories, John Templar, MIT Press 1995
• The Staircase (two volumes), John Templar, Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1992.
• "The Dimensions of Stairs", J. M. Fitch et al., Scientific American, October 1974.
• ...

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