The Staircase

Last week (12/10/07) I started the installation of the stair treads, risers, skirting and wainscot paneling. We decided to use solid white oak on all the stair components to match the flooring both upstairs and downstairs. I glued-up all the risers and treads using 4/4 rift white oak. The treads finished with the nosings at 1 3/8" thick. I ran them through the shaper to give them a detailed edge. Each tread had to be mitered and the nosing returned into itself. The work is complicated and time consuming.

The objective: stairs that look to have been built at the turn of the century by a master craftsman. I had to install the wainscot on the rake prior to installing the risers and treads because they finish into the wainscot. Yet, I had to install the risers and treads prior to the hardwood flooring at the landing, and that had to be installed prior to the wainscot at the landing if you want the flooring to go all the way to the wall under the wainscot.

None of this was easy, yet the results are worth it. I could have had a subcontractor install the flooring for the staircase but opted to do the work myself. The staircase is open, winding up the greatroom to the upstairs. As a result, the staircase is a very important, highly visible feature -- worth the extra month of work of doing it myself. I anticipate having the wainscot finished by the end of next week.