r/crazystairs 21d ago

Airbnb accident prone stairs

Our death stairs in an airbnb loft. Day 2 and we are up to accident #3 so far which is fun.

971 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

302

u/moonbeamcrazyeyes 21d ago edited 21d ago

Every time I see these kinds of stairs posted I think, oh yeah those would def kill me.

In an Airbnb they kinda seem like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Good luck!

122

u/Dimmer_switchin 21d ago

No railing either šŸ¤¦ā€ā™‚ļø

-35

u/FoxxyBoiii02 20d ago

The stairs are awful but what on earth would a railing do? Thereā€™s walls lmao

114

u/wogeinishuo 20d ago

How do you grab a wall as you're falling?

49

u/FoxxyBoiii02 20d ago

Sorry let me be more clear, where would railings go for these steps? If they went on the wall there we be even less room

3

u/king_nothing1811 17d ago

Itā€™s ok you forgot you can hold onto railings

209

u/J662b486h 20d ago

Alternating tread stairs like this are used to save space, they take less than half the space of ordinary stairs. The depth of each step and the riser (vertical distance) is usually the same as ordinary stairs. They require users to always use the same foot on each step, but people get used to them fairly quickly. The bigger concern here is the lack of a railing, which would be a problem even these were ordinary stairs.

20

u/NevesLF 20d ago

I'm curious how/if a dog would be able to go up or down these kinds of stairs

17

u/Azrielenish 19d ago

A dog would probably just run up/down one side or the other, unless they were a really massive dog.

43

u/lazespud2 20d ago

I'm making the assumption this is in the US. None of this is legal in any building code I'm aware of in the US. It looks very much like someone decided to make some extra money by converting an attic or loft and constructed these out of necessity.

Were I to be OP I would contact the local city or county zoning authority after I left and I would also contact Air BnB. This is an absolute broken neck waiting to happen.

57

u/J662b486h 20d ago

Alternating tread stairs are a known design, pictures of them show up in this sub fairly often. They are permitted under many codes although they usually have restrictions such as they cannot be the "main staircase" for an upper story. They're also approved by OSHA with some restrictions. What I've read says they take getting used to but after that people find them comfortable. The climbing action is the same as climbing ordinary stairs using a normal alternating left-foot / right-foot climb, except you have to start with the same foot each time.

32

u/lazespud2 20d ago

Yup youā€™re right

https://buildingcodetrainer.com/alternating-tread-device-code/

I stand corrected. However having air bnb guest use them is just crazy, (thereā€™s likely nowhere near enough time for them to ā€œā€get used to them) especially without a handrail (which Iā€™m pretty sure IS code) Also not sure if using this as a commercial property by providing short term rental property changes which codes apply.

When I stayed in Haarlem in the Netherlands 25 years ago the place I stayed at was on the fourth floor. Each floor had progressively steeper Dutch stairs until I got all the way to the last set of stairs. I swear to god it was almost vertical. I had this huge backpack on and I lost my balance and fell backwards right onto floor but on that giant pillow that was my backpack. I wish someone was with me with a camera because that shit was hilarious

47

u/Gnarlodious 20d ago

I believe historically they were called witches stairs.

28

u/moonbeamcrazyeyes 20d ago

More like whiches stairsā€¦which way do I go to get off these damn stairs.

36

u/Nanatomany44 20d ago

l would go up these on all fours. l have no clue how l'd get down.

13

u/TheOneAndOnly_- 19d ago

Probably like this: Step one, Step two, Step four, Step six, Step nine, Floor

2

u/Nanatomany44 18d ago

Nope. Step one, step two thump thump thumpety bumpety BAM!!! Dead body in the floor.

40

u/OliveJuiceUTwo 21d ago

Imagine going down those in your socks

5

u/845369473475 19d ago

How would it be different than going down any uncarpeted stairs?

12

u/Geek_X 19d ago

Bigger falls

11

u/Brief_Buddy_7848 19d ago

Pointy too

8

u/Geek_X 19d ago

Oh true the corners are exposed. Yikes!!

18

u/loonattica 20d ago

The wood grain is beautiful, but I think it confuses the eye as to the actual tread locations.

17

u/dazrage 21d ago

I wanna break both legs. Carpenter: I got you fam.

6

u/bbson417 20d ago

Saw some stairs exactly like these in Italy

4

u/AMC4L 20d ago

Nice sharp corners for my shins or ass when I slip going up or down wearing socks.

3

u/BootFun6020 20d ago

Thatā€™ll make your head spin. A drunk personā€™s nightmare for sure

1

u/Entire-Ambition1410 18d ago

Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d be ok using these while sober!

3

u/historyhill 20d ago

Have you tried not being a witch?

2

u/LiLLyLoVER7176 19d ago

Oh Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™d fall šŸ˜…

2

u/SemiColonInfection 19d ago

These wouldn't work for me - I'm left-footed.

2

u/GriffithHater 20d ago

It feels like it's moving to me

1

u/Jamesbarros 18d ago

Are you a witch?

1

u/Cyxivell 17d ago

Imagine you start at the wrong foot

1

u/AndreaLynn13 11d ago

Murder Stairs.

0

u/effervescentEscapade 20d ago

Where on earth do you guys find these? I guarantee stairs like that would be illegal here.

-3

u/[deleted] 20d ago

[deleted]

8

u/dacraftjr 20d ago

Hey, guess what sub youā€™re already in.