Powered Ladder Gives Easy Access To Loft
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When James Howle, Jr. was buying steel to build a new shop, the salesman pointed out that it wouldn't cost much more to make the building higher, so he did. Now that extra space provides low cost storage for his sideline welding and fabrication business.
"I thought it would be great to have a storage loft above the shop, but I needed a way to get up to it without blocking entrances or taking up valuable floor space," recalls Howle.
His solution was a drop-down stairway. With two small children, Howle wanted to make sure the stairs were both safe to climb and also secure when out of the way.
Howle built a dropdown stairway on the ground beginning with 5-in. channel iron for side rails. Stair treads are extruded steel with a diamond-shaped gripping surface, available in 10 and 20-ft. lengths.
"I welded angle iron clips to each side of the stair rails to attach and support the stair treads," explains Howle.
The completed stairway is 17 ft. in length and numbers 15 steps. He attached the upper end of it to the all-steel loft with a piano hinge made by welding short pieces of 3/4-in. pipe to the loft and the upper end of the stairway. Then he drove a steel rod through the pieces of pipe to form a hinge.
To lift the stairs, he welded steel plates to either side of the second step. Holes in the plates accept a short length of pipe with a pad eye welded at its center point. Keys in the ends of the pipe make it easy to remove the pipe when the stairway is down. An electric hoist attached to a roof beam powers a cable that raises the stairs.
"I have a double key switch for controlling the hoist, so I don't have to worry about it being accidentally lowered when kids are in the way," says Howle.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James Howle, Jr., Night Owl Welding & Fabrication, 609 Montclare Rd., Darlington, S.C. 29540 (ph 843 395-1678).
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Powered Ladder Gives Easy Access To Loft FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 28-4-27 When James Howle, Jr. was buying steel to build a new shop, the salesman pointed out that it wouldn't cost much more to make the building higher, so he did. Now that extra space provides low cost storage for his sideline welding and fabrication business.
"I thought it would be great to have a storage loft above the shop, but I needed a way to get up to it without blocking entrances or taking up valuable floor space," recalls Howle.
His solution was a drop-down stairway. With two small children, Howle wanted to make sure the stairs were both safe to climb and also secure when out of the way.
Howle built a dropdown stairway on the ground beginning with 5-in. channel iron for side rails. Stair treads are extruded steel with a diamond-shaped gripping surface, available in 10 and 20-ft. lengths.
"I welded angle iron clips to each side of the stair rails to attach and support the stair treads," explains Howle.
The completed stairway is 17 ft. in length and numbers 15 steps. He attached the upper end of it to the all-steel loft with a piano hinge made by welding short pieces of 3/4-in. pipe to the loft and the upper end of the stairway. Then he drove a steel rod through the pieces of pipe to form a hinge.
To lift the stairs, he welded steel plates to either side of the second step. Holes in the plates accept a short length of pipe with a pad eye welded at its center point. Keys in the ends of the pipe make it easy to remove the pipe when the stairway is down. An electric hoist attached to a roof beam powers a cable that raises the stairs.
"I have a double key switch for controlling the hoist, so I don't have to worry about it being accidentally lowered when kids are in the way," says Howle.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, James Howle, Jr., Night Owl Welding & Fabrication, 609 Montclare Rd., Darlington, S.C. 29540 (ph 843 395-1678).
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