MICHELLE H. wrote:
Just looking for a little history info. and hoping that someone can
help. My friend is "House Hunting" and looking for a new home. I went
with her the other day, and looked at a house that she really liked. It
is a 2 bedroom ( possibly 3 ) Colonial home built in 1926 that is
completely renovated.


The thing that is "weird" about this house, is because it has a spiral
staircase right in the MIDDLE of the small living room that leads
upstairs to a finished attic or possible 3rd bedroom or rec. room/kids
play area.


But at the back of the house, on the other side of the kitchen, there is
another regular wooden staircase that also leads to the upstairs. This
staircase is only located about 30 feet from the metal spiral staircase
thats in the middle of the living room.


The house is only 936 sq. feet of living area, so why when building this
thing, would they need to put 2 staircases about 30 feet apart from one
another that both lead to the upstairs? Why have a regular wooden
staircase located at the back of the house, and then roughly 30 feet
away, have a metal spiral staircase right in the middle of the living
room!?


We are very curious about this? Can anyone please explain why the house
would have been built like this?

Like the other poster, I strongly suspect it wasn't built this way
originally. But, my guess would be it was the spiral staircase that was
added, not the rear one.

My guess for the "why" would be that it was Code requirement to have the
second exit for the upstairs when the major renovations were done to get
approved for possibly using the upstairs as sleeping space.

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