Understair storage?

[Doug71]

A customer wants to incorporate some shoe storage in the bottom few steps of their staircase and have seen the video below , the other option I've suggested is converting a couple of the risers into drawers.

It's a bit of a squeaky staircase in a 1970's house, the staircase needs a bit of attention (stop the squeaking) so now would be the perfect time to do it.

The video does look fun but the drawers might be a bit more sensible, anybody done similar or got any other ideas?

 

[robgul]

Lots of reno jobs on YT have incorporate drawers and/or cupboards in the side of a staircase (assuming the side of the rise is open and not between 2 walls) - I have seen a staircase at a friend's house with a a couple of risers with drawers - not brilliant as the drawers are quite shallow and the apertures affect the structural strength of the staircase.

 

[Kayen]

The riser is usually grooved into the underside of one tread and fixed into the back of the tread below. If you turn the riser into a drawer I don't see how the unsupported tread won't flex. I'd be interested in finding out how this isn't a problem.

 

[Blackswanwood]

The idea in the video looks much safer to me than using drawers. With drawers I would anticipate one being not quite closed properly and someone descending the stairs tripping on it.

 

[Dabop]

The riser is usually grooved into the underside of one tread and fixed into the back of the tread below. If you turn the riser into a drawer I don't see how the unsupported tread won't flex. I'd be interested in finding out how this isn't a problem.

Common in 'tiny homes' and it's not even a new idea, my uncles terrace house in Sydney had drawers in the stairs- built around the end of the 1800's!!!! (we only discovered them when he had the carpeting on the stairs replaced!!! they obviously hadn't been opened in years...)

The treads with drawers under them were noticeably thicker than the rest of them so I think they allowed for that (plus in the closed position, the drawer 'front' becomes a riser support if there is any deflection of the tread above...)

 

[Doug71]

The house in question has a very small entrance hall which is the width of the stairs by about 1.8m long so it would be handy to use the space under the stairs to get rid of the pile of shoes and trainers that many of us end up with just inside the front door. The underneath of the stairs can be accessed but it's by a door in another room and the very bottom of the stairs is generally a dead space anyway.

I was thinking about some kind of angle iron under the treads to strengthen them if we went down the drawer route but obviously the less height you lose the better.

@Blackswanwood I guess anything you do to a staircase which has the potential to be left open is an accident waiting to happen so I might be best giving the job a miss.........although now I'm thinking maybe a kind of large pull out drawer under just the bottom tread which is somehow self closing

 

[Blackswanwood]

@Blackswanwood I guess anything you do to a staircase which has the potential to be left open is an accident waiting to happen so I might be best giving the job a miss.........although now I'm thinking maybe a kind of large pull out drawer under just the bottom tread which is somehow self closing

I agree Doug but I personally think a drawer left open an inch (possibly unintentionally as something has jammed the self closing mechanism) is much more of a hazard than the idea in the video. It would hard to spot for anyone descending the stairs, we expect stairs to be uniform, a heel will catch the drawer, momentum will push the drawer open and it’s a trip to A&E.

Perhaps I’m overthinking it!

 

[robgul]

I agree Doug but I personally think a drawer left open an inch (possibly unintentionally as something has jammed the self closing mechanism) is much more of a hazard than the idea in the video. It would hard to spot for anyone descending the stairs, we expect stairs to be uniform, a heel will catch the drawer, momentum will push the drawer open and it’s a trip to A&E.

Perhaps I’m overthinking it!

Not overthinking - surprisingly a variance of as little as 3 or 4mm in the stair riser is noticeable.

 

[HOJ]

I might be best giving the job a miss

I'm all for taking on challenging projects, but maybe this is a step too far..

Not sure how it would work, with liability issues if they go flat on their faces.