spiral staircase practicality?

[Philphine]

hello, i recently brought my first home and can't afford to do much to it yet, but i'm trying to get a plan together for when i can.

anyway, i'm wondering how practical a spiral staircase is if it's the only way to a second level. in this case a loft over the garage and the deck that surrounds it. i want the stairs to link a deck on the back of the house and the deck around the loft, but since i want to finish the loft someday, i'll need to move stuff like couches or refrigerators or other big bulky stuff up there on it.

dose anyone have one in their home? can it be used for hauling stuff up and down? thanks for any help.

 

[glennjanie]

Welcome Philphine:
My family lived with a spiral staircase for 10 years. Since it was only a 4' diameter there was no moving furniture of any size up or down on it. It was the space restriction rather than the load bearing ability; we passed larger items up to the windows (we had 36" X 48" sliders).
Spirals come in larger diameters and could be used to move furniture.
Glenn

 

[MN_Homebuilder]

Be careful when chosing what spiral staircase to install. A lot of these staircases won't meet building code. Talk to your local building inspector to find out what the minimum specs are for a spiral staircase in your area and use that when you go shopping.