Egress

[Morticia]

Deck for coffee, exterior spiral stairs for egress. Small sign noting your $500 pet cleaning fee..

The "box"" with folding ladder would be a LOT less expensive than the spiral staircase and still look good.
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True- I guess my thought was that some guests would still prefer the permanent private entrance and that a narrow pre-assembled spiral would fit into the existing footprint, be less inviting to theft, and not too challenging to install.
If it goes no stairs, then some kind of emergency egress like you suggest is much less costly.
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"Wide loads" and large suitcases have difficulties with spiral staircases. A friend has one IN his house to access their room - he regrets it.
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"Wide loads" and large suitcases have difficulties with spiral staircases. A friend has one IN his house to access their room - he regrets it.

That has been another issue. We have had a very large woman and her very large husband on the stairs and telling me they didn't feel safe. I had to stand on them with them as they tried to show me why. I nearly threw up. Nothing in this house can handle that sort of weight, I mean, yes of course it can, but we are not going to push it! (and on that off topic "if you provide KING sized beds, you may have some KING SIZED guests" you can quote me on that one. Super sized, may be a good term. Some people are tall and some people are big, sometimes they have children and they grow up to be supersized.

Okay to be clear - not asking about what sort of stairs, I am asking about GETTING RID OF THE STAIRS altogether, and yes it could prob be called a balcony. DH keeps calling it a deck as that is what it is from a builder's perspective, so it is throwing me.

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So I am sayin' keep the stairs
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So I am sayin' keep the stairs

funny after reading your tag line on your signature! haha
The vote is not here, there is no poll. I forgot how herding cats the forum is, i have been off my horse for a while. DH said what did they say "I said they are now talking about the type of stairs..."
So DO ANY MORE OF YOU HAVE A SECOND STAIRWAY ON YOUR 2nd FLOOR (vs an emergency ladder or roofline to crawl out on)? Or NO 2nd Stairway?
I got yes from Beach, and No from Breakfast Diva. (Thank you ladies)
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We have 2 second floor bedrooms with no egress other than through the door of the bedroom. We have never been challenged on this set up but I am nervous from time to time...it's a long way down. Neither room has a balcony but at one point I toyed with the idea of installing a juliet balcony and rope ladder for emergencies.
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We have 2 second floor bedrooms with no egress other than through the door of the bedroom. We have never been challenged on this set up but I am nervous from time to time...it's a long way down. Neither room has a balcony but at one point I toyed with the idea of installing a juliet balcony and rope ladder for emergencies.

But is there access to a roof? In other words, they want a way to get away from the fire. Not a simple or easy way, but if you were desperate could you climb out and clamber up onto the roof?
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When I was doing the research for our solution to the Fire Codes, I believe it was Montana that just specified a window size as the requirement. I e-mailed the Fire Marshal there saying what kind of ladder was required as I did not see a ladder mentions. The reply was that they figures people would jump - a possible broken leg would be preferred to burning. My thought at the time was "HUH???"
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When I was doing the research for our solution to the Fire Codes, I believe it was Montana that just specified a window size as the requirement. I e-mailed the Fire Marshal there saying what kind of ladder was required as I did not see a ladder mentions. The reply was that they figures people would jump - a possible broken leg would be preferred to burning. My thought at the time was "HUH???"

I totally agree with the fire marshal. Expecting a guest to remember there is a ladder in the closet, how to unfold it, open the window, attach the ladder properly, climb out the window backwards, find the rungs of the ladder while a fire alarm is going off and your spouse is screaming or child is crying is too much to expect.
Think about the agility levels of most of the guests we get. At least my guests.
The majority of people caught in a fire situation, or other emergency, try to escape the way they came in. That means the first place they will try is the door. In the dark, in a smoky situation they won't think about the window until the door proves to be the wrong solution.
(This is why all the airlines say the exit may be behind you. They know everyone is facing forward and going to try to escape thru that front door.)
These ladders work more for a family situation where the family actually practices how to use the ladder. And continues to practice frequently.
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I totally agree with the fire marshal. Expecting a guest to remember there is a ladder in the closet, how to unfold it, open the window, attach the ladder properly, climb out the window backwards, find the rungs of the ladder while a fire alarm is going off and your spouse is screaming or child is crying is too much to expect.

Let me quote from the starfish story:
I noticed a small boy approaching me on the beach. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
Likewise, as I am someone who could easily manage all the steps necessary to save myself with a means of egress, I'd appreciate having it available. Those who cannot figure it out must fend for themselves as best they can.
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As if to be a lesson for everyone the fire alarm went off at 4am at the hotel l'm at. You'll all be proud to know I went for the door first, not the window. Because I came in thru the door.
You'll also all be proud to know that in a hotel that is probably 75% full I was the first person outside waiting for the fire Dept. Absolutely the first. And it was minutes before there was any noticeable crowd.
Gomez stopped to tie his shoes I was barefoot. Thankfully it didn't snow last night.
I failed to check the door before I opened it however. So I would have fried had there been a fire on my floor outside my door. I did sniff for smoke before I bolted for the stairs.
Now back to bed. False alarm. Night all.
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...I was the first person outside waiting for the fire Dept. Absolutely the first. And it was minutes before there was any noticeable crowd...

Most people's first assumption is, false alarm. And they're almost always right.
Almost.
Glad you got out fast, just in case. Just feel that door for heat next time. Of course, they say smoke kills more people than flame.
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I figured, later on, if there was fire outside the door the metal door handle would have let me know. Didn't see smoke and I looked for it before I opened the door.
Also figured the metal floor lamp might have broken the window if need be. Not sure I could have swung the office chair hard enough.
All is well now.