Help! What's the deal with interior "convenience" stairs for a duplex.
I just purchased a duplex condo in Manhattan and the stairs to the upper level are in a poor position. (There is awkward 20″ ledge that runs the entire side of the stairs, leaving a lot of wasted space upstairs). The apt is in a loft building from 1900\. The stairs, which were added when the building went condo in the early 80s, are clearly not up to code (relatively steep rise, 26″ wide, and only about 6’3″ of clearance at the minimum). Since space is at a premium, I would prefer to have relatively narrow and steep stairs, but my architect says that if we move the stairs they need to be 100% up to code, which would take up a ton of space on both floors. However, since these are not egress stairs and are only “internal” stairs within my apt, I was under the impression that there was more wiggle room. In looking online, some resources seem to refer to these as “convenience” stairs and suggest that only public stairs, etc., need to meet the more stringent criteria. However, my architect and expediter have never heard of “convenience stairs”. Since the top floor bedroom is already very small, it would be a shame if we couldn’t be more creative with the stairs. Any experience or knowledge you might be able to share?
mzmisdacutljvesg
in Renovation 9 years and 2 months ago
5
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5 replies
c_w | 9 years and 2 months ago
Actually it confirms that it’s not filed as a habitable room although of course it is used as such. You still have a couple of options to pursue if you want to achieve the reconfiguration you have in mind; which if I understand correctly would involve a 20″ shift. I would only caution that the reason for the current location of the stairs may involve structural framing and it may become too costly/complicated to change. Feel free to email if you’d like more feedback, contact info. is in my user profile.
mzmisdacutljvesg | 9 years and 2 months ago
Thanks resident2! This is very interesting. The upper floor was actually added onto the original roof when the building was converted in the 1980s. The sponsor divided this new top level between the four apartments below and gave each apt its own internal staircase with upstairs space (approx 10×15) and small bathroom. Interestingly, the CO refers to the main level as “7th Floor” and the description of use as “Class A Apts”. However, the top level is listed as “7th Mezz” and the use as “Duplexes.” (Also, there is a dash for both the “No. of Habitable Rooms” and “Zoning Use Group” for the Mezannine level.) I wonder if that might be helpful here.
resident2 | 9 years and 2 months ago
When the building was converted from Commercial to residential the upstairs space was probably filed as storage space. Just because someone has added a full bathroom and has been using it as a bedroom, does not make it a legal bedroom. Before your architect runs up too many billable hours designing a stair case etc., have them go over the historical records to see if that space can actually be used as a bedroom and as such have a better staircase connecting the two floors. Otherwise you may be stopped in your tracks at the Plan Examiners stage after you have run up a lot of time & expense. If it was a legal bedroom it would not have been able to have only a “convenience” staircase.
mzmisdacutljvesg | 9 years and 2 months ago
Thanks AnArchitect, unfortunately, the second floor is a small bedroom/bathroom so it couldn’t really be classified as storage. Oh well!
AnArchitect | 9 years and 2 months ago
If the space you are accessing can be reasonably identified as storage, you may be able to identify the stairs as convenience stairs that serve to access the space only. This is more commonly seen in commercial applications, where storage below grade, or up in loft spaces can be justified by use of such a stair type. The other option, of course, is to ask your architect to design an architecturally interesting staircase that accomodates other program. Best luck! AnArchitect – Agencie Architecture + Engineering [www.agenciegroup.com](http://www.agenciegroup.com)