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A sweeping grand staircase is often the focal point of the entryway in a new home. It’s a dramatic, permanent piece of furniture, which gives a lasting first impression. Your staircase is also an important and functional part of your home. If not properly designed and built it can be uncomfortable at best, dangerous at worst. Circular or straight design, traditional or contemporary styling, natural wood finish or painted, it’s entirely up to you and what best fits your homes style and décor. When designing a home, make sure to leave enough floor space for your staircase. You will need a minimum of 36” of “walkable” tread and no more than 8” per riser. (Tip: the more treads you have in your staircase the lower each riser and less steep the staircase). A measurement of 6-1/2” to 7-1/2” would be a good rise to shoot for. Example: if your second floor is 9 feet, 2 inches above your first floor and you have 14 treads, each riser would be 7.34”. Since there is always one more riser than tread you take the total rise, 110”, and divide by total number of risers, 15, to come up with 7.34” per rise. If you wanted a less steep staircase you could add another tread. 110” divided by 16 risers to have a per-rise of 6.88” If you were pressed for space you could remove a tread and make you staircase steeper. 110” divided by 14 risers (13 treads) gives you a per-rise of 7.86”. You may incorporate virtually any kind of wood you wish into your staircase and railing system. The least expensive wood to use for the railing system is Poplar. This is usually painted and is considered “paint grade.” The most common and therefore most cost effective of the “stain grade” hardwoods is Red Oak. This wood has many different shades of reds, browns, and grays and its grain patterns are very attractive making oak an excellent choice for a stain grade handrail system. Maple is the next level in price. Maple is an extremely hard wood with a tight closed grain. It is whitish in color with some black streaks commonly occurring. It is worth noting that whenever you use a stain grade wood, you should expect some “imperfections” in the wood, as this is simply the beauty of natural wood. Other woods are available such as cherry, walnut, and hickory. These woods are not generally a stock item of any molding or wood turning company and you should expect to pay more for these and other woods. You may also want to use some metals in your railing system. Wrought Iron spindles can be used in place of wood spindles to give your stair a contemporary or Mediterranean look. There are many variables in pricing a staircase. The same staircase can have a simple wall mounted handrail for $150.00 or a simple painted railing system for $1500.00 or an elaborate stain grade/metal combination for $15,000.00. It is a very good idea to consult a stair company in the planning stages to get an idea of what your vision of a staircase will cost, and for help with design and other questions that may arise. Here at Nevada Stairs, we are always happy to help you with your questions. |
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