Custom stairs were born

The concept of a custom steel "single stringer" stair, was a huge centerpiece in this house design. The drawings were made, the quote requests came in. And then, due to budget cuts, the decision to seek an alternative design began.

Well I'm real happy to report that a alternate design was created, and lots of money was saved while keeping the basic design idea alive. This new design had two stringers, and they were made from engineered lumber. So it was easy for me to manipulate into the design that I also created.

Here are some progress shots over the past couple of days. This is not the "finished" look. But you can take a look at the basic design.

Lets start with the raw materials: 2 beams, 3.5" thick, 14" wide & 18' long

Now lets convert them from "beam" to "Stair Stringer" (Which by the way is the part of the stair that you really never see in a traditional setup.)

When you get them all cut out, it looks like this:

Well that's one anyway. Do the same for the second one. Now here's an issue:

What if the cuts don't line up?  Well you get the sander out and make them perfectly smooth. Otherwise your right foot may have to step higher than the left foot. We can't have that.

If your still wondering what the heck a "stringer" is? Well then here you go. Stringers installed in the proper orientation should help you understand what all of these "teeth" have to do with stairs.

Now add some stair "Treads" and you've got yourself a nice setup. Also notice that the treads are "chunky", just like the stringers are. The treads are 3.5" high, 11.25" deep and 38" wide.

This is a very strong set of stairs. One key element to that was a custom steel bracket I had a local iron shop make to attach the stairs to the second floor. This bracket bolts in to the second floor structure and then each stringer is bolted through the side (two bolts each) as the manufacture recommended that for the best strength.

Big thanks to Jon & Bill for helping me get these big heavy stringers in to place. Muchas Gracias Amigos!