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The long haul, one year in the making. With the exception of the iron balusters 100% of the stairs and related woodwork including the steel core was milled or welded in our shop. More detailed photos and text will follow after the holidays when I can get back to the jobsite and spare some real camera time. Note the top 5 steps are suspended in air with no visible means of support. No exposed joints, all concealed fasteners and less putty than most craftsmen use on a picture frame. I designed the structural core and had an engineer crunch the numbers and certify & stamp the drawings. Load deflection of 1/10 inch based on 1000 lbs at midspan, real life test showed 1/32 in deflection. I’m thrilled it worked and even more thrilled it’s finished.
armin
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Replies
More photos:
My most complicated engineering project to date. The amount & type of jointery pretty much kept me on my toes.
Newel posts are flared & tapered resawn book matched veneer on all 4 sides.
124 lin. ft. of handrailing all but 17 ft. are curved.
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Oh my! I would love to see it in person. Although the pics are excelent, they don't do it justice!
Unbelievably cool. Definitely get some pro photos of that one.
Just to make it more difficult the clients moved into the house with another 6 months worth of work left to do. Nothing like haveing a full time audience.
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More photos:
Along with the job I needed to build a curved inlayed tread for the foyer. Cold air returns built into the risers.
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Kind of a fuzzy photo, shows a bit of the bookmatched curly birch treads
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I'll be going back after the holidays to finish the two support columns and take a few more photos of the overall room setting.
Thanks for posting the pics. That is really inspiring work.
Wow!!!!!!!!! I can't even give any good words to describe the beautiful work I have just seen!!!!!!!! (Because there are no words to accurately describe the craftsmanship in your work....) I used to think I was a pretty decent woodworker.... sigh.... Lane
A few bits of info about the project.
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Sometime in August of 07 I received a request to look at a fire restoration project for a client who needed a quote to replace a staircase. I wasn’t interested since I already had two staircases out on bids and made myself a promise I would not overbook, again. The homeowner only needed a quote from a professional to finalize the insurance paperwork and agreed to pay me for my time to look at the job and write a replacement proposal, they would take it from there.
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I looked at it the same day and this is what the site looked like.
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Total gut job, nicely cleaned up and painted to seal in the smoke & odor damage but pretty much just a shell. The stairs at first glance didn’t look all that fire damaged however closer inspection indicated signs of water induced delamination, swelling, cracking, not to mention the axe wielding firemen took out their wrath on the balcony railings. The stringer veneer could be peeled like a banana and the railing joints were ready to pop open. It was a lost cause to try and save the original. I filled out the forms gave them a written report and proceeded to leave. The homeowner asked, “What would you do if this was your job?†I stood back and looked around and more as a joke blurted out my dream job. “Curved rock wall, cantilevered curly birch treads, light and airy with a suspended in air feel? A hand wave here and a bla bla there. They asked if I had any pictures.
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Well sort of and showed them this one.
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I could tell they were interested so I had a cad designer do a rendition.
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Edited 12/13/2008 11:07 pm ET by riverman
I'd like to see the look on their faces after you were finished. I'm sure they had no idea what they were about to receive!
They were the lucky recepients of a masterpiece that was waiting to be created, and they just happened to be in the right place at the right time!
The way things are going, you guys are going to get some record snowfall this year. Who knows what might come out of that shop in the spring!!
I have landed some of my best jobs by turning around as I was walking out the door and saying "oh BTW, before you settle on that...have you ever considered......???!!!! Let the thought sink in for a few days....and bingo, some dream job appears. It's happened to me many times, so I can see how you got into this.
You are in a class by yourself!
""I'm sure they had no idea what they were about to receive!""That definitely was the case with this project. Once I gained their confidence I pretty much got the green light to do what I thought looked best. That said I didn't really know what it was going to look like either. I worked on site two days a week the other five I worked in my shop. Every time I left the family had something new to look at. Even the kids were interested and checked out every little detail. I'm sure you can relate to having a project evolve, take on a life of its own. This one surprised everyone, me included. The entire family made my top five list of the nicest people I ever worked for. This project was pretty much out of character for me as I had more on site time than all my other staircases combined. That's one of the reasons it took me longer than I expected. I'm glad it was only 50 miles away and not one of my outstate projects. And yes to the question of the construction photos, I'll post them at a much later date as I'm so far behind now I can't take the necessary time to sort through the 200 plus photos.Once again thanks for all the compliments.
i've actually held off commenting because that is so freakin' beautiful that i don't feel qualified to say how beautiful i think it is.
if that makes any sense.
k
I can honestly say that my jaw is totally unhinged, it dropped so far. Like an artist, I hope you signed your work.Quality repairs for your home.
AaronR ConstructionVancouver, Canada
Thanks Aaron,"I hope you signed your work."Well sort of, I dropped a time capsel into the newel before I attached the cap. A little blurb about the project, photo of the clients and a mug shot of my bald head.
lets hope noone ever sees it!
"lets hope no one ever sees it!"Hey watch it buddy, just because I'm old and bald doesn't mean I'm not good lookin. In fact except for the hair, height and facial features I look just like Tom Selleck.
