Off Grid Living: Retractable Stairs Part 2

We finished the pulley system for the retractable stairs.

[@JoffreyVerkadeNietVanDeKoekjes]

I'm about to do a similar stairs project to my loft in my house and your video has some very useful information I was after. I appreciate showing us your attempts and failures on how to connect the contra weight to the stairs etc. Thank you very much!!

[@Downeastwaves]

That is so clever!! Excellent job, thanks for sharing.

[@diversifiedacreshomestead102]

Well done brother. My dad did these in his shop. He had to put a latch to hold it up as a safety because his weight came loose and about broke his neck.

[@alandoherty9966]

That's the difference between standard and bespoke give me bespoke every time great job the amount of pleasure over the years awesome.

[@salmonhunter7414]

Great job I am going to steal your idea for my mezzanine stairs. Thanks for sharing.

[@CrookedWoodsFamilyOrchard]

They turned out fantastic

[@cntslesfabrication]

You did a awesome job with this keep up the great work

[@bradjohnson906]

Awesome job!

[@floydferguson5366]

Great video!

[@wrenw7951]

Very cool man! Still think it woukd be cool to see the weight moving in the wall but ether way still looks cool seeing the pulleys and cable moving everything.

[@mandbhomestead]

Great job on the stairs. Looks great and functions well. Thanks for sharing

[@MountainRiverRunner]

Very intuitive 👍🏻

[@ronhart4166]

Suggestion. You may want to fab a steel box for your weight box. Wood expansion may cause your box to stick. Turned out great though. Smart move with going with the straight cable system instead of springs. #NOsag

[@thegreatoutdoors3822]

Looking good! Harbor freight has metal ammo cans for around 15 bucks.

[@justinmills8084]

Cool great job

[@jamesharless5357]

Nice job!

[@rob8057]

Use a 4 inch PVC pipe in the wall and make a weight that will fit inside it. The weight will travel in the pipe and the cable will be in the pipe. Then you can insulate the wall and lessen the chance for hang ups. You could use a steel pipe to hold the weight.

[@metalmicky]

Yes I’m going down that road to,

[@ryanmacewen511]

Awesome job sir! Looking for ideas. Have 11 ft ceiling in garage. 2 X 6 trusswork overhead. Thank you for sharing.

[@beachlife1411]

Kool stuff

[@KodyKimani]

thats brilliant

[@tammyfinch5469]

Clever!

[@keithparady2594]

Good job on that

[@usedtobecool6874]

very cool sir

[@TheUserid82]

Adding some guide wheels to the weight box can help it move inside the space and some clear acrylic over that space would let you see it working and give you easy access if something breaks. Figure you have the drywall or plywood up to the stud on ether side of that space then the plastic screwed in to spacers to match the finished wall thickness so you can unscrew it to access if needed. If you have to many problems in the future with the weight box can also go with a hand cranked winch as long as it works in both directions. In the future don't forget that there is a way to get more rope/cable out of a short lift/fall by including a tackle block to the mix. Yes it changes the lift capacity but that can be figured out with math or finding a online calculator.

[@joedance14]

A “hand cranked winch” is meant for moving a horizontal load such as a stuck vehicle, or loading a boat onto a trailer. They are NOT considered safe for overhead lifting. A hoist would be the appropriate tool. Chain hoists, steel cable hoists and rope hoists are available. Be safe!

[@TheUserid82]

@@joedance14 go look at the build rather then letting the imagination run wild with safety violations.

[@joedance14]

@@TheUserid82 Please, such a knee jerk reaction. Not everyone is a “safety nazi”, seeing imaginary safety violations at every turn. Some safety issues are very real. Read manufacturers’ specifications and study some basic engineering. It is far better - safer, more economical, more reliable, etc. - to develop a good plan and get it right. Make any necessary adjustments to the plan as early in the project life cycle as possible. Late changes are MUCH more costly. The difference could prevent serious damage, injuries or operating problems down the road. Thanks for the question.

[@colinblankenship2401]

good job

[@Spaddog]

Who are the fourteen ppl that would give this a thumbs-down??? what a group of morons. This is what you call good ol' engineering on the fly...great work for sure...

[@PalimpsestProd]

Nice job. Add drawer slides on the weight box?

[@joedance14]

Just watched again and noticed that the ends of the wire bail supporting the box are only secured by twists - some kind of cable clamps might be worthwhile.

[@JDKvideos]

I was just thinking about doing something like this with the staircase to the upstairs of the cabin I am going to have built. The upstairs is only for when we have company so why not get the stairs out of the way??? Looks Good!

[@bustedwagonranch4546]

JDK Thanks. Good luck with your stair project

[@joedance14]

Real nice work. It would be nice if you could shed more light on the cable and pulley configuration. I could not quite make out the setup. Thanks.

[@liquidluck8594]

On the angle iron hinge, I'm looking to attach my stairs to my loft near the middle. I will not have another piece of wood on the side like you have here. Will this setup still work or do you need that extra support?

[@beckyzega9652]

Does anyone sell this as a kit?

[@adrielrowley]

Well done, I certainly think Thomas Jefferson approve.

[@DEWW]

You can eliminate your videos being so dark if you remove the white background. For instance at 1:07 the darkroom is overshadowed by the white truck in the white snow, if you turn the camera toward the other way your scene will be more visible. That is a phenomenal staircase

[@densopimentel8049]

O Brasil dos comunistas do atraso Nunca que se encontra esses assessórios Parabéns