Cost of exterior fire escape replacement

[John Korn]

looking at a 4-plex with a 3 story fire escape in back that is in bad shape!  Never had to price one of these out before.  has anyone had the pleasure of having to replace one of these and how much did it cost?  It's steel not wood.....

[Mark Fedorov]

I had a 5 story fire escape that was steel that looked horrible, I put two guys with sanders and high gloss black paint on it and a few days later we were done. since it is metal you might be able to sand out the rust and weld back any missing metal.

I would have that inspected by a local fire alarm person (they often do fire escapes also), you would be amazed at what does not need to be replaced.

Also, talk to the fire marshal to make sure any repairs you are planning are good with him, do that early, he will appreciate it.

[James Masotti]

Bumping this thread back up to see if anyone has any thoughts on range of costs for repairing and/or replacing a 3 story fire escape. 

[John Korn]

I ended up getting a quote from one of the more reputable places in pittsburgh and the cost to tear down the one in place and construct the new steel one was $32k.  

[James Masotti]

@John Korn - Sounds pretty steep in pricing. I was expecting more like 10-15k. Hopefully being in a smaller market the pricing will be a bit different...

Anyone else have any somewhat recent experience with this?

[Anthony Angotti]

@John Korn

Do you know if there are any rules preventing wood escapes? That has always seemed crazy to me (building an escape out of flammable material, wood). 

Just figured I'd ask since I see them frequently, but don't know the rules. 

[John Korn]

@Anthony Angotti

Yeah, me too.  I know the company said they didn't do it and I believe he said it wasn't to code but it's done often.  I asked him if wood would be cheaper option too.  

[Anthony Angotti]

@John Korn,

Ya I always figured there was no way it was up to fire code.

[Account Closed]

Regarding wood fire escape, I would talk to code enforcement. It is possible that a wood fire escape requires a roof or even a total enclosure depending on the number is levels and units.

[Yang Zhang]

@John Korn mind sharing the contact info of that local Pittsburgh company you contacted?

[Anthony Angotti]

@John Korn also need this if you got someone

[John Korn]

I didn't end up buying the place that needed it but I believe it was safeescapeways.com

[Andy Brown]

Adding to this thread for future searches as this seems like the best thread on the topic. I'm in the same boat-- need to add fire escape to third floor attic unit in Northwest PA to get additional unit accessible. Quote for aluminum powder coated three story spiral staircase with two landings ran about $15,000. Switching to steel knocked off about $1,000 and opting for non-powder coat saves about $2500. Had stair guy, fire marshall, city inspector come out and make sure it was legit. Completely worth it to get another unit online. Pays for itself with about 2 years of occupancy.

[Pat Hamilton]

@Andy Brown

so the whole thing cost $11,500? it's a far cry from $32,000!  How long did it take and are you happy with the results?

I have a 3 unit in Philadelphia with an old/rusty but functional fire escape....I think I can get it fixed

[Elise Bickel Tauber]

Fire escapes can be tricky because code can make a lot of requirements. We have 3 or 4 companies we've used recently and have overall been pretty happy. In West View, for example, we were told by code that if it was more then 3 stories it MUST be metal but 3 stories or less we could go wood. We used Slate Roofs and Exteriors and they gave us a bid which was approved by code. After it was complete code came back and made a handful of changes which increased the final amount by about $750. It was 3 stories and ended up at $14,500. In Cranberry Township I did one for a two story building and it was very simple and no extra hoops to jump through.

[Marshall Adams]

Hi Elise,

That's helpful info you posted - thank you.  Couple of questions - was this a metal fire escape or wood? (I notice you say that wood is permitted in your area up thru 3 stories).  Also, did that company do the design, build AND installation of the fire escape?  I live in Savannah,GA and am doing some research on 2 and 3 story fire escapes for a mixed-use building I am looking at renovating.  Kinda surprised I am not finding more info on this topic as I search.  Thanks!

[William Weisser]

could you give me the info of the contractor?

Quote from @Elise Bickel Tauber:

Fire escapes can be tricky because code can make a lot of requirements. We have 3 or 4 companies we've used recently and have overall been pretty happy. In West View, for example, we were told by code that if it was more then 3 stories it MUST be metal but 3 stories or less we could go wood. We used Slate Roofs and Exteriors and they gave us a bid which was approved by code. After it was complete code came back and made a handful of changes which increased the final amount by about $750. It was 3 stories and ended up at $14,500. In Cranberry Township I did one for a two story building and it was very simple and no extra hoops to jump through.

[Jennifer Reilly]

Im bumping this back up, as I am looking at purchasing a 3-story commercial building in NW Pa and I need to install a fire escape.  Any contacts from those who have had to get one done in the surrounding area would be greatly appreciated.