# How Many Stairs Are You Willing to Climb to Your Apartment? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 10, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883 "2013-08-10T18:01:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/21 "2013-08-11T06:19:38Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We live on the sixth floor and routinely walk up. It’s about the only exercise we get. I’d say that’s about the limit. If we were on the 7th floor, I might be taking the elevator. The comedian Jim Gaffigan was on _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_, talking about living in Manhattan with his wife and children. Five children. In a two-bedroom apartment. A _fifth-floor walk-up_ two-bedroom apartment. I can’t imagine that. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/22 "2013-08-11T07:34:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The comedian Jim Gaffigan was on _Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me_, talking about living in Manhattan with his wife and children. Five children. In a two-bedroom apartment. A _fifth-floor walk-up_ two-bedroom apartment. I can’t imagine that. We may walk up to our sixth-floor unit, but we do have an elevator if we ever feel like cheating. However, I stayed in a hotel in central Thailand’s Singburi province once for a few weeks that had five floors and no elevator. A hotel, mind you. And yes, they put me on the fifth floor. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/23 "2013-08-11T12:41:59Z")
In China the rule is that after 8 stories, your building has to have an elevator. So I’d say that’s about the limit. Incidentally, there are a lot of buildings in China that are exactly 8 stories. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/24 "2013-08-11T13:08:06Z")
I emailed this to the Daily Mail. This article [News Headlines | Today's UK & World News | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2388193/Uno-problemo-Construction-firm-builds-47-storey-skyscraper-Benidorm-forget-fit-lift.html) By Sarah Gordon and Steve Robson, PUBLISHED: 17:25 GMT, 9 August 2013 | UPDATED: 13:33 GMT, 10 August 2013 says The Daily Mail accept this uncritically and without question? Really? I believe this is based on this page [http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2013/07/20/actualidad/1374340685\_911593.html](http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2013/07/20/actualidad/1374340685_911593.html) which says nothing of the sort and your Daily Mail article is just a misunderstanding with some made-up reporting added. The article in Spanish reports mostly on the economic problems which have plagued the construction of those buildings and that when they are 83% completed the original architects have withdrawn from the project. Also some technical problems and it mentions, by the way and without going into any depth.This means the elevator shafts in the project would be adequate to serve a 20 story building but insufficient for a 47 story building. According to what sources or what regulations or calculations it does not say. Maybe this is just someone’s opinion. It does not say. It is not the focus of the article. It does not say or mean the elevators only reach the 20th floor. It does not say or mean anywhere that “They forgot to build a lift.”. It does not say anywhere anything like “The towers were originally designed to be only 20 floors high, but ambitious developers decided to double the scale of the project midway through.” which to anyone with a modicum of critical thinking sounds like highly implausible. Or do you really think you can more than double the height of a building just by adding floors above? This is rubbish. The reporters were clearly incompetent but where were the editors? There are a lot of credulous gits out there who will believe the most unlikely things of they read it on the Internet because they trust the editors of their sources to be critical and check their facts but if the professional media sink to this level of reporting then they are worse than worthless by disseminating and endorsing rubbish. There is plenty of information about this project which can be easily found and double-checked on the Internet and the reporters could have easily done a good job. It seems the collapse of the real estate market in Spain led to the bankruptcy of the builders and the resignation of the architects and project management firms in charge of the construction because of tightening budgets. That is the focus of the article in El Pais. Just one more boring story similar to many others in Spain these days. Regarding the “lift only goes up to the 20th floor” story I have to admit “si non e vero e ben trovato” (even if it’s not true it’s still a good story). Maybe you should label it as fiction though. This page [Intempo - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Tempo) says it was designed by the engineering firm Florentino Regalado & Asociados, [http://www.fringenieria.com](http://www.fringenieria.com) Photos: [BENIDORM | Intempo | 187m | 49 fl | Com | Page 21 | SkyscraperCity Forum](http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=889570&page=21) [Los arquitectos del Intempo dejan la obra por falta de seguridad - Levante-EMV](http://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2013/07/21/arquitectos-intempo-benidorm-dejan-obra/1018495.html) [Echan al jefe de obra del InTempo días antes de la marcha de los arquitectos - Información](http://www.diarioinformacion.com/benidorm/2013/07/22/echan-jefe-obra-intempo-dias/1398248.html) ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/25 "2013-08-11T13:37:45Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > It does not say or mean the elevators only reach the 20th floor. > > It does not say or mean anywhere that “They forgot to build a lift.”. You really aren’t much fun are you? 😉 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/26 "2013-08-11T14:09:17Z")
I am really messing this up. I [posted in the other thread by mistake](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?&p=16561080&postcount=4) and the quotes there posted correctly. Then I was too late to edit there so I just copied here but the quotes disappeared. Rather than risking making things worse I will leave them as they are and redirect to the [other post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?&p=16561080&postcount=4). If the two threads are merged, as seems likely, then the correct post will appear here where it was intended and the post without quotes can be deleted or ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/27 "2013-08-11T14:12:25Z")
Yeah, one article I read basically outlined that you need more room for more support systems/electrical/braking systems/etc. for an elevator bank that handles a building that large. When more floors were added on, it wasn’t noticed that there wasn’t sufficient room for the ‘upgraded’ elevators. I wonder if they had enough room for any upgraded building supports to handle the extra floors? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/28 "2013-08-11T15:08:02Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Yeah, one article I read basically outlined that you need more room for more support systems/electrical/braking systems/etc. for an elevator bank that handles a building that large. When more floors were added on, it wasn’t noticed that there wasn’t sufficient room for the ‘upgraded’ elevators. > > I wonder if they had enough room for any upgraded building supports to handle the extra floors? You didn’t read my post did you? No “more floors were added on”. The building was designed like that from the start. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/29 "2013-08-11T15:11:50Z")
