[_Ogre]

I see the old stringers on the floor, are you changing your stair pitch? Cuz if you're just updating with new wood I'd follow them. ½" overhang isn't much, you can increase your overhang to give the tread more depth, another ½" may be the difference between walkable vs sliding down on your butt. If the old routed side stringers are in good condition, I'd reuse them in a heartbeat.

Your ladder reminds me... We removed the stairs to the second story to refinish and tighten up. Refinished the stringers in place, treads and risers in the barn. Living in a house while remodeling has it's challenges. To get upstairs, 3 kids and the wifey would go to the basement and climb up my extension ladder to the second floor. I'm tall enough to step from the first floor to the ladder. Luckily it was only 5 days of that. Many of the wedges were loose, some had fallen out, because the stairs had plaster ceiling below them all the wedges were still there. Originally built in 1938 those stairs are still quality 👍

 

[_Ogre]

Unless you are over six feet tall that shouldn't be a problem. .

The women and children of my family are over 6ft. 😂
But we work with what we have. None of my 3 steps have 6ft of headroom vertical, one of the idiosyncrasies of living in a 150 yr old house. Can't say that I've ever smacked my head either.

 

[_Ogre]

Might put some padding on the headspace just in case. That can really knock you off your balance when you hit your head. I was walking through a customers attic onetime and someone put a collar tie just about eye level and I was looking down watching the rafters. When I hit that collar tie I ended up falling through their kitchen ceiling all the way to the floor. Fortunately I was suppose to remove the popcorn texture anyway so it wasn't that big of a deal.

In 25 years? Not sure I wanna worry about it
Like I said before, tall people rarely bump their heads. They're always on the lookout 😉

 

[_Ogre]

other than a smattering of city codes, there was no building code in michigan until 1973. i can trace my original house as far back as 1872. no building codes back then, the building survived or it didn't. making my stairs code would cut off the hallway above them.
as far as the op, his home is 1952, unless the house is in a city with codes that far back, anything goes, even if he rebuilds the stairs. i've asked why the op isn't copying the original stringers, that would be the correct way to grandfather them. creating a new set of steps not to current code, might be pushing the grandfather statute.

 

[_Ogre]

To the best of my knowledge every state has adopted the UCC, most in full. Some have made modifications for their particular environment.

for new construction, yes. but there is no law that requires old construction to be updated to the new code. or i'd be screwed

 

[_Ogre]

I'd have to look in my code book

please do. unless you know it as fact, don't tell the guy he needs to build it to current code. i realize your in canada, but down here taking of property is illegal. no old house is to current code in either country. codes change every couple of years, updating houses to the newest code would be cost prohibitive, you'd never be able to get a mortgage on any building. houses built up to the 70s have 2 wire plugs, narrow doors, steep stairs, balusters too wide; it's all legal. my house is ballooned framed, very dangerous in a fire. but it's legal.
new cars are built every year. adding air bags and crumple zones classic vehicles would cause a riot anywhere. nope we won't license your 2015 cuz it doesn't have rear camera?

 

[_Ogre]

Allow me to paraphrase my previous post for clarity:
In my area, replacements must be built to code as a matter of professional integrity.. I've not yet been able to locate a specific code requirement to satisfy your request.
Simply put, I offered up nothing to the original conversation, and also never implicitly stated that the op was required to rebuild his stairs to code.

professional integrity? you'd tell someone to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars based on what? your feelings? i'm a civil engineer, i am required to follow rules and codes, i've signed documents to that fact. if i told a client that they had to modify their home to bring the stairs up to code and they sued me, i'd be on the hook to pay that bill. any contractor would be on the hook.

