25 Weird Stair Designs That Are a Total Safety Nightmare

We build stuff to make life easier, right? Stairs included. They’re supposed to be simple. Go up, go down, don’t die. But some staircases totally ignore logic, safety rules, and honestly… basic common sense. A few of these designs are so confusing you kinda wonder how they even passed any building or home-safety check.

The DeathStairs Reddit community, which has over 32K members, shares the wildest stair fails from all over the world. It’s like a goldmine of construction mistakes, architecture fails, and designs that would make any home-insurance company scream.

Scroll down and see for yourself. And imagine how you’d feel if you had to climb one of these weird, headache-inducing staircases. Probably not great… and definitely not safe.

#1 Staying at the inlaws

#2 Stairs in my friend’s flat.

#3 My sisters landlord wanted to improve the accessibility, so added these planks

#4 There’s nothing like relaxing in bed…

When you look at these stair designs, it’s kinda hard not to laugh and panic at the same time. Some of them look like the result of a late-night DIY idea gone wrong. Others feel like the architect just gave up halfway through the blueprint. You’ll see missing steps, weird angles, awkward turns, and staircases that make zero sense if you care even a little about home safety or basic construction codes.

And honestly, some of these stairs could probably raise your home insurance costs just by existing. They’re the kind of design fails that make you rethink every renovation decision you’ve ever made. You can almost hear a contractor saying, “Yeah, this should be fine,” while absolutely knowing it shouldn’t be fine at all.

As you scroll, you’ll spot staircases that are a total tripping hazard, ones that look like optical illusions, and a few that feel like they belong in a video game level designed to frustrate players. It’s funny… until you imagine actually using them. Then it turns into “nope, not worth my hospital bill.”

#5 No room for a staircase

#6 These glass stairs my dad was faced with at work

#7 Not my picture but thought it belonged here

#8 I hate going to the theater

#9 A quick slip to the beach

#10 New floors at my job

#11 AirBnB insanity

#12 Literally called the Stair of Death in Peru

#13 This belongs here

#14 The less snowy bits are glazed over

#15 I’m sure they are fine

#16 This occurs every winter at my hometown.. The sing says no winter upkeep and yes they lead strait to river bank

#17 Just to smoke, with my broken ankle I have to traverse this nonsense

#18 “Honey, I installed the new stairs!”

#19 Curved, yet rhomboidal

#20 Death by Windex

#21 Those are stairs

#22 To the attic of a house built in 1902

#23 Stairs at my hostel

#24 Weird perspective?

#25 stairs

Stairs are supposed to be the easiest part of a home or building. Go up, come down, nothing crazy. But these designs somehow break every rule of architecture, engineering, and basic common sense. They show how one bad design choice can turn a small feature into a full-blown safety risk, and maybe even hurt a property’s value.

That’s why communities like DeathStairs on Reddit exist. With thousands of people sharing and laughing at the worst staircases ever built, it kinda becomes a reminder of why good construction planning, building codes, and even simple renovation checks matter. One tiny mistake can turn a normal staircase into a lawsuit waiting to happen.

So yeah… these stairs are funny to look at. But if they were in your house? You’d probably be calling a contractor, a lawyer, and maybe even your insurance company. Scroll through and enjoy the ride — preferably a safe one, with normal stairs.