Expert: Mike Fortunato - 2/22/2011

Question
QUESTION: Would you recommend using railroad ties as stairs in a commercial property?

ANSWER: I would be inclined to answer no, with the caveat that they may be appropriate in certain specific settings.

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QUESTION: What are the appropriate and specific settings for the use of railroad ties for stairs?

Answer
There are no specific requirements applicable to railroad tie stairs as far as I know, but I imagine the resulting stairs would need to conform to minimum building code requirements which existed at the time they were installed. Generic building codes can be found online, but note that they do tend to change over time so the current codes may not be applicable to something built long ago. Also, each municipality can have their own specific codes as well (check with you local building department).