Re: 210.63
I take these questions very literally. The purpose of the scuttles in the crawl space and attic are for servicing & inspecting the mechanical systems on the house. You need access to check for leaky pipes (or to fix a leaky pipe), leaky roofs, to run that icemaker line, to insulate your floor, to get the raccoon out of your crawl space, to check for termites, dry rot, etc.
I feel if storage was the intended use they would make us make them a lot bigger, and they would require a safer and more convenient method of ingress & egress to those areas. The scuttle sizes are fairly minimal and there is no requirement to keep them clear or to make them easily accessible-- unless it's a designated storage area, cellar, loft, etc. It's not a design feature, it's just for basic servicing & inspection access.
I have built homes with storage (or even future live loads) factored into the construction. They call this an "attic truss". An attic truss makes a trussed attic more viable for storage or for a future occupancy. They are also called "Room in a Truss".
[ September 27, 2003, 07:28 PM: Message edited by: awwt ]
, and still is meant to be.