[Michael Thomas]

OK, I see a lot of strange things at home inspections, but this hinged tread really had me scratching my head... nothing whatsoever out of the ordinary under these stairs, anyone want to take a guess what this was for?

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Home Inspection: "A business with illogically high liability, slim profit margins and limited economies of scale. An incredibly diverse, multi-disciplined consulting service, delivered under difficult in-field circumstances, before a hostile audience in an impossibly short time frame, requiring the production of an extraordinarily detailed technical report, almost instantly, without benefit of research facilities or resources." - Alan Carson

 

[Tom Struble]

sneaky milkman? Thing from the Addams family lives there?

 

[Knucklez]

hidden compartment for valuables?

hide the liquor from the kids?

Knucklez

 

[Willie T]

Maybe it's a poor attempt at something like this?

 

[bob22]

light switch for the stairs?

 

[Chagres]

I'll be darned if I know, but it reminds me of a time I had a contract to finish up a lot of "owner-attempted-and-started" drywall and texture work. The house was really old and the lady showed me a compartment in the wall with a lock. I said wow, what did you find in it? She said, "We haven't taken the time to try to get in there."

The curiosity would have killed me!

LINK REMOVEDhttp://www.icanfixupmyhome.com

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Burglar trap
At nite left open a would be thief will trip

It was probably boxed in at one point

 

[ratherbefishin']

Hey, now I know where that paranoid doper college roommate ended up! The paint job looks like something he would've done, too!:laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Those cut-outs weaken the stairs too

I have a switch cut into the side of a kitchen cabinet - no box
It is fed from a plug in splice/tap into an outlet inside another cabinet

 

[hayewe farm]

Saw a similar set up once. It was to create and opening in the stairs to pull a well pipe that was under the stairs.

 

[Wildie]

I had a Coachman 5th wheel trailer with an upstairs bedroom.
It has a hinged tread, similar to this and we used it for hidden storage!
As we traveled across the Canada/US border a lot, it was a great place to hide the whiskey from Canada customs.

 

[Bruiser]

Laundry shoot

Make shift Laundry Shoot

 

[raam]

^^^ That's what I was thinking !