"Theo Markettos" wrote in message
...
Bit of a long shot this one, but...

I'm looking at designing a spiral staircase (for a new-build). For
various
reasons it needs to be possible to separate the floors the staircase
links,
so I'm thinking of having a trapdoor that fits into the gap in the ceiling
formed by the staircase. The door would be hinged and counterweighted, on
a
pulley controlled by a handle somewhere, tight fitting and fairly heavy
(for
sound and thermal insulation), with a bolt to lock it. It wouldn't be
moved
very often (once a week maybe), otherwise staying fixed open or fixed
closed.

Obviously such a thing could be built from scratch, but does anything like
this already exist? Is there anyone who specialises in the building of
trapdoors or similar, who'd be able to give me advice on whether this is a
silly idea or not, or suppliers of components?

I staying in a B&B last year that had something similar. Instead of a spiral
staircase, the stairs were straight, but they hinged at the top end. When
up, the underside of the staircase formed the part of the trapdoor you could
see from the ceiling below. When down, there was an entire staircase.

The family slept upstairs during the summer when guests were around, but
during the off-season months, the staircase was left up, with half the house
effectively sealed off until it was needed.

I know that is not exactly what you are looking for, but if this kind of
system is common enough, it may be worthwhile looking into, in case it gives
you any ideas.

-- JJ