Safe room system for folding attic stair assembly

A method for installing a safe room system on a folding attic stair and door assembly, the safe room environment thereby established within an attic space, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing an attic system support frame and assembling the attic system support frame over the attic access opening within the attic space;
• providing a multi-part lift rod and assembling the multi-part lift rod;
• positioning one end of the assembled lift rod within a slide bracket on the attic system support frame;
• pivotally securing a second end of the assembled lift rod to an upper section of the folding attic stair and door assembly;
• providing a lift cord and securing a first end of the lift cord on a middle section of the folding attic stair and door assembly;
• providing a lowering cord and securing a first end of the lowering cord on a lower section of the folding attic stair and door assembly;
• and
• providing a lock mechanism and securing the lock mechanism on the folding attic stair and door assembly adjacent the attic access opening.

A method for utilizing a safe room system installed on a folding attic stair and door assembly, the method comprising the steps of:

• opening, unfolding, and lowering the folding attic stair and door assembly;
• grasping and removing a cord reel attached to the folding attic stair and door assembly and carrying the cord reel up into the attic space while ascending the attic stairs, allowing a lift cord to feed out from the cord reel;
• locking the cord reel and lifting on the lift cord, thereby raising a middle and a lower stair section of the folding attic stair and door assembly;
• stacking the middle and lower stair sections of the folding attic stair and door assembly on a top stair section positioned on an attic door panel;
• lifting the stacked stair sections and the attic door panel, using a lift rod and handle positioned on the attic door panel, thereby closing the attic access opening;
• locking the attic stair and door assembly in a closed position within the attic access opening thereby preventing access to the attic space from below;
• unwinding a lowering cord from the lower stair section of the folded attic stair and door assembly;
• securing a connection clip on the lowering cord to a connection ring on the lift cord;
• unlocking the attic stair and door assembly from its position within the attic access opening;
• holding the cord reel and directing the handle and lift rod downward, moving the stacked stair sections down and opening the attic access opening;
• pulling on the lift cord to rotate the middle stair section over and down off of the stack of stair sections;
• allowing the lower stair section to be pulled outward and open from the stack by the connected lowering cord;
• lowering the middle and lower stair sections to the floor surface by feeding out cord from the cord reel;
• descending the stairs carrying the cord reel and allowing the lift cord to feed back into the reel;
• placing the retracted cord reel back on the attachment surface on the middle stair section;
• removing the connection clip on the lowering cord from the connection ring on the lift cord;
• and
• looping the lowering cord back around the step on the lower stair section.