Attic Stairs Regulations
And has a rough opening of 225-In.
Attic stairs regulations. There are several solutions. Meet a minimum tread depth of 9 inches. While this is fine for an attic that isnt living space you may want something thats more stable that can hold up to heavy foot traffic.
8 - 100943 Article 1 BUILDING CODE MANUAL Page 2 of 3. This wood attic ladder fits ceiling heights of 775-Ft to 1025-Ft. For general safety reasons there are specific criteria that a stair should be designed to.
If you already have stairs in place it is important to check that they qualify. The requirements are that staircases must. Provide a minimum of 68 of headroom the entire walking length of the stairs.
Vertical clearance above any stair tread to any overhead obstruction is at least 6 feet 8 inches 203 cm as measured from the leading edge of the tread. There must be at least 2m head clearance. If your access to attic will be just occasional if the attic space is not very large nor tall if youll not expect to store large or heavy items there then a pull-down stair with an extension to reach the necessary 10 ft.
Standard rough openings for typical attic pull-down stairs 22-12 x 54 for the smallest pull-down stairway 25 x 54 - most-common small width pull-down attic stair 25-12 x 64 - often used for a longer pull-down ladder attic access from a higher than standard ceiling. All ladder safety systems shall meet the design requirements of the ladders which they serve See subsection c. Ladder safety systems may be used on tower water tank and chimney ladders over 20 feet in unbroken length in lieu of cage protection.
This would normally be formed by cutting away some of the existing ceiling joists between the existing habitable areas of the home and the loft. The 14 plywood panel at most attic ladders does not meet that standard. If the only access is by a pull-down stairs or by ladder through a scuttle then it is absolutely not a finished living space.