It was a Friday afternoon in August of 2000. I don’t recall grabbing the attic ladder, but when I came to my senses my hands had a death grip on both sides of it, which along with the attic door and the door frame, was lying on top of me. My eyes were a fixed on the gaping rectangular hole in the ceiling where the attic ladder, the attic door, and the door frame used to be installed.

As I tried to get up, I could hear the home owner and the appraiser running up the stairs toward me. While I was trying to assess the damage to the ceiling and walls around us, they were trying to assess the damage to me. I was very lucky to have only received a few scratches. The attic ladder and door frame had gouged the surrounding walls in places as the assembly came out of the ceiling, sending me crashing to the floor. The attic pull down ladder was on the second floor, with a guard rail to my right. Another foot or two to the right and I would have landed on top of rail and been subject to falling to the first floor below (whew!). That realization made me shake a little.

Our visual examination of the now ragged attic door assembly revealed that two finishing nails were present on both sides of the attic door frame. All four were located near the top end where the attic ladder attaches to the frame. On one side the finishing nails extended about two and half inches through the door frame. On the other side the nails extended about one inch through the door frame. No other nails were present. The ladder had a stamp posted on it stating that the door frame should be secured on all four sides with sixteen penny nails. The appraiser pointed at the finishing nails and said: “We call this a latent defect.”

For those not familiar with nails a little education is in order. The finishing nails to which I am referring are thinner nails used to secure wood trim and molding around doors, at the base of walls, etc. Their narrow heads allow them to be recessed below the wood so that they can be puttied and painted over (remaining invisible). Common sixteen penny nails (16d) are heavier nails with broad heads, and are about 3 ½ inches long. The idiot (to use a professional term) that installed this attic ladder assembly used improperly sized and weaker nails, as well as used an insufficient number. As the home owner realized that the pull down attic ladder was improperly installed and was an obvious safety hazard. Her demeanor changed from concern for me to hot anger toward her builder. She commented something about her “baby” using “those stairs” to store and retrieve the family Christmas decorations from the attic. “Baby” was her nine year old and weighed less than ninety pounds. Mrs. Home owner proceeded to get on the phone and hunt down the builder. I feel that I should point out that “her builder” had changed careers shortly after building her house.

As I was driving home later that afternoon I replayed the event in my mind. I was not totally blameless. When I first climbed the attic ladder, I stopped near the top and examined the attic framing. It was at this point that I heard a “pop”. I quickly descended the attic ladder and inspected each section for defects. I even noted that the weight rating was 300 pounds (more than I my weighed, thank you). I then climbed the attic ladder and entered the attic. It was upon my leaving the attic that the finishing nails failed and the door frame fell out of the ceiling. If I had examined where the attic door frame was connected to the ceiling framing, I would have noticed the absence of visible nails. I would have also noticed if the trim around the door was pulling from the ceiling.

Since that August 2000 afternoon, I am careful to verify that the attic door frame is secured on all four sides with nails larger than finishing nails. Common sixteen penny nails (16d) should be used. While black drywall screws are frequently used, they are reported as not being as strong as nails and are not recommended to be used in this capacity. I also verify that the attic door frame is properly fitted to the rough opening in the ceiling. Shims should be used to fill gaps between the framing and the door structure before it is nailed to the framing. I have found a few other attic door assemblies that were loose and improperly secured in the ceiling. I have also found a few where the top brackets that connect the attic ladder to the door frame are missing nails and are loose.

If you have a pull down attic ladder in your home be sure to inspect it closely before it is used. Make sure that it is properly installed and make the necessary repairs before it is used again. Don’t come to your senses like I did, while lying in the floor with the attic door on top of you!