So Close, Yet So Far

With the metal work on the loft's railing complete, it was now time to focus on fabricating the railing for the stairs.  While I had a few conceptual ideas of how I might attach a railing to the steel mono-stringer staircase, I really felt it necessary to get my wooden tread covers on the stairs first before I refined my railing design.

My friend Anthony was nice enough to come over and get me started.  Anthony is a true craftsman with a tremendous attention to detail.  We spent some time discussing the layout and he helped me set up a plumb line on the outside of the staircase to ensure the treads went on even and aligned.  Over all, it was a pretty straight forward process.  I'll let the photos (and captions) do the talking on this one.

A reference line was set up with string to demarcate the outer edge of each tread...this ensures the treads  "line up" to the naked eye when viewed from the base of the stairs

Alternate view of reference line

Treads are 2" thick vertical grain douglas fir.  (Ignore thumb in upper right corner)

Each tread was attached from the underside to the steel plate beneath using carriage bolts.  Pilot holes were drilled for each bolt to avoid wood splitting

Prior to installing each tread, the leading edge of the tread (aka "the nose" of each tread) was rounded using a quarter inch router bit...this will prevent splintering as people go up & down the stairs in the years to come.

A simple trim router with 1/4 round-over bit

Rounded tread nose

Just over half way there

Finished!

As the astute may notice, the treads do not appear perfectly centered over the central stringer (if there is any doubt, go back and look at the very first photo of this post)...the segment between the stringer and the wall is slightly longer than the portion of the tread to the left of the stringer.  This, my friends, is what we call an epic failure.

This pretty much sums up how I felt after I realized my mistake

My original intent was to have each tread perfectly centered on the stringer and the top 2 treads would span from the wall to the first timber beam of the loft's cantilevered section...however, as I began thinking about the hand railing, I realized the loft's fascia mounted railing didn't leave me enough room to also run a railing down the outside of the stairs...I would need a little space to the left of the treads to make room for the stair's railing.  In a rash decision, I though "I'll just shorten my tread width...problem solved."  It wasn't until AFTER I cut all my treads that I realized this would result in my treads appearing off center.  This, my friends, is why architects make the big bucks--they catch shit like this before it happens.

Now, I'd be lying if I told you I didn't lose several nights of sleep over this after I realized my mistake.  I'd also be lying if I denied the fact I SERIOUSLY considered the following remedies:

1. Move the entire steel stringer to the right (which would have necessitated rounding up the crew of nine guys to help me detach and re-intsall the steel stringer.  It would also mean that the bottom of each tread would have extra holes from the original mounting and the concrete floor would have 4 unused anchor bolts sticking out of it)
2. Buy new vertical grain fir boards (which are not cheap) and go with my original plan of centering the treads on the stringer and then just making the stair's handrail make a funky jog around the loft's fascia mounted railing.
3. Burn the Fu&%ing thing down and give up.

After several days of self-inflicted emotional torment and head hanging, I opted for leaving it "as is" because after all, it will keep my ego in check....a nice slice of humble pie, if you will.  Its like a daily reminder that I'm not as smart as I sometimes like to think I am...

 Humbled, I tried to remind myself of a few things (Cue David Letterman's Top 10 list drum roll):

#10.  Its a frigging outbuilding, not my primary residence.
#9.  Most people will never notice (this was affirmed when I had a few friends over to check out the  treads...everyone said they didn't even notice until I pointed it out)
#8.  Its not like the stairs don't work!
#7.  It's only noticeable when you are standing at the bottom of the stairs (can't tell from the top or side)
#6.  It actually is less obvious with the railing in place (this will be evident in subsequent posts)
#5.  I'm not an architect and I'm not a contractor (neither of which would have made this mistake) so ts probably fair to cut me a little slack
#4.  I will never make this mistake twice, I promise (then again, I am NEVER building another set of stairs if I can help it...what a nightmare!!!)
#3.  The "Humble Pie" section of my blog hasn't had an entry in months!
#2.  I'm crippled? (okay, maybe this excuse doesn't hold water...damn it!)
#1.  If people notice this mistake in the future, I will just look at them with a straight face and say "yes, I know...I designed it this way.  Its an eccentric monostringer staircase...Duh.  It symbolized the world's never ending struggle for balance." 

Rationalizations aside, I'm still very pleased with how it has turned out.  The next step will be to design the railing and once that is finished I will apply finish to the treads.  In the meantime, they will be covered with protective paper.

A parting shot from above (it looks perfect from this angle...sigh)