I Can't Dance but my Basement Stairs Do

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Pretty sure a refrigerator on a hand truck won't be a problem. Doubt I'll ever find out since there's a regular door and two garage doors opening at grade.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Not heat-related, but it's cool nonetheless.

Turns 90 degrees without increasing width but it's completely natural to climb. Nothing like the usual quarter-turn winder. Takes five treads to make the turn. Completely traditional construction.

Did make a screw-up in the newel because I didn't make a story pole as INSISTED in the old book--but did make a full-scale plan of the dancers. Fortunately the error didn't affect structure and it's all paint-grade wood.

Photo to follow.

Robert O'Connor_7

Huh?

Weezbo, that you?

Robert O'Connor/NJ

Robert O'Connor

I can't

wait to see the pic's!!!!!!!!


All the best

Robert

ME

Weezbo

No NO *~/:) It is just catching on *~/:)..What hes saying is..

Hes spun in some mighty fine spiral winder and as everygood carpenter knows that the story stick at least keeps telling the SAME story whereas the Lying stick(tapemeasure) often tells one thing to one person and something else to another *~/:) and when your doing Large radius rizers of patio horse stepps a guy cant be relying on a tape measure....

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Pics

Used plain construction lumber from lumber yard as they'll be painted. Material cost under $300 including the huge sheets of French tracing paper I had to get to make a pattern for the dancing treads. Ash used for the wedges that drive in to lock the treads and risers into position.

Lots of man hours. Lost my good help--glad he found a decent paying job--so did most everything myself. Took most of April, but have lots of other work to juggle as well.

3rd staircase of this type for me, but this is the first that turns. Others have had natural finish--one walnut, the other oak and poplar. Won't ever again use cheap white pine from the lumber company for the risers. They lacked the strength to pull the treads into perfect flatness at the rabbet at rear of treads. Four cracked, but at least modern glue is stronger than the wood...

Will be fully enclosed by walls everywhere except the top and the bottom exit.

Still some glue blocking to do underneath and still have to make and install the scotias, but it's pretty well done except for enlarging/finishing the opening and the handrails.

The black hole you see above the right-side stringer where it attaches to the newel is part of the screw-up. Will be filled with structural "wood replacement compound" from Abatron--REALLY good stuff.

Still want to make a set of geometric stairs before I die, but need to get a few more under my belt before tacking something like that.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Used a 24" precision machinist's rule and always measured from the baseline, but added both the rise and the tread height when laying out the newel. Three treads and risers fit into three sides of the newel. Tread two was exactly 1¼" too high; tread three exactly 2½" too high. Had I made the story pole instead of just writing down a running total, wouldn't have had the problem.

Ken_8

Absolutely...

Gorgeous!

It took me two days to do the math for simple stairs at the house in VT. Took four hours to build 'em once the concrete base was poured. What's that old saying, "Measure twice, cut once."

I cannot imagine the difficulty involved in that configuration geometry. Nice job indeed, Michael.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Mike T., Swampeast MO

The \"Dancing\"

Refers to the bottom five treads. You establish a walking (or "springing") curve on the full-scale pattern and lay out the treads such that the chord across the curve on each tread is identical in length.

Unknown

But .......

Can you handtruck a Burnham V84 down the stairs ? Beautiful staircase Mike . Want to build one like that for me ?

Maine doug

Amazing

The guy that made our spiral staircases (metal) came to the bank. He measured, did some simple sketches and poof, spirals that fit. We took out a window for the large one and literally screwed it into the building.
Since I can't hang doors, I would never try a staircase.
My hat is off to you.