The stairway was supposed to be easy for Jim. We found some fool proof stair case hardware on line ( E Z Stairs). Even Captain Kirk can do it!( he is their spokes person). Well, they are not as accurate as they are implied to be. Jim followed the directions the first, second and third time he did the 16 steps and they always came out wrong. Jim decided to do it the old fashion way with a square and they came out right the first try. The stair brackets themselves from the kit are nice and sturdy but the spacer bar system just did not work corretly for us. It is always interesting around here.
We started to make the cabinets that go under the stairway. On the way into the master bedroom on the right side will be a small bar area. We plan to use the same glass tile from the kitchen between the two wine racks and both sides (hopefully if cost effective) will have matching granite with the kitchen on the tops of the cabinets. The other side, that has the electrical panel, will have a glass doored bookcase with a mirror hanging over the panel box door. The mirror will have glass tile that matches the kitchen backsplash around the edges. Along the staircase we will have pantry size cabinet doors going down to smaller ones opening to storage underneath. Also we will be able to get to our NEW whole house water purifer through the cabinet doors. You can read about that under the "News" section. We are planning to use evey inch of space under there for storage.
We still have lots to do to complete the stairs. We own all the parts but are waiting for drywall before making the stairs pretty. Check back for improvements. I will not miss the barn style railings that we have now.
Jim installed the last of the oak treads. We wanted to clean up the area under the stairs to get ready for our cabinet doors. We had to cover the treads with cardboard because we are out of extra drywall like we did the others that we had to install before the drywall could be done. We are trying to keep them from getting too dirty before we can sand and finish them. We still have lots to do on the stairway. The risers are going to be tiled in a slate looking tile and then there are the ballasters and handrails to do. No room for error there. Jim mentioned getting started on that while the kids and I are out of town for the weekend. He will need alot of patience for this job.
I have stapled carpet to the underside of the stairs in hopes that it quiets them down a bit. I do not know if it works in reverse. I can not tell because of the cardboard right now. A nice friend donated the carpet scraps thatshe had just sitting under her stairs. Unfortunanitly, she had a water heater break and leak so she has to get all new carpet. These scraps will no longer match her new carpet.
Jim had a two day weekend and decided to start the stair railings.The kids and I were gone so he had the perfect quiet time to work on it. He sat and did the math and made a tool for the spindle holes to be drilled. All did not work out as planned. In order not to ruin very expensive parts he stopped work to think about his plan of action some more. He did get one newel installed at the bottom of the stairway. It does look lonely. He has a new plan but has not had time to work on it. He is now out of town all week including the weekend. No stair railings this week.
We have been working on the stairs. We have made progress and they are coming along. We still have alot of detail work to do including sanding and sealing the wood, touch up paint on the balasters( I am not happy with the paint brand we bought at a box store!), and tiling the risers and sides of the stringers. The stairs have been a buger from beginning. Next time we will leave this job to the pros! It is our first time to do stairs so maybe we haven't done so badly after all. We are just not itching to do more stairways.
The stairs are finally finished! I really like they way they turned out. It was a lot of work and all I can say for next time is ............ there is nothing wrong with a bigger ONE Story Dome!! : )
