Faulty Stairs

Faulty Stairs

Thank you for allowing me to view your home. I was very much impressed with the structural soundness of the home and the updates that have been done; however, the stairs are not within code and are very dangerous. I propose the list price for your house is too high. Your house is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath house with 9 acres. The price listed is a fair price except for the faulty stairs. The stairs will need updating to current state standards to make them safe for use; therefore, the price of the house needs to be reduced.

According to John Coughlin of Coughlin Construction, the stairs are too steep, too narrow, and the tread is too short for any person or child to use safely. Stairs must be at least 36 inches wide, and the tread should be 10 inches. Since these stairs are less than these measurements, it has created a hazard. During the year, 1996 there was 984,000 people who experienced injuries related to home stairs or steps ("Stair Safety: Causes and Prevention of Residential Stair Injuries") and they were on stairs that were within standards.

You said during my tour that the prior owners build the stairs. The prior owner should have known that there were standards for stair however; he did not construct the stairs within state standards. Here are some examples: stairs should be no more than a 50-degree angle and no less than 30 degrees; the current stairs are a 70-degree angle. Stairs must be at least 36 inches wide these are only 30 inches. Stairs should have tread of at least 10 inches these are only 6 inches. According to “Stair Safety: Causes and Prevention of Residential Stair Injuries” treads less than 9 inches wide result in the greatest number of missteps. With these stairs as they are, that is a long way to fall if you have a misstep. One standard that is correct is the headroom. Headroom must be at least 6 feet 8 inches since the floor above is open the length