A wonderful aspect about designing custom stairs is choosing the materials that will express the look and feel you want for your home. Wood remains the most chosen material for a home stairway. However, many people and, amazingly, architects don’t realize that there are a host of different woods that are suitable for use in [...]
Factors to Consider When Pricing Staircases
Cost Factors Deciding on the type and the cost of a staircase for your home will depend on several factors. Are you incorporating the staircase in an existing home or is this for a home that is yet to be built? How much area is available for the staircase? What materials do you want to [...]
Industry Affiliations – Important Information When Hiring a Contractor
Hiring a custom stair builder is akin to hiring other contractors. You want to check their credentials, service reputation and skill. Beyond that, looking at the associations with which the company is affiliated will also give you insight into the integrity, stability and credibility of the company Hiring a Contractor Most of you already know the [...]
Children and Stair Safety
The lure of the staircase is enticing for young burgeoning walkers. The world in itself is new and exciting enough but to then add the possibility of climbing – it is simply too much to resist for most crawlers and toddlers. Building or remodeling a stair system to protect your young children is not difficult [...]
Stair Safety and Aging Adults
Stair safety is always a concern in the home. When people age, eyesight, coordination and strength may diminish, increasing the likelihood of tripping or falling on stairs. In a 2006 report, the Center for Disease Control compiled the ten leading causes of nonfatal injuries that are treated in United States hospital emergency rooms. Across all age groups, [...]
Outdoor Stairways – A Welcoming Facet to Your Home
The impact of a well-designed stairway can begin at your door. The use of elevation differences, whether planned or as a necessity, is a great way to use custom stair design to draw your visitors’ interest up and into your home. By implementing some of the design features used for an interior stair system, you [...]
Clear Viewing – Glass Balusters
For some people a beautiful stair system is all about the individual components that make up the balustrade – the railings, the spindles (balusters) – and the treads and risers. For others it is about the view that lies beyond the stairway. Using clear materials as the balusters, a stairway can be crafted so it [...]
Making an Entrance – Choosing the Newel Post
Stairways have graced homes, businesses and public buildings for centuries frequently reflecting the architectural style of the time. Perhaps the most revealing display of architecture is the staircase newel post. Often the first object noticed and most ornate piece of the stairway entrance, the newel post, sets the style for the entire balustrade. Newel Types Newel [...]
Pros and Cons of Site Built or Shop Built Custom Stairs
Building the foundation of a custom staircase is important. Many custom built stairways can be crafted onsite or in the woodcrafters shop. Logistics of each building site often make the decision for where a staircase has to be built. Following are some issues that could affect the cost of new custom stairs. Pros for Onsite [...]
Water Jet Cutting Offers Endless Possibilities for Custom Stair Design
Intricate handcrafted wood elements for a custom balustrade system make for an amazing and beautiful staircase, however, hand crafting can make these pieces expensive. This is where technology becomes a good option. Waterjet technology turns what could previously only be done by hand into an assembly line operation. Waterjet cutting machines open up a new [...]