help with an open riser 'floating' stairs

17 years ago

I am trying to do an open riser stair case a "floating stairs." Essentially during framing we would put blocking in the walls then use a 2"x2" steel angle attached the tread to the blocking after the drywall work is finishedÂ My space between the walls is 42" and once I take out the area for the angle bracket I am left with an unsupported span of 38".

I am using Ipe (Brazilian Walnut) for my flooring and wanted to use an ipe tread as well, I have contacted a few lumbar yards and the thickest kiln dried tread I can find is 1 1/8"Â We did some test on the tread to see if there was any deflection when spanned 38" unsupported and although there was not a lot of deflection, there was enough for my GC to have concerns.

What are some options to do a floating stair with no or little deflection? I would like to keep using Ipe but IÂm open to other suggestions to get the same look.

For example here are a few options:

1. put an 37" 1"x1" steel angle bracket along the back span of the tread Â downside: is it would lose some of the clean look I am going for.

2. use a different material for the tread such as 2"x10" oak or a structural LVL Â downside: even with a stain would not look the same as the Ipe flooring

3. use a 1"x10" LVL and put ipe flooring on top of it. Â downside: if not done right it could look sloppy.

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Comments (7)

sierraeast
17 years ago
lvl's aren't as structural laying flat horizontally as they are vertical and would look shabby,imo, even if you stained.

Couldn't you put the same thickness ipe only ripped down narrower,and basically double up the tread underneath? Probably a third of your tread width for the stiffner, centerd, would strengthen it significally, and if you glued and screwed it to the underside and plugged the screw holes before staining, it might have a nice look for you.Just a thought.
iliya1
17 years ago
I'd let 1/4" steel plate into the bottom of each IPE tread. The 1/4" plate would be about 1 to 2 inches smaller than the tread all the way around. The bottom of the tread would be milled with a router so that the plate would be flush with the bottom of the tread. It would give a nice, clean look. Put a few screws from the bottom, countersinking the holes.
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hi. i have the same exact situation and have had stair guys here. It's true that if you make the riser straight, you won't have enough foot room. If you were to put in whole wood treads with nosing, then it would be fine because you'd gain the inch from the nosing. I too wanted to cut cost by doing carpet and doing end treads, but I don't know what to do with the end tread. I don't know if it will look good when viewed from the side angled back. What did you or are you planning to do? At one time, I had carpet rolled over the sides like yours and had them put molding there instead of carpet. It is angled to match the angle of the stairs, and it does not look good. It looks very zig zaggy, like the letter z. I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and have wood treads put in and have everything plumbed to be straight. In this case, then you have to put in molding or skirts to hide the plumbing from the sides. It gets expensive!!!!
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woodswell
17 years ago
I think iliya1 has it right - a recent This Old House season with a mid-century modern had a similar stair I think. They had steel supports under teak treads so that the steel almost was not visible.
{{gwi:1448415}}

Here is a link that might be useful: The Cambridge House
mcassel
Original Author
17 years ago
I had a friend make another suggestion which was to look for 4"x12" plank and cut it to size... I think I have to very good options with this one and the steel plate idea...

thanks guys.

PS any other options would help to :)
anthem
17 years ago
I would look at doing 1/4" steel plate similar to what brick masons use to re-inforce them along the length of the step. If you have to go more than few inches, you might as well go the entire way. You will probably have to go thicker than the standard tread thickness eventhough ipe is quite hard.

Keep in mind the additional weight of the steel plate as well as the ipe tread as ipe and steel weight a lot when its that thick. Which leads me to the next thing - I'd consider a lot more than just 'blocking' to hold a freeform tread. My guess is that the weight of each treat could be 150lbs but thats not the big issue - its the dynamic load as people are bounding up the stairs. . . You may want to look at 2x12 continuous along the run of stairs or something sturdier than that.

Ipe is available in larger pieces as the tree is quite large. You'll just have to find a good specialty lumber supplier that can get it for you. I've seen curved handrails cut out of ipe, so its definitely available. It's just very hard and very heavy.
chazas
17 years ago
With open riser stairs, keep code requirements in mind. If you're in a jurisdiction that has adopted the IRC, I believe that none of the gaps between the treads can be any larger than 4". Around here, inspectors apparently carry around a 4" sphere to test this.
raymontgomery
16 years ago
I am also looking at a floating ipe stairway. Did you ever construct your system. Given the strength of ipe, 3" seems a little thick. Any photos or suggestions based on your experience.

help with an open riser 'floating' stairs

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sierraeast

iliya1

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help with an open riser 'floating' stairs

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