We tend to be greedy when it comes to storage: The more space we get, the more we want. When my wife and I built a two-car-plus garage, we wanted to maximize the space. We ordered trusses with a base of 2x6s so that we could build an attic floor and store all sorts of stuff above the cars.

However, accessing that glorious space gave us pause. A traditional ladder was not a safe option, nor was a fold-down ladder like the one we use to access our house attic. (Correction: The one I use — the thing’s so rickety that everyone in the family scatters when I ask for help carrying stuff up or down.)

So I was thrilled when I saw Safe Stairway at the National Hardware Show in May. This rock solid aluminum-and-steel stairway with railing (a second railing is available as an option) raises and lowers electronically at the turn of a key switch. It’s long enough to allow for a less steep angle than traditional attic ladders, so your climb with a heavy load (as much as 500 pounds, depending on the model) won’t be a white-knuckle ascent.

Installation
Designed to fit within a standard 24-in. truss system (with cross-headers added by the customer), the stairway is available in a variety of lengths and can be transported in a station wagon (photo 1). Consult the manufacturer to determine what size you need for your space.

Assembling and installing the stairway takes a few hours. Here are the basic steps:

Step 1: Cut the opening and add blocking
Once you’ve determined the size, cut the opening and reinforce it with blocking so that the stairway will be adequately supported. The fully raised stairway protrudes as much as 8 in. above the floor joist, so we had to position the 11-ft.-8-1/2-in. opening far enough away from the roof by the edge of the garage so that the stairway would fit. The 25-in.-high railing was not a problem because it’s positioned toward the top of the stairway, where there’s more headroom. Be sure to run electrical wires high over the stairway opening so that you can fully raise the stairway.

In our installation, 3/4-in. tongue-in-groove plywood is at the right of the staircase and an opening beneath a skylight is on the left. To mount the staircase on a level surface, we nailed a 3/4-in. furring strip to the top of the floor joist on the left side (photo 2).

Step 2: Assemble the parts
Lay out the sections of the stairway and join them with connector plates, which you secure to bolts with nuts (photo 3). Leveling screws are a nice feature on the bottom where the stairway touches the landing surface (photo 4). If the surface is uneven, turn the screws to lengthen or shorten them, which ensures that the stairway is not wobbly when fully lowered.

Step 3: Add the drive lever
Attach the drive lever, a 28-in. steel arm that bolts to the top stair section. This lever raises and lowers the stairway.

Step 4: Fasten the side cover plates
Use a drill/driver to screw cover plates to both sides of the stairway (photo 5). Brackets give you to option to hang drywall on each side of the stairway’s underside. Our garage interior remains unfinished for now, but I like this option. In the meantime, I may put up panels of aluminum diamond-tread plate.

Step 5: Position the stairway top in the opening
You’ll need help for this step. Raise the top end (the end with the drive lever) and temporarily tie it to the truss with a strong rope (photo 6).

Step 6: Position the drive bracket, actuator and nondrive bracket
The actuator pulls and pushes the drive lever to open and close the stairway. One end of the actuator connects to the drive lever with a bolt and lock pin; the other end links to the driven pivot bracket, which is secured to the drive bracket. Connecting the actuator at both ends may require manually moving the actuator rod in or out using the manual override screw on the actuator body (photo 7). Don’t screw the drive bracket to the floor joist at this point.

Attach the nondrive bracket on the opposite side of the stairway from the much larger drive bracket. Both brackets have pivot axles (photo 8). Insert these axles into the pivot holes at the top of the stairway. Don’t screw these brackets to the floor joist or plywood yet.

Step 7: Position the stairway bottom in the opening
Raise the bottom of the stairway and temporarily tie it to the truss with a strong rope. Move the stairway so there’s about a 1/2-in. gap between the top and the blocking; this ensures that the top tread won’t rub while you raise and lower the stairway (photo 9). With this unit, the gap between the blocking and the bottom is 2 in. Once you have the unit properly positioned, screw the nondrive bracket to the floor plywood and screw the drive bracket to the floor joist.

Step 8: Install the railing
This requires more nuts and bolts (photo 10). There is an option for two railings, which would work for an attic that you enter straight-on. I nixed the right railing because we enter the attic by stepping to the right from the stairway.

Step 9: Run electrical wiring
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for electrical hookup (photo 11). The stairway is powered by a 12-volt electrical system with a backup battery (photo 12) in case of power loss.

Once the wiring is complete, you can raise and lower the stairway by turning a wall switch. Always make sure the area beneath and around the stairway is clear before you turn the switch.

Garage envy
We’ve used the Safe Stairway a lot, which testifies to its convenience. We dread wrestling with the fold-down ladder to the house attic, and boxes pile up in the hallway beneath because no one wants to hassle with it. That’s not the case here. Turn a switch and the unit lowers. The angle of ascent is about 45 degrees, which makes for a much safer climb (often with hefty loads) than the 68- to 75-degree (or steeper) climb with standard attic ladders.

When neighbors stop by and congratulate us on the garage, the star feature is always the Safe Stairway. It’ll be a selling point when we decide to move. One neighbor admitted to “garage envy,” mostly because this unit opens up a world of easy storage.

Impressive as the Safe Stairway is, it isn’t perfect. The electrical wiring could be housed rather than tacked here and there, and the backup battery may be an unnecessary expense. (You typically don’t need attic access during a power outage.) Also, the stairway is larger and costlier than other attic-access units. The manufacturer, Creative Products of Wisconsin, is a new company that is trying hard and is determined to make good. We’re confident it will continue to make refinements that reduce the product’s size and cost. When the time comes to replace the fold-down ladder for the house attic, we’ll be ordering another Safe Stairway.