I posted earlier pictures of this curved stairway 2 months ago. This is one of those jobs where I am waiting…and waiting of the owner to pickout railing…etc.
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Stan,
Fabulous.
Question: How do you know the specs of what you need to use for load, do you have to consult an engineer, or is it a common code type thing?
Zendo: I just kind of go by experience for the load. If it quivers...then I didnt do my job right.
Stan
Looks amazing.. both the stairs and the house.. Do people often request recessed lighting under their stairs? Will they be focused down on the ground, or straight forward at whatever angle they are mounted at? Do you keep a website / gallery of your completed works?
Ravz: That was their idea for the lighting. I just installed the steel studs for the belly plaster.
I dont have a website but am considering one. I really need to go around and take pictures after the stairs are all done.
Stan
Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I would like to be a fly on the wall in others shops as well.
Stan
Man, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in your shop
Absolutely amazing
Stan,
Those pictures just took my breath away (isn't that a song?)! Really impressive work. Do you have any other pics of that house? I'm blown away.
Stan, Mighty nice. I have not had much free time to log on to BT, just scanned the photo section and the maple heading caught my eye. Maple really makes a cool looking staircase, great job as always. You planning on laminating the rail in place?
Armin: Good to hear from you again.....I was afraid maybe you had bought a gyrocopter and found it more fun...ha
I have the rails already made...they just need to be installed as soon as the starting step is set in place. It is just sitting there waiting for the marble guys.
No I didn't get a Gyro but I did get a kayak, I have to be the oldest guy around here running whitewater, keeps the blood pumping. By the way how is the family doing, good I hope.
Armin: The last half of 2004 has been hectic after that tornado. But...after seeing the psunami damage....I didnt have a problem at all. I just have been playing catch up all year. But...the orders keep coming in. I just go fire up the gyro when I need to get away.
Family is doing great....and yours?
I was wondering the other day about you. I thought.."I havent seen Armin posting dazzling projects lately. I will bet the farm he is in the middle of a killer project."
Have a happy and successful 2005.
Stan
As always fantastic work.
I'd love to donate a month of sunday's free labor just to watch the whole process you go through. From meeting the client to design and finally installation.
I've done a few stairs in my life but never the level your at. Thanks for the time out you take to share.
Question? Do you take your clients up in the Gyro before you settle price? Bet the skys the limit once you'd get them up there! 8)
Jag: Thanks.. No...I never have taken a client up..but I have flown to the jobsite before.
Stan
Thanks Stan for the well wishes. The family is doing great, finally got a chance to see my new grandson and was promptly informed another one (surprise) is on the way. Maybe I'll get a wood hauler out of the deal. Haven't posted pictures in a while mostly do to the switch in production, spent most of my time in 04 developing a paneling line and selling custom stair parts, mostly birdseye and curly maple railings. Had a good year, shipped products as far as Texas and east to the coast. Currently was awarded bids on two custom stairs and another possible project in the Carolinas a really cool tapered spiral, two turn, two floor that makes me drool when I think of it. Again the best to you and one of these days I just gotta see your new shop.
The family is doing great, finally got a chance to see my new grandson and was promptly informed another one (surprise) is on the way. Maybe I'll get a wood hauler out of the deal.
Sorry to interupt, but I was having trouble putting those two thoughts together. How does a new grandson ... AAAAAHHHH, OK, I'm just a little slow! When you said "wood hauler" I was thinking a trailer or truck. But you meant it as someone to haul wood into the house. OK... give me enough time and I can figure some things out ;)
Currently was awarded bids on two custom stairs and another possible project in the Carolinas a really cool tapered spiral, two turn, two floor that makes me drool when I think of it.
Are we going to get pics of it?jt8
But you meant it as someone to haul wood into the house. OK... give me enough time and I can figure some things out ;)
My mistake, should have been more specific, actually I mean lumber hauler as in move that 1500 lb load of oak from the trailer into my shop, yeah, like that will happen anytime soon.
Soon as I get to work on something cool I'll post pics up the waazoo.
Stan ,
That is beautiful work . It's good to see people take pride in there work . Take care .
Mike - Foxboro , Mass.
Beautiful as always Stan. These homes you get to work in? What do the owners do for a living. These are not your typical Illinois farm houses nor a typical spec house.
Are you working for the owners or the builder?
I like the curved detail under each tread.
Your work is always grand to see.
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob
Bob: Thanks. The owner of this stairway is a doctor.
I build through the owner and the contractor. Doesnt matter...I just always get one half upfront....another good payment when I set the stairs....and then typically just hold back $2000 for the final payment when I am all done.
Stan
I ran some curved railing today. This particular job is dragging out for months because of the owners indecisions. So...I just pop in a day every couple of weeks....just to keep it going.
Looks great, Stan. Although you might want to add a couple more spindels ;)
jt8
Our lives improve only when we take chances -- and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. -- Walter Anderson
John: Here are some more of the Indiana stairway. I installed the steel studs in the belly...and put the outside skirtboard that is hanging from the ceiling.
I had to disappear for two weeks while they laid the bamboo floor.
Stan
With the steel studs, does that mean they are plastering, not drywalling? Or is the steel just more practical for the belly application?
It will be interesting to see the lower section's railing go in with the floor railing coming around/across. And the plaster/drywall job as it transitions from the belly of the top stairway to the ceiling of the lower stairway.
