September 3, 2009
Upstairs, downstairs
These should save us quite a few trips outside through the bulkhead to access our "kitchen" in the basement.
The new basement stairs are complete! But figuring out how to build them wasn't exactly easy. Their placement was determined by the architect's drawings, but some existing conditions meant Tom had to calculate how much to cut into the house's foundation to get enough headroom to meet building code, without compromising the structure.
All in all, we spent quite a long time in the basement for such a beautiful August day. But that's what it took to make sure the stairs were perfectly level, plumb, and just the right height.
Tom will face another challenge when he installs the steps that lead from the landing to our new second-floor library. He'll need to figure out how to create a graceful transition between varying first-floor ceiling heights. But I think he's already come up with a stunning solution, which I'll blog much more about later.
Meanwhile, here's one more shot of Tom and Kevin building that stairway--a view "up the teeth," as Dino put it.
(5) Comments
Comment on this BlogIt's always exciting to see areas that don't show up on the webcams. There are times when I think WHERE DID THEY ALL GO? Watching today as the dramatic landing breakthrough takes place, and anxious to hear Tom's brilliant solution for the transition there. Lucky you to have such a competent team on the job!
Stairs can always be tricky to try to fit in exactly. Lots of adjustments usually need to be made.
I am glad to see you have basement stairs now too. Did you always have stairs inside? I ask as I once took a tour of a house for sale that didn't have stairs inside to the basement. To go downstairs you had to go through a bulkhead door. Very inconvenient and I always wondered why they built the house that way?
Is there a range in prices for installing new stairs? I am moving in to a place with spiral stairs that I want to replace with wood stairs.
Good Job Guys! Yes, stairs are one of the most difficult projects to get right!
There is a lot to understand when "laying-out" a set of new steps, including laying-out the "stringers"!
If you can frame a correct set of steps you can frame just about anything residential.
Eddie