Turn on the attic lights when the stairs come down.

[beelzerob]

Ya, that'd work. About the only reason I haven't gone for this is because were I to cut the hole myself, it'd only be 2 ft wide, as I'm not about to cut into the truss. The builder said they could come back and fashion a wider hole for me, but oh well...I shoulda thought a little ahead on that. At least I thought ahead enough to put the OSB flooring up in the storage area before they drywalled the garage ceiling!

 

[tmbrown97]

I know - I'd never pay that price... but I've wasted a couple of nights dreaming up how to hook up that winch that Roussell posted to a tray that'll lift evenly. This is a loft over my entire garage - and would make my life 10,000x easier when the wife makes me stuff things up there. I have 4ft between stringers - plenty of room (and part of why I don't go up there - only the wife).

 

[sic0048]

I would think using a different kind of motor that turned a metal pole would be easier for a large lift like that. Very similar to the commercial design where you can have two wires wrapped around the pole and they unwind or wind at the same rate so the two sides of the platform raise and lower at the same rate.

This type of motor turning a pole is also used for boat lifts, so you can definitely get something in your desired weight range.

Something like this except instead of a sling, you build a platform.

Which by the way is a 3000lb boat lift for sale here for $1260 - about the same price as that garage unit (and that was the first unit I found using google - no idea how it compares price wise to it's peers). Kinda make you wonder.......

 

[jeffehrl]

Actually, there is one of the battery powered LED lights that goes on if it senses light and off when it doesn't. Meant for closets. Sold by Bed Bath and Beyond. This has to be the simplest solution. They come in packs of three. They throw off a fair amount of light, especially if you use all three. I'm guessing that the batteries would last quite a while. You could also just velcro a flashlight to the stairs!

 

[beelzerob]

A battery powered light that comes on when it senses light?? What do you have to do to get them to turn off, cover it with a coffee can?

Besides, it is too late!! My door switch arrived from smarthome a few days ago. Now I can happily put it on a shelf and forget about this whole thing. woohoo, I love taking care of ideas like this!

I was somewhat surprised that the wires for this switch were so small. It says they're rated for something like 10 amps at 120v....which since it's only powering 2 bulbs, that should be plenty safe...but I was still expecting something a little more heavy duty. the 2 connections for the wires are awful close to each other too. guess I just have to be careful not to bend them accidentally, and provide stress relief on the cables.

 

[Jax]

I know this is a little late... but I thought I'd toss this out there anyway.

I used "BetterSwitch" switches in all of my closets. They are magnet activated and code compliant to hook up to household wiring. Put the BetterSwitch into the J-box where the paddle switch is currently and run a small, low voltage wire to a magnet sensor that looks exactly like a window alarm sensor.

In my experience the plungers wear out and get sticky (stick "On", stick "Off") over time.

Highly recommended.

(www.betterswitch.com)

 

[beelzerob]

Well, a clever idea. But I guess I'll try the mechanical plunger first...since I already have it, and it's about 1/3 the price of the magnet method. thanks for the suggestion, though.