I’m really not sure why they built the upstairs with this weird little crooked landing area. Was it a feature? Did they run out of lumber? Was there not enough headroom in the first floor? (It already intrudes at a 45° angle halfway through the bathroom entrance.) Was the last step too steep, so they added a little landing?
We tore off the top layers to see how this thing was built. It seems that the entire set of stairs are attached to the floor joists by two lag bolts. Hmm. And the top step, the landing, is kind of resting on the ceiling boards of the first floor. It’s not framed very well.