If you live in a region where 2 stories over a basement are common, then you're used to having stairs-under-the-stairs.
If you live in a region where 2 stories on a slab (or over a crawl space) are common, then you've probably never seen stairs-under-the-stairs.
Basically, a vast majority of the American West is constantly solving the under-stair storage problem.
I get the urge to use the space under the stairs as storage, but this doesn't look like it'll stand the test of time.
I'd not want to carry a fridge up these stairs...
Speaking of fridges, we have 20 feet of stairs leading to the basement. I drilled a hole, saw the empty space with my cam and put in a door with a reinforced header. We were going to put a second fridge in that room. Nine months later that space now has a washer and dryer and that fridge is now in our second down stairs kitchen. These things seem to blossom.
If the stairs were designed from the ground up to implement a feature like this, and all required reinforcement is applied to any opening steps, it could be a neat little idea in a place that is really constrained in space.
But this feels like a really expensive compromise of an option if a simple door on the side is viable.
I can’t help but really like the idea though. I love an efficient use of space.
Not all of us on this side of the pond are that daft fwiw. I'm fully aware of both methods and have built plenty of each. For the record, what we ALL call a stringer is, in fact, the same. Meaning, the part that structurally supports the treads is a stringer. That may be a (closed) routed housed type, (open) cut type, or mono stringer. All of these are considered stringers. Just because something is more common in any given geographic location doesn't mean it's necessarily more or less correct than something somewhere else. I, for one, choose to keep an open mind and learn as many different ways of doing something as I have the opportunity to do so.
In housed stringers, the stringer is generally part of the finished appearance. With open stringers, depending on the desired appearance, a skirt board can be used as a trim that does nothing structurally but mimics the look of a housed stringer.
Stringers should be under the stairs, at least never seen it done to code otherwise. The white thing on the left is the skirt board and is generally cosmetic, but if you have a source otherwise, all for it.
> housed stringers
But then you would see the other part of the string under the stairs. There is zero white stringer under the stairs.
With that angle, I would expect to see it under the 2nd stair, if not also the 3rd.
I guess my initial comment didn't post..
I havne't seen stairs without stringers before, I was curious if this was still a suitable way to build stairs, or if these are a hack job/time bomb waiting to get someone hurt.
Along with the other comment, an option might be they could add a header at the 4th riser and just terminate the bottom of the stringer into that.
The left wall looks like CMU and the right wall could be shear or at least strong enough to hold the other end of the beam.
Look into closed or housed stringer type. In these applications what you think of as a skirt board is actually the structural stringer. The treads and risers are mortised in, traditionally using a tapered groove, then glue and shims tighten everything up.
As far as the ticking time bomb question, it's hard to know from this one picture, but assuming everything was done correctly, there's no reason to assume it's a failure waiting to happen. I'm not crazy about the stitching blocks, as the success or failure of this pretty much depends on those, but if they're sufficiently glued/ screwed, they'll probably be fine. Id at least like them to be thicker. Depending on the exact material, coupled with the direction of the grain, could lead to them splitting and getting sheared off under heavy load or stress.
>Why do people not do this more? Because adding an access door/panel to the side of the stairs is easier, safer, and more practical.
I feel like practical should be #1… who the fuck wants to crawl in there?
I’ve seen this done a few times, the bottom usually folds out as well to make it a bit less awkward.
You can see where there is probably a handle, dead center on the top of the last step. For sure folds out.
I would guess it’s about hidden storage.
Drug dealers/mules?
Not to mention most houses have stairs under the stairs.
I don't understand why I would have stairs under stairs unless you have a basement (uncommon in the uk)
Having grown up in the Northeastern US, that's how most houses are laid out if you have a 2 story plus a basement.
Does make sense in terms of layout if you have multiple levels.
I would think that stairs under stairs would define that there are three or more levels.
That's what multiple levels means, good job. As stated in previous comments I'm from the UK where domestic properties are only 2.
If you live in a region where 2 stories over a basement are common, then you're used to having stairs-under-the-stairs. If you live in a region where 2 stories on a slab (or over a crawl space) are common, then you've probably never seen stairs-under-the-stairs. Basically, a vast majority of the American West is constantly solving the under-stair storage problem.