LOL, i actually meant that if somone was looking at the capsule, then that means they were taking apart your beautiful stairs..
riverman
I am like KFC. I am not even qualified enough to give a proper compliment.
That is beautiful. The wood grain takes my breath away.
Rich
Thanks much,Curly yellow birch is my favorite wood. The red birch on the other hand was quite an experience, harder and denser than the yellow stuff even though its from the same tree. The red is nothing more than the heartwood of the yellow birch tree. Some of it resawed like butter while most of it sprung and did it's own thing. Its one of the times I shot myself in the foot as I suggested it over cherry.photo of underside view of treads looking up from the basement.
riverman
Did you stain it?
I am not familar with curly yellow birch.
I have used birch from the lumberyard to match woodwork from the 50's and 60's and it is very difficult to stain without getting blotches.
Great pictures of the underside grain too.
Rich
I avoid stain like the plague. You are right about mixed results staining birch however Sherwin Williams makes a stain that works very well on blotchy woods. No lap marks easy to use. The trick is to sand it well, kissing it with 320 grit is not as good as doing a super job using 180 grit. Most people don't take it through the necessary stages resulting in varied grit scratch marks which take the stain differently. Avoid thin penetrating stains like MinWax.
Photo shows a yellow birch staircase stained with the SW brand stain. If you are interested I'll look at a can and post the product name.
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riverman
If you are interested I'll look at a can and post the product name.
That's Ok. We have SW here. I like their old stain better than the new crop of stains. Seems we are always given that task of matching a stain. The girls at SW never seem to get it. All stains have to be mixed from scratch.
We are better off mixing gel stains in the shop.
MinWax is too thin and we don't use it very often.
When we use blotch prone wood (like pine in wood sash) we use prestain and a gel stain.
I am suprised at the depth of color with the curly birch.
Thanks again for the fun pictures.
Rich
That is way kool .
I love red birch.... we have it in our house for flooring.. Green River has clear to rustic grades in raw and pre finished...
http://www.greenriverlumber.com/images/red-birch-installation-big.jpg
We went with a more character grade... thank god we did as our two toddlers have wailed on the flooring and all the little nicks and dents blend into the variegated creamy reds and yellows vs the more uniform reds in the picture above.
By the way, your brochure should just be a picture of that stair, a phone # and "taking reservations to build you a masterpiece"
Armin - As always, truly fantastic work...you go above and beyond.Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Nothing like having an audience.
I can't imagine anyone here who would not enjoy a front row seat at one of your projects.
Beautiful work, and wonderful of you giving the clients something to show off over the holidays.
Armi- People say I cut myself short....but they dont know the work I have seen you do....and this last one takes the cake. God that is impressive!
Thats why I go crawl back into my shop, pressed down but still proud...and motivated to improve myself.
To be fair to myself...I would love a client to come to me and say...build that stairway ...no time limit or budget restraints.
Until that happens...I will just have to stay a proficient stairbuilder...but someday would like to create a genuine mastepiece that you Armin should be so proud of.
Sincerely and with the deepest admiration and humility for probably whom I feel is the most talented one man stair shop I have seen.
Stan
To be
Armin, that is masterful... I especially love the bumped out rail and nosing transition at the first(?) floor starting newel, and the little wiggle at the balcony, and the inlaid treads... and...dang! Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason?"
And he says, "How?"
And you say, "What does this mean?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home"
“To be fair to myself...I would love a client to come to me and say...build that stairway ...no time limit or budget restraints.â€LOL, if it ever happens let me know, personally I think the chance of winning the lotto would be greater.Thanks again for the compliments.
""I can't imagine anyone here who would not enjoy a front row seat at one of your projects.""OK let me rephrase the comment. It's not the audience as much as once the home is occupied you have to make all the cuts outside or rig up some sort of elaborate dust collection to capture the dust at the source. I don't know how many mile I walked just to take a fuzz off a molding or tweak an angle a bit. Worse than that I still had a fair amount of welding to do. Also the carpet guys had mistakenly installed the living room carpet. I devised a cool fume hood, spark containment system that worked great although it did smoke a section of collection hose.
Great work as always Armin. I hear you on the working in an occupied house deal. Totaly sucks.
I'm bringing sexy back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sbqIyeed4g&feature=related
definately a masterpeice in stair building i would like to see some pics of the process and the joinery used in making them...
absolutely beautifulNo Tag
That is absolutely stunning.Scott.Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.â€
Arnin- Now THAT is what I call a masterpiece. Your post just proves what I said earlier today......the Top17 didnt have the best enter.
My deepest appreciation towards a true work of art. That is indeed stunning.
Stan
Thanks Stan. I pretty much dreamed up this concept 20 years ago and patiently waited for the right setting and the right client to come along. Once I got into it and realized the scope of the work I didn't think I would ever see the end of it, had visions of the guys in white coats hauling me off to the rubber room.
Most incredable sir! My hats off to ya and I rarely take it off for anyone.
How long did that take? I know when I see the sign of true determination and dedication and percerverence. To see carpentry work put together so that all that the rest of the world sees is art is truly what makes a craftsman....a craftsman...and you deserve that title!
