My company is opening a new office in an existing office building. While inspecting the office prior to move-in, I noticed that the attics between all suites in the building are open to each other. Someone from another suite could easily gain access to ours by just pushing open the folding attic stairs.
What is the best way to secure the folding attic stairs? I considered using a padlock, but the ceiling is too high to open a padlock using a ladder. Do they make a lock attached to the pull cord?
Best Answer
If you are not opposed to replacing the ladder, they do make attic ladders with integrated locks (i.e. Fakro Insulated Wood Attic Stair Ladder. It looks like you need a special "handle" mounted on a 3 foot pole to lock and unlock the latch. I'm not sure if these locks can be accessed from the top, but it is at least worth looking at.
If you prefer to leave the door in place, you could attempt to retrofit a remote control deadbolt to the door. Depending on the style of door and the way it is installed, this may or may not be possible.