Hanging shelves above a staircase... any ideas?

[hooverwheelaway]

So .. we're getting ready to undertake our next project... Swapping the guest bedroom with one of the vacuum rooms. Another leg of this project will be to hang one shelf, about 18' long, upstairs in the "Hoover Hallway" -- upon which Constellations will be displayed.

Hallway & Constellations:

Here are the shelves that we're gonna get, from the Container Store.
Imagine them not in a kitchen. Only one row of them. And most ipmortantly, Constellations on them:

Half of the hallway upstairs will be no problem, because there's floor where we need to put the ladder.
It's the other half of the upstairs, where the staircase is in the way, and we can't *safely* get up to the corner where the ceiling meets the wall, where we're going to need to hang brackets to support the shelves.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Grr... Pushed post before I meant to.

Half of the hallway upstairs will be no problem, because there's floor where we need to put the ladder.
It's the other half of the upstairs, where the staircase is in the way, and we can't *safely* get up to the corner
where the ceiling meets the wall, where we're going to need to hang brackets to support the shelves.

We tried this--but neither of us want to risk our lives that much to walk across this. Even then, we'd still need to get up to the ceiling.

Any ideas or suggestions as to how we can *safely* pull this off, properly, without getting seriously hurt?

 

[turboace]

Hey Fred,

I had a similar issue, not installing shelves, but washing window that was on the wall where you want to put the shelf. You must get a little giant ladder with the accesory below. Its just amazing. I got mine at Costco and it totally solves a lot of ladder problems around the house.

On the shelves, are those elfa shelf system? I found that closet maid, available at home depot, was just about the same at a fracton of the cost. Check it out.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Good Idea, Andy!

Thanks for the tip.. I had thought that it would be fabulous if we could extend one of the stairs upward, so the ladder could just sit on the staircase.

Do you recall how much you paid for your ladder? We have a ladder which is very similar, but I don't think has that accessory available.

They are the elfa shelves--I saw the ClosetMaid ones at Hope Depot. Because it's going to be displaying part of my collection, I want to get the ones that were most visually pleasing.
I did like the ClosetMaid ones, but they looked too much like closet organizer shelves (even in the silver color). The elfa shelves are a bit more streamlined, in my opinion.

 

[turboace]

I got my ladder at Costco for $179. The extender is $39. I think it looks like it might work on the one end of your ladder that doesnt have the long base on it. It just clamps around the leg if I remember correctly.

Agreed on the quality of the efla shelves. Very nice!

 

[mattl]

Ideas...

Well, I've done it several ways. I put stacked moldings over a stairs just like yours. I used a shorter ladder and set it so it rested on the wall over the stairs and was braced up against the wall across from the stairs, the angle was such that I just missed the railing. Granted it's a weird angle to work from but very solid, the ladder is not going to move, the trick is to find the right sized ladder.

Other option is to simply build a box to put on the step below the one leg of the ladder that is too short so as to bring it up to the level of the next step. The box can be made very solid if one side extends down to the next step. If you have a saw and scrap lumber around it's a 10 minute project.

Looking forward to seeing the finished project.

 

[cycla-fabric]

You could take down the railing for the time being, and lay down some wooden planks over the stairwell. They are solid and pretty sturdy and hold a lot of weight. This will allow you to get the shelving supports screwed into the beams.

Doug

 

[tomturbomatic]

An easier EFLA shelving system to use just requires anchoring the top rail to the wall. The standards slide onto the rail and you mount the brackets into them. We used the system for turning a large closet at my mom's assisted living apt. into a very roomy pantry.

 

[bernina]

We have a very similar Krause ladder, and have used it on st

I'm pretty sure that's what the ladder is designed for.

I went to their website and searched for the term "Combi System" and found this, but you may want to contact Krause for specific instructions on how to set it up for your particular needs...

Hope this helps!

KRAUSE-Systems

As a specialist in access technology and related occupational safety technology, KRAUSE offers innovative products with many application advantages

www.krause-systems.co.uk

 

[jmirawm]

Be Careful

Whatever you do be careful......

 

[circlew]

Tool Rental

You may be able to get the stairway ladder at a tool rental place for much less than to buy, depending of course on how long you'll be using it.

 

[toggleswitch2]

How about tying the rungs of the ladder to the wrought-iron railing and throwing some cut-to-fit plywood shees over the ladder? This will achieve a safer platform from which to work.

 

[spankomatic]

Plywood sheets over the ladder came to my mind also... That was after I ruled out hanging a "sling" from the ceiling. I also thought of renting a "bounce" house and blowing it up in the stair well. Multiple minds can be amazing. Good luck!

Jim

 

[jamiel]

Love the sling

 

[sudsmaster]

The issue I can see with this plan is how on earth will you access the collection once it's up on the wall of the stairwell?

Offhand I'd say leave that area alone, put the collection somewhere else where it can more safely be accessed.

If you think that big blank wall is boring, hand a tapestry or mural something that you'll rarely need to access. Or hire someone to paint pictures of the constellation collection on the wall.

 

[sudsmaster]

PS-I don't think you'd ever see someone contemplating such an exhibit in California. I could visualize all those Constellations coming bouncing down the stairs, hitting the heads of those who are fleeing the structure during an earthquake ;-)...

 

[petek]

And don't forget once they're up there you're gonna have to occasionally dust them so you might want that better ladder. Our Sears had them on sale a while back...I wished i'd gotten one myself now.

 

[hooverwheelaway]

Thought of that!

How on earth will you access the collection once it's up on the wall of the stairwell?

The shelves will stick out from the wall about 18". The part that hangs over the staircase--I'll be able to lean slightly forward over the railing and grab ahold of the Constellation if I need to take it down for use or dusting. Or I'll devise some sort of hook that will allow me to grab a cleaner and slide it forward. I'm not planning on putting anything but the cleaners up on the shelf.

Also, they make Swiffer dusters with extensions.

 

[norgeway]

FRED!!!!!

You and Robert can get away with climbing on that ladder thing,my big fat 225 pounds would probably end up in the basement!!! be careful...