As with all carpentry projects that have to fit into an existing building, installing a stair is the last and final test of the carpenter’s craft.
This is the crucial moment that tells if the project is a success or failure, both aesthetically and technically.
I know for myself that installation is the most stressful part of stair building.
Any minor error in measurement or design will show and at the very least give problems when the stair is being installed.
My greatest fear is that I have made a mistake in taking sizes it’s so easy to say two meters fifty and write 2m50 instead of 2m050mm.
For this reason I always advise taking the same dimension from several angles so that all sizes are cross referenced.
Besides the sizes the other aspect of a projects success is design.
I’m always apprehensive because I can never know for sure that the stair will look as good on site as on a computer.
The following stair was built to access an attic in an old farm house.
You can see the stair in the workshop in my last video here:
Quick tour of the workshop: curved stair ready for installation
We had to cut the beams to make a new stair well and assemble the stair in the well.
Here’s a quick video slide show of the installation.
Hope you enjoy it.
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Thanks very much!
It’s great to learn that you should take the dimension from several angles when installing a curved stair and handrail. My brother is wanting to renovate his living room and he was wondering how he could easily install curved stairs and a handrail. I’ll tell him that he should take the dimension from several angles when installing a curved stair and handrail.
Hi Darin,
Thanks so much for your comment. We’re really glad that you have been able to get some tips from this article. I hope your brother will be successful with his new curved stair project. Please let us know if he’d like access to advice from our expert team during his project. Have a nice day!
Crystal