Spiral Staircase Continued

view more at www.dona-arch.com

If you have been following my blog, you have already seen the huge spruce log that makes up the center of the spiral staircase in our project in Juneau Alaska.  I am posting an update because the progress is so exciting that I really want to share it with everyone.  As can been seen from the photos, the wood treads have now been added but the railings have yet to be fabricated and installed.  Each wood tread is attached into the spruce log and gracefully cantilevers out like a series of tree branches.  The end result is pretty breath taking especially when seen from above. 

Spiral Staircase on Huge Spruce Log

view more at www.dona-arch.com

The owner of our project in Juneau Alaska saved a huge spruce log to form the base of a spiral staircase in his new home.  This is one of those situations where experience really plays a role in making difficult things seem easy.  We designed a similar staircase YEARS ago for our client in Port Townsend Washington.  His staircase was a great focal point to his home.  So when our Alaska clients presented the idea, we were all ready on board. I remembered a magazine article about the details for fabricating and installing he treads and a quick trip to the library produced a copy of the article.  It was a bit embarrassing to realize that the article was written over 20 years ago!  (it seems like yesterday...)  This is one of the great things about our profession.  You just keep on learning, new concepts, but you also get to reuse valuable experiences too.

Here is the spruce log being stored, ready for use

The timber frame is then installed

The Owner Scott Jenkins Cuts off the top of the timber

The timber is ready for stair treads

We will be posting updates when we have photos of the finished stairs.