Our Most Ambitious Stair Project Yet

 

 

 

My husband is an incredible woodworker.  He can make just about anything!  He's put oak stairs in two of our last three houses and walnut stairs in this house.  Recently a good friend asked us to help her with her stairs.  She lives in a 100 year old house that she is redoing room by room.  Last year we helped her put in a mudroom.  This project again provided tight spaces for three adults, but we can honestly say, we're all still very good friends!  :)

 

She wanted the stairs made out of hickory to match what she's planning to use on her first floor.  It's the first time my husband has worked with the wood.  It's sure a beautiful wood!

 

 

 

We thought we had a true 'before' picture of the stairs with carpet on them, but none of us can locate the picture.  Instead, we have these, after she ripped out all of the carpet.  We are guessing by the way they came out, that they built the original stairs elsewhere and put in the whole set as one piece. 

 

 

 

 

 

After we removed all of the old stairs and old stuff that they were built with, there was only a center 2x4 with little 1x6's nailed to that.  Talk about being Billy Goats climbing up those 14 steps! Here she is cutting off the old nails that were put in from the other side.  Good balancing act!

 

 

We added three new stringers, then secured them to the walls, the center support and down to the floor at the bottom.

 

 

Several weeks of cutting, sanding, gluing, staining the hickory at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once we had all three stringers in, we started from the bottom building the frame for each step.  We had to be very careful to make sure everything was level, even, etc.  After we built all of the support steps, we glued down the hickory.  We'd put one stair in, then the riser, then he'd precisely measure for the next stair, and on and on...

 

The first 13 stairs are in!

 

 

The landing is now securely built, ready for the hickory.

 

 

 

She wanted a similar landing to the one he made for our house.  Lots and lots of cutting, gluing and screwing the boards together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

The last four stairs were a bit out of square, etc., but that was fixed.

 

 

 

 

 

Woohoo!  The last tread is put in place.

 

 

And the project is about done!  She still needs to caulk the risers and touch up the drywall, but the bulk of the project is complete and she's thrilled!

 

 

Thanks for your visit!

 

Pam

 

 

 

I am linking to the following parties:

 

 

  Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House