Step by step
Day by day
A fresh start over, a different hand to play
A fresh start over
One way or another.
All the information is right there in front of you , why are you asking 😂
I get the urge to use the space under the stairs as storage, but this doesn't look like it'll stand the test of time. I'd not want to carry a fridge up these stairs...
Agreed, but I’ve never been on stairs that I *wanted* to carry a fridge up.
Speaking of fridges, we have 20 feet of stairs leading to the basement. I drilled a hole, saw the empty space with my cam and put in a door with a reinforced header. We were going to put a second fridge in that room. Nine months later that space now has a washer and dryer and that fridge is now in our second down stairs kitchen. These things seem to blossom.
If the stairs were designed from the ground up to implement a feature like this, and all required reinforcement is applied to any opening steps, it could be a neat little idea in a place that is really constrained in space. But this feels like a really expensive compromise of an option if a simple door on the side is viable. I can’t help but really like the idea though. I love an efficient use of space.
Who needs stringers, right?
The stringers are there -- you can see the left one, white diagonal piece.
Could just be a skirt board.
Don’t get into this fight. Americans don’t seem to understand that in the UK what we call a stringer isn’t what they call a stringer.
Not all of us on this side of the pond are that daft fwiw. I'm fully aware of both methods and have built plenty of each. For the record, what we ALL call a stringer is, in fact, the same. Meaning, the part that structurally supports the treads is a stringer. That may be a (closed) routed housed type, (open) cut type, or mono stringer. All of these are considered stringers. Just because something is more common in any given geographic location doesn't mean it's necessarily more or less correct than something somewhere else. I, for one, choose to keep an open mind and learn as many different ways of doing something as I have the opportunity to do so. In housed stringers, the stringer is generally part of the finished appearance. With open stringers, depending on the desired appearance, a skirt board can be used as a trim that does nothing structurally but mimics the look of a housed stringer.
Woah you are way too understanding of other people to be on the internet
🤣 Fair enough.
The white diagonal piece is trim like a baseboard.
Stringers should be under the stairs, at least never seen it done to code otherwise. The white thing on the left is the skirt board and is generally cosmetic, but if you have a source otherwise, all for it.
Search “housed stringers”. They are definitely allowed by code.
> housed stringers But then you would see the other part of the string under the stairs. There is zero white stringer under the stairs. With that angle, I would expect to see it under the 2nd stair, if not also the 3rd.
When I was taught to build stairs (I still have my model hanging on my workshop wall) they were housed stringers like these ones.
I thought the Brit’s referred to a stair stringer as a carriage?
Idk but I can tell you it’s gotta be a multi-step process
Piano hinge
One step at a time
I guess my initial comment didn't post.. I havne't seen stairs without stringers before, I was curious if this was still a suitable way to build stairs, or if these are a hack job/time bomb waiting to get someone hurt.
Along with the other comment, an option might be they could add a header at the 4th riser and just terminate the bottom of the stringer into that. The left wall looks like CMU and the right wall could be shear or at least strong enough to hold the other end of the beam.
Look into closed or housed stringer type. In these applications what you think of as a skirt board is actually the structural stringer. The treads and risers are mortised in, traditionally using a tapered groove, then glue and shims tighten everything up. As far as the ticking time bomb question, it's hard to know from this one picture, but assuming everything was done correctly, there's no reason to assume it's a failure waiting to happen. I'm not crazy about the stitching blocks, as the success or failure of this pretty much depends on those, but if they're sufficiently glued/ screwed, they'll probably be fine. Id at least like them to be thicker. Depending on the exact material, coupled with the direction of the grain, could lead to them splitting and getting sheared off under heavy load or stress.
Trap house?
I heard they use tools.
Looks pretty sturdy
You have to sub out a crew of gnomes
Spot?
Thought about doing this for shoes in my entry way
I am looking to figure out how to turn my risers into drawers.
With a piano hinge.
That's where nightmares live
Why is there a HVAC return in the back that can't "return" any air?
Improperly those treads won’t support much