For some items, you are correct. If you renovate an area and use the existing stairs where they are, even if not to code, you are ok. If you remove the stairs and install new ones, they must meet code. If you have a basement, then it does not have to meet code. If you renovate that basement and make bedrooms, then they must meet code, have fire egress windows, two means of exit, and smoke detection among other things

again, you are both offering up opinion and what you think is code. this is why simple electrical questions go off the rails in this forum. people offer up opinion as hard facts and then repeat that opinion as fact, when there are actual rules to follow.
as an electrical contractor i am required to know the code. ungrounded outlets are common in old houses, there is no code that requires you to upgrade the electrical to live in or sell a house. you are required to add gfic receptacles if you alter the wiring, like in a remodel, but no code requires me to tear into all the walls to upgrade to current code. believe it or not knob and tube wiring is still code. as are old stairs.
i agree that if you alter the design, like add bedrooms to a basement you need to meet updated egress and wiring requirements. but you have altered the design. just like a remodeled bathroom must meet new code. if you notice i've asked the op twice about the old stringer and received no reply.
there is also no code that requires anyone to gut their home and do structural changes when updating stairs. unless you can quote code, don't quote code. for me to rebuild my stairs to code would require deleting two bedrooms upstairs, losing 1/4 of my living room, adding a column in the center of living room and relocating the upstairs hall. i'd have to structurally rebuild my house, it would be less cost to tear it down and build new. tell me what code requires this.

 

[_Ogre]

awe come on jim! scare tactics? you'll be sued for everything you own? that's like saying you should check with your insurance company before taking your evening stroll.
the op stairs are built to code, my stairs are built to code, knob and tube wiring is built to code: just not current code. and no code requires you to update to current code.

 

[_Ogre]

never heard of poly-b, but have now. wow, what a disaster! no use in the states that i could see. i view pex with the same caution until it's proven another 20 years. i still plumb everything in tried and true copper. if the client demands pex, i'll run pex exposed in a basement, but never hidden in the walls.
some products are so bad that insurance won't cover them or resort to added premiums. i've never seen an inspector require replacement of a product or method that was code at the time. take aluminum wire, it's still code and in use today. most houses have aluminum wire in them, mostly in big circuits and from the meter base to panel. the 60 amp panel, if wired correctly, poses no hazard or safety issues, that is strictly a stupid insurance thing.

 

[_Ogre]

breakers protect wire. if wired correctly you can't overload the wire.
my shop has a 30 amp 12 breaker panel with one 240v 20a, four 120v 15a and four 120v 20a breakers, added up is 160 amps, but the 30a main breaker won't allow any more than 30 amp load on the wire. i'm always aware of the load i use out there and have never tripped a breaker, plus i still have room for 2 more breakers. 60 amp wire is probably good for double the amps if you figure in the safety factor. the problem comes in when people actually double the breaker size and are surprised when the insulation melt and starts a fire.
i have a 5200 watt, 21.67 amp, generator that runs my whole 200 amp, 48,000 watt, panel (no ac) if the power goes out. this includes a gas furnace, 3/4hp well pump, fridge and freezer. again, i can't overload any part of the circuit to the house. running my whole house 200 amp panel on a 21 amp generator sorta indicates how over wired and safe wiring in general can be.

 

[_Ogre]

total derail of the original thread, but the op has not been back.

30A is the shop subpanel, the generator has a 20A twistlock plug and i assume a 20A overload/breaker. so the house panel can run on a 20A generator. probably a slight overload if the 3/4hp well pump comes on when the furnace and a couple lights are on, but i trust the breakers to protect everything. the generator won't stall, it'll kick out the internal breaker if it gets overloaded. i do run the generator out in the barn, backfeeding my main panel from the shop subpanel. i don't switch on lights willy nilly all over the house, nor use the oven. i'm just happy to have heat and water if the power goes out.
30A shop panel kept me from installing a dc for years. i'm careful not to have the compressor on with the dc and i'll wait for the furnace to turn off before starting the dc. i did have to move the table saw power over to the other leg of the panel. i'm definitely maxed out with the dc on. led lighting helped a lot for loading a panel, it's a small draw compared to the old T12 fluorescents.