Stairs thinking, winders & platform alternatives

We’ve gotten a lot of feedback about the proposed spiral stairs.  Here’s a good summary:


http://www.build-home-building-house.com/stair_types.html

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Winders wrap around a space, but they don’t have landings.    They save almost as much space as a spiral, but they are more likely to meet building codes as a primary access to the floors.   I know this complicates the floor structure, but it might be worth it.

Winders

This is a double L stair design with small platforms in the corners to make turns.  They take up more space than Spirals or the Winders shown below... but they are well accepted.

Platforms

Here’s some examples of winders, both virtual and real.

This design takes up more space than a spiral stair, but it seems safer and more acceptable to aging legs.  The space in the middle can be used for what?  Daylighting?  Desk?  Storage?

Flying Spiral

Here’s an example where the treads would be connected to a tube that defines the space

After months of discussions, here is a plan view of a Spiral Winder design.  It seems to fit the floorplan well and could probably be retrofitted with a chair lift for our old age. 

Spiral Winder design, 6.26.11