Smallest footprint stairs I have found

[loaderman]

http://www.eestairs.com/en/36_1m2_by_ee ... ent_stairs).htm

[rowerwet]

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/ ... stair.aspx
popular mechanics had an article about how to built these years ago, my dad used it to build a staircase that fit into a small closet to get to the attic.
a comparison of different stairs
http://smallscalehomes.blogspot.com/201 ... small.html

[bdosborn]

Fixed the link:

Staircase Linky

Bruce

[loaderman]

Thanks for fixing the link!

Alternating tread take up a little over 1/2 the length of a regular stair.
Circular stairs take up a square or round area about 6' by 6'.

This design only needs 39" by 39"'.

[rebapuck]

I've seen pictures of boat cabins with the alternating stairs. I thought they looked neat and figured they saved space. But seeing the drawing in the link, I wonder about the space saving. Why can the treads not go all the way across at the same spacing? It would eliminate the correct foot start.

[angib]

The point about alternating tread stairs is that, once you are used to them, you can go down them facing forwards, unlike a ladder type.

One of the nicest ideas to steal from boatbuilding is to make a steep vertical staircase (so can only be used facing into the stairs) with a drawer built in between each stair. Here's an example at normal steepness:

[rebapuck]

Now I see. The alternating step allows the full tread of the lower step to be exposed.