sutton046

Some months after the Big Flight was installed, the time had come for the Short Flight to be added. Much had happened in that period, including the installation of the underfloor heating, the laying of the jarrah floor over the top, the building and defining of the new wall and the opening in the upper floor, the plastering and gyprocking of walls and ceilings, and more. With the plastering of the walls completed and now dry enough, I was looking forward to working on the stairs again. This staircase  will have two sets of winding treads, separated by a pair of normal straight treads - which I shall refer to here as the Short Flight.  Above the second set of winders will be the Big Flight. Below the first set of winders will be a couple of straight treads which will give a sense of "spilling out" into the hallway, wrapping around to meet the wall on either side of the staircase. Of course, then there's the handrail and the ballustrading upstairs! There's a way to go ...

This a bit like the Star Wars movies saga. The first post I did on this Staircase Saga came midway through the story, and now we have gone back to the beginning with this, the second post! Getting started. First you need somewhere requiring a set of stairs. My customer has been doing a renovation on her lovely Art Deco double brick and tile home from the 1930s. This has involved extending out the back and going up - putting on a second storey. Hence the need for a staircase!  I have the plans, but plans are always theoretical. There is never the level of accuracy that you need for building a staircase in a defined and confined space. The architect has the basic idea on the plan, but my task is to convert the concept to reality, in conjunction with the customer's ideas and preferences. A photo of part of the architects' building plan. The concept.  These stairs would start in the hallway with treads 1 & 2 leading to a set of winders (Winding treads go around a corner, radi...

I really enjoy building staircases. Yes, the finished product will be functional, very beautiful, and a feature in the house. However, it's the journey I enjoy the most - the process of getting to the end product. The stairs I'm currently building in a renovated 1930's Art Deco house are very tricky, complex, and really testing my skills. I like that!! The "cornerstone" of the whole staircase is a trio of newel posts which take the stairs up and through an opening in the wall and provide the corner "hubs" for two sets of winders, connected by a pair of straight steps. Today I did the test fit for this complex trio. Tomorrow I get to glue and fit them in place. Up through the hole in the wall. Cramps used to do the test fit. There's no room for error...  The tulip motive in the balustrading is a copy from the original entry statement in the hallway from which the new stairs will ascend. Pictured below. In the 1930's, some big velvet curtains may h...