> [@](#): > > I emailed this to the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail is less of a news source and more a news-entertainment source. Somewhere between the Enquirer and Jon Stewart. The do cover actual news, but the stories should not be taken at face value. And to answer the OQ: twelve stairs. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/30 "2013-08-11T17:03:41Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > [irrelevant stuff] Huh? I thought you had quit posting on this board for…I don’t know, a decade? :eek: I had to look up your posting history and notice that you had indeed posted occasionnally all these years. Sorry for the hijack, but when I read **sailor** ’s name, my first thought was that I was accidentally posting in a zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/31 "2013-08-15T18:59:22Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > I emailed this to the Daily Mail. > > This article > [News Headlines | Today's UK & World News | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2388193/Uno-problemo-Construction-firm-builds-47-storey-skyscraper-Benidorm-forget-fit-lift.html) > By Sarah Gordon and Steve Robson, PUBLISHED: 17:25 GMT, 9 August 2013 | UPDATED: 13:33 GMT, 10 August 2013 > > says > > The Daily Mail accept this uncritically and without question? Really? > > I believe this is based on this page [http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2013/07/20/actualidad/1374340685\_911593.html](http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2013/07/20/actualidad/1374340685_911593.html) which says nothing of the sort and your Daily Mail article is just a misunderstanding with some made-up reporting added. > > The article in Spanish reports mostly on the economic problems which have plagued the construction of those buildings and that when they are 83% completed the original architects have withdrawn from the project. Also some technical problems and it mentions, by the way and without going into any depth.This means the elevator shafts in the project would be adequate to serve a 20 story building but insufficient for a 47 story building. According to what sources or what regulations or calculations it does not say. Maybe this is just someone’s opinion. It does not say. It is not the focus of the article. > > It does not say or mean the elevators only reach the 20th floor. > > It does not say or mean anywhere that “They forgot to build a lift.”. > > It does not say anywhere anything like “The towers were originally designed to be only 20 floors high, but ambitious developers decided to double the scale of the project midway through.” which to anyone with a modicum of critical thinking sounds like highly implausible. Or do you really think you can more than double the height of a building just by adding floors above? This is rubbish. > > The reporters were clearly incompetent but where were the editors? > > There are a lot of credulous gits out there who will believe the most unlikely things of they read it on the Internet because they trust the editors of their sources to be critical and check their facts but if the professional media sink to this level of reporting then they are worse than worthless by disseminating and endorsing rubbish. > > There is plenty of information about this project which can be easily found and double-checked on the Internet and the reporters could have easily done a good job. > > It seems the collapse of the real estate market in Spain led to the bankruptcy of the builders and the resignation of the architects and project management firms in charge of the construction because of tightening budgets. That is the focus of the article in El Pais. Just one more boring story similar to many others in Spain these days. > > Regarding the “lift only goes up to the 20th floor” story I have to admit “si non e vero e ben trovato” (even if it’s not true it’s still a good story). Maybe you should label it as fiction though. > > This page [Intempo - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Tempo) says it was designed by the engineering firm Florentino Regalado & Asociados, [http://www.fringenieria.com](http://www.fringenieria.com) > > Photos: [BENIDORM | Intempo | 187m | 49 fl | Com | Page 21 | SkyscraperCity Forum](http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=889570&page=21) > > [Los arquitectos del Intempo dejan la obra por falta de seguridad](http://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2013/07/21/arquitectos-intempo-benidorm-dejan-obra/1018495.html) > [Echan al jefe de obra del InTempo días antes de la marcha de los arquitectos](http://www.diarioinformacion.com/benidorm/2013/07/22/echan-jefe-obra-intempo-dias/1398248.html) Way to be a buzzkill, dude. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/32 "2013-08-15T23:01:14Z")
114 steps. That was the number needed to reach my apartment in Paris, and I really don’t think I’d want to climb any more than that. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/33 "2013-08-16T02:51:13Z")
My sister’s apartment is on the fourth floor, which hasn’t been a problem until she broke her foot. Building has no elevators. Still manages to get there, but it’s a trial. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/34 "2013-08-16T03:07:37Z")
Nineteen steps. And I don’t know how much longer I’ll be willing to climb those. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/35 "2013-08-16T06:02:00Z")
For a few years I lived in a 5th-floor walkup in NYC’s East Village. I was much younger then. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/36 "2013-08-16T14:02:59Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Huh? I thought you had quit posting on this board for…I don’t know, a decade? :eek: > > I had to look up your posting history and notice that you had indeed posted occasionnally all these years. > > Sorry for the hijack, but when I read **sailor** ’s name, my first thought was that I was accidentally posting in a zombie thread. It’s against the rule to change things inside of quote boxes by way of altering what was said (yes, even in the way that you did it), so please don’t do this. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883/37 "2013-08-16T14:49:53Z")
It really depends on the steepness of the steps. I can go up approximately infinite floors if they have those shallow steps they tend to have in places like nice hotels, but there are some places like office buildings that allocate this tiny little space for their stairs so it ends up being a taxing mountain climb for even 7 or 8 floors. I’d probably top out around 8 floors just for convenience (getting furniture or even just a desktop computer can have significant logistical issues on tight stairs even if you’re strong enough to do it). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-stairs-are-you-willing-to-climb-to-your-apartment/665883.md?page=1)