Sleep well every night..you deserve it.
http://www.cliffordrenovations.com
http://www.ramdass.org
Thanks one and all for the compliments, it means a lot coming from folks who know what it takes to build stuff. I'll get around to answering some of your questions later tonight. In the meantime I have to go plow the daily batch of snow.Andy, it took pretty much a year, I lost track of the hours after 7 months simply because I didn't want to know how far off my estimate was. Lets put it this way I now wear suspenders because I lost my #### so bad there is nothing left to hold my pants up. All kidding aside I was happy to finally get to build it and still make enough to stay ahead of the bills.
nice work by a true craftsman maybe some day i'll grow up and be like you ! :)
That is fan-friggin'-tastic, Armin. Awe-inspiring.
Precisely the words I was thinking... stunning. How have pictures of that stair not made it into the pages of FHB???
Hmm, editors?????
Curly birch stairs... now I've heard everything. I would be afraid to walk on them if but to put a scratch into them somehow.
I'd love to see pictures of the rest of that house.
Edited 12/22/2008 11:50 pm ET by GraniteStater
Oh wow! Thank you so much for posting these pics of your lovely work. Words defy me.
GORGEOUS
"Is it February yet?"
Armin,
I would use the words "impressive", "fantastic", and "awesome", but those terms would not do your stairs justice.
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Thanks a lot Armin....my wife saw those photos and now thinks I should/could do something like that in our house!!
Now I know why you have been laying low for a year....then reappear to absolutely blow us away!!
People who don't know where you live don't realize that you are encapsulated in your shop by 10 feet or snow and have nothing else to do but come up with these brilliant works of art!
Your patience and talent is beyond belief!
Is that home in the U.P. somewhere?
Great looking work!
Thanx for sharing.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Yes my wife wants one of these as well however shes going to have to settle for something a bit more mundane, either that or find a job so I can be a stay at home stairbuilder.The home is in Marquette about 50 miles west of where I live. I'll post a little blurb as to how I ended up with this insomnia project later tonight. Good for a few laughs.
post 13 came to me but it's for you.
"I pretty much dreamed up this concept 20 years ago and patiently waited for the right setting and the right client to come along"
this comment stuck with me all weekend and I couldn't agree with it more, something special comes from projects born in this manner ..
Thanks again one and all, I'll be heading out of town for a few days to spoil the grandsons will respond to any messages when I return.
I don't think there is any issue with posting a link to your website. lots of them in people's sigs here.
I'd like to see it.
OK then if the FHB hit squad shows up at my door I'll tell them you said it's ok.http://www.northernsunwoodworks.com
With the beautiful work you create, FHB should be posting your website all over!!! Truly amazing. I would love to have that exact creation in my home! Course, I wouldn't let anybody use the stairs! :)
Well thank you again Ms. Ladyfire as for walking on it, they do use it, it's a no shoes kind of house so it should hold up well.
To one and all have a Merry Christmas and the best of new years.
"OK then if the FHB hit squad shows up at my door I'll tell them you said it's ok."I've had my website in my signature for about 4 years and I have not heard one word about it, so you should be okay.Besides, a website with pictures of work like yours on it deserves to be advertised.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Inconceivable!
Thank you very much for posting your work.
WOW!
Bass
Can I come work for you?
Most excellent! I'd love to see the skeleton behind the wood, I bet THAT was cool all by itself.
Love that curly Birch, what chatoyance ya got going on there.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Kinda like this (from another gravity defying floating stair of Riverman's):
I hope he took LOTS of assembly pics.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Couple of questions
1) Where are the real stairs the owners are actually going to use because they surely aren't going to be walking up and down that piece of museum quality art work are they?
2) Do you have any photos of the skeleton and assembly?
That has got to be one of the finest staircases I have ever seen.
Beautiful work, really something special. So much of it curved. The treads alone would stand out on any other job. Looks like a lot of time spent with vacuum bags. Would love to see more pics and the story of how you thought it up 20 years ago.
Armin,I know you a long time through this forum and the work you show has always impressed me (not that I'm anyone you'd ever need to impress). I hope you are not the last of your kind. . .http://www.josephfusco.org
http://www.constructionfourmsonline.com
you sir are genius!!!!!!
beautiful work
thanks Armin - inspiring -
Absolutely gorgeous.
Carole,
Thank you, its nice to know an old wood geezer like me can still get a compliment from a pretty lady.
Old geezer or not, it is fabulous work. I know what fragile egos you woodworkers have having lived with one for a long time....:) I also know what you go through with designs. I was just talking with DH about a design he has in mind. I listen and just appreciate his ideas.
Those are absolutely, positively 100% breath taking. Awesome work! I love the grains in that wood!
Well, since these others have no idea how to respond to your art, maybe this will:
I'll be building on the big lake just south of Pentwater in a few years. Do you go that far? My wife's jaw dropped when I showed her your pictures.
Thanks for the compliment and yes we go that far and beyond. I don't know what the Fine homebuilding policy is on listing my website on this post so I'll just send you an e-mail.