This staircase was part of a full renovation of a property in France. I wanted to create a rope bridge look. It may not be the most technical of fabrications but it was built on site with a site saw, router and a scratchstock for the tread details made from a drywall saw blade. The aluminum cappings were riveted to the braces and polished out so nearly invisible. Internally there is a steel beam welded to fixing plates top and bottom and the oak cladding is floating around this. All the components were made on site with limited tools as we were leaving for Canada that month.
Viewer Comments:
That does not meet code - perhaps it does not need to over there.
no there is no code relating to staircase construction in France or the UK that the staircase would not comply with, we are more liberal and pragmatic in that sense, I am aware that code here has different regulations with regards staircase construction, I had not displayed the work to determine its suitability for the North American market but to show off the design,
and to be fair you guys build houses to minimum code use twigs for construction and then cover it with a temporary roof and when the wind blows they fall over!!!
thanks for your comment anyway
Beautiful!
One question: Are the recesses in the diagonal braces functional are they for aesthetics?
hi Jon
just for aesthetics
thank you for the nice comment
I like the way the design has pushed the materials to the max, but then there is some steel to insure it will all function as needed.
Codes are needed in the US because the industry would build using toilet paper if they could replace the ticky tacky now prevalent. Low bidders will bring about the end of civilization if we let them. They have already endangered craftsmanship and nearly eliminated design as a relevant value.
A simple browsing through Jasons website would prove that nothing but beautifully crafted wood products are constructed. With that said; I am confident they would check into any building codes; if applicable, prior to designing, building, finishing, and installing and photographing such a nice project.
Whoops....almost forgot; beautiful work !!!
Hi Dave
It was hard to design a minimalist and simple concept and still have a functional staircase.
Reducing the materials down to the minimum for aesthetics but at the same time not creating a death trap!!!
there was very little spring from the main spar, and we tested the tread fixtures carefully and even without the bracing you could stand on the ends of the treads without sign of failure
in more detail the treads are bolted down to small triangular steel brackets that were then bolted to the steel beam you can just about see the plugs in the center of the treads where the bolts are hidden, the light carrying wedges under each step are removable to allow access to the cabling and bolted fixtures should anything ever need tightening
I get the code thing and understand the need for safety but certainly in North America it appears that if it meets code its good enough (just sufficient) who ever set "MINIMUM" standards has a lot to answer for!
you are right that acceptable functionality has replaced design we would all be safer if we just buy everything from the big box stores where things have been fully tested and are safe!!!!
(sorry correction, unless it from China in which case it might be full of mercury and lead but don't worry there will be a call back so all is good)
wow that all got a bit long winded, must be the wine talking (its been a long week)
Thank you Robert your comments really made my day yesterday
I was unsure whether to post this project as it makes you feel a bit vulnerable as to the responses you can recieve,
I guess as craftsmen our work is often our own interpretation of the world and as such is kind of personal, and we all like it to be liked.
again thank you
Jason - And as craftsmen, we often invest more of our self and self worth into our work than is apparent to others outside the trade. Hence the vulnerability. Confidence in one's skills and ability is a fragile trait, always in jeopardy, but also pushing us on to overcome and 'build' our confidence into the project.
Well Jason; Dave said it much better than I would have.
