How This Old House replaces a worn attic pull-down stair and cuts the ladder to the floor

The stair no longer closed flush with the ceiling. One spring bulged, a bungee cord stood in for the spring on the other side, and the homeowner had to pull hard on a lever to shut it. Silva judged it not worth repairing. He bent the hinge arms to take the tension off the springs, sawed through the hinges and the nails holding the frame, and lowered the old unit out. The episode first aired on PBS in January 2016.

The replacement was a standard size and fit the existing opening. Silva left the old casing in place, lifted the new unit into the attic and set it down onto that trim, so the trim carried the weight while he centered it and screwed it to the framing from above. He kept the homeowner out from under the opening in case the unit dropped through.

Manufacturers leave the bottom stringer sections long so they can be cut to the floor. Silva unfolded the ladder with the lowest section still tucked under and skipped the tape, which reads wrong if it is not held in line with the stringer. He slid a stick down the stringer to the floor and marked it, used a scrap block to pick up the floor angle, and transferred both marks to the bottom section before cutting. Finished, the ladder landed flat on the floor. An insulating cover over the opening on the attic side keeps heat in during winter and hot attic air out in summer.

In the same episode, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey compares torches. A basic propane kit with a pencil tip handles small fittings such as ½-inch copper but struggles on larger pipe. A self-lighting tip costs about $10 more. MAPP gas burns about 15% hotter and suits bigger work with a wider tip, though too much heat on a small fitting makes the solder run out. Lead-free solders melt at higher temperatures and need the hotter flame, he said.