Stan, how many stair jobs are you currently working on?jt8
Our lives improve only when we take chances -- and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves. -- Walter Anderson
Stan,
Im not really familiar, I would assume that you made the curves, do you make all the rail parts or buy the turns/ components?
-zen
Zen: I order out the fittings...
Stan-
What do you use to protect the treads while you are gone for so long?"Live Free, not Die"
Razz: Actually...the contractor is responsible for the stairs after I set them. Theses stairs are supposed to be sealed within one week for me to warrantee them. They are just walking up and down them grinding in the dirt. The finisher is just going to have to sand the heck out of them.
I do not worry about the stairs after I build them. If they want to trash them...thats their business. I cant be baby sitting all my stairs....ha.
John: I have these two stairs....two other curved ones...a spiral stairway about to start....a big t-shaped stairway.....and several others that I am waiting on to get started.
Plenty enough for my little operation. I do not know what it is like being caught up.
Even when I am at my busiest...I still take a day occasionally to get out of the shop and go bid on stair projects.
I cant imagine what would happen if I went out for one week just bidding stairways.....
Here are two shots of a rail glue up. This was a 47 inch radius rail that will go on the dual maple stairway project.
Stan
Neat stair pics Stan, keep them coming. I will admit to trolling the gallery for
your pictures of your works of art. There is something about circular stairs
that is like a woman's calf in high heels or the hull lines of a sailboat that
make them pleasant to look at. Can't leave without one question...?
When you do a handrail glueup, do you have to allow for much springback...?
Frank
Frank: I put a little over correction in my handrails. I try my best to keep the handrail within 1/4 inch of its intended path after its released.
The biggest factor is having more laminates. I am using some 9 laminate bending rail now..and it hardly moves. The way you can compare is to square the number of laminates and compare these numbers. Example 7 lamimates is 49......10 laminates is 100. 10 lamimates springsback half as much as 7 laminates.
Stan
Stan how do you put a price on somthing this Difficult. This would cost 300 Per tred?? how much time you must have invested in this
McNast: If I only charged $300 per tread....I would have to find a side job to support my stairbuilding habit....ha
Stan
As you can see at times I should get more help to support my remodeling habbit. Your work is incredible Thanx
McAnsty
I finished running my railing on this stairway today. This job just has me show up about every three weeks. I dont think these people will ever move in.
Stan
"I dont think these people will ever move in." Why not?
blue: Just a figure of speech. These owners are constantly changing their minds. They had a whole set of custom cabinets made...then they didnt like them and are having a whole new set made. I went over a million times getting her to make her mind up on my newel posts. She finally fell in love with what I ended up using. Not long ago she asked if I could wrap them with maple for a totally different look. I said sure....but it will cost thousands to change them. All of a sudden she likes them again. Those riser brackets were finally chosen after a dozen different designs.
One thing if any that I think I am good at is being able to detect a customer that doesnt know what they want. Red flags popped up all over on my initial visit with these people. I actually added in $2000 just for a nuisance wage. It doesnt bother me much at all when I have this extra for dealing with indecisiveness.
Stan
Stan-
I really enjoy looking at pics of your work. Everything is such high quality.
one question, tho. You ever count how many clamps you have? It must be a lot.
Don't do it on my account, tho.
That Indiana set is something, seems almost alive, and sensously alive at that...the landings on that are just great...Is there a steel beam in that circular 2nd floor landing? What is holding it up? Don't try to tell me it's a gyrocopter,ha,ha,ha. Don't worry, we can fix that later!
stan.... i find it incredible that the GC hasn't protected your stairs..
are they using a back set of stairs that we can't see ?..
man.. i get a $1200 set of straight runs installed and we're all over them with protection
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
1200 bucks for a straight run? Who you gettin' to do 'em? Armin?....ha, ha, ha... Don't worry, we can fix that later!
why, i oughta !
poplar risers, 5/4 skirts, oak treads, wrapped and capped....... 10 screws to install...i ain't complaining
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 2/24/2005 6:26 pm ET by Mike Smith
Doode, there's no way you could, ha, ha, ahhhhh...seriously though, are you buying trucked in stairs?it makes so much sense to me, but nobody here does it...maybe it's the market Tim is looking for<G> Don't worry, we can fix that later!
sometimes we use Cooper Stairs ( Horner Millwork ) .. especially for straight runs
if we get into winders, we site build..
railings, we do ourselves.. problem is , we're remodelers, not stair and railing builders, so we get terrible production..
i mean we start talking about " Steve's Memorial Staircase"
mebbe next one be Mikey's Memorial Staircase.. it's that bastid winder i had to rebuild..
if i didn't have so much design & pricing to do , it'd be a plesure
Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
railings, we do ourselves.. problem is , we're remodelers, not stair and railing builders, so we get terrible production..Jeeze, do I have to dig up Larry's number? Ha Ha Ha Don't worry, we can fix that later!
now why didn' t i think of that ... wait.. hold that thoughtMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike: There is a back stairs being used. I make it clear that the GC is responsible for the stairs after I am done setting them. Some wrap em up air tight,...some spill coffee on them.
They always in the end get all sanded down and always look nice. Life is too short for me to be worrying about someone elses stairs. If they want to trash them,..I wont lose any sleep at all. No money out of my pocket.
Stan
Edited 2/24/2005 6:50 pm ET by Stan Foster