Making a Floating Staircase - Woodworking

Hi everyone, thank you for your many fair questions and remarks about this staircase in the comments. I’ll try to answer them all but thought I would summarize the most interesting ones here: - Strength: I built this staircase about a year ago and used it to hall big lumber and furniture upstairs, I’ve had no issue with it what so ever. Although it could have been even stronger if I didn’t recess the anker bolts in the sides. (In hindsight, don't know why I did that) but again, its plenty strong. - Railing: I’m planning to install a railing on the wall. I want to keep the middle open so I can easily move big pieces upstairs. - Safety: here in Belgium (probably different from the US) only new builds and classified renovations need to be approved by an inspector. This isn’t the case here but that’s a legal issue I won’t bore you with. To summarize; It’s safe and legal.😉 - Woodglue: I used a lot of glue on the 3 individual pieces, so they would be strong. I did not glue those 3 pieces together though, I only used screws. As they are each connected to a different part of the building (ground, wall and 1st floor) that can move in different directions. Adding glue would prevent the natural movement that occurs and would over time loosen and start to creek. If you have any more tips or questions, let me know! I’m eager to learn more 😊

I have only two suggestions for you: it's always advisable when building stairs to make one single step a tiny bit higher to trip up enemy swordsmen who may be after your upstairs treasures. Also if you and your guilde are right handed, always build spiral stairs with a clockwise rise to keep the advantage on your side for swinging a sword or dagger. All the best for your adventures, sire.

I am very thankful for the youtube.com/post/UgkxbnOKZBE4evMO5V2vroHeCjq6d_MV6… that has been a tremendous help to me in building a perfect outdoor shed. I have been facing many challenges and difficulties for a long time, but this plan has guided me to correct the mistakes during the process. I am impressed by the projects and I express my gratitude to the creator of this collection of plans.

Structural engineer here. Gotta warn ya bro that ledger to the concrete wall with no support on the other side is in what's called cross-grain bending. Wood has zero strength in cross grain bending, it's strictly not allowed. What would have worked is doing a tension tie type anchor at the top of the landing framing member that are perpendicular to the wall. This would take the tension out the eliminate the cross grain bending. If you built this extremely tight and redundant it will probably compensate and shouldn't get overloaded with just one lightweight person. But we usually try to support things correctly. I would use like a Titen HD with a DTT2Z or something similar. Cheers mate.

WOW the inspector was very thorough! It even said, good job. Can’t beat it when the inspector give you a compliment on your work.

60 years ago, my grandfather taught me how to do it, without a computer, milling machines and battery tools. The quality was 100%

"Any notes Mr. Inspector?" "Nah!" Good job! It looks strong and it looks perfect!

Retired now, but I have built many staircases during my decades of work. There are many tiny nuances that the books/internet might not mention yet make a massive difference when the customer and their family use them. I wish you had consulted somebody who has done them before. You will figure out what they are yourself as you use them. Thanks for sharing. Great shop!

The fact that you don't know much about building stairs, but you went ahead and did it yourself successfully, is a fine statement for a hard working, young fella like you :) Great job, fist bumps from Canada :)

I’ve been a carpenter and builder for over 40 years. I don’t know exactly how many staircases I’ve framed and trimmed but it’s a bunch! I often wonder how differently I might do something if I’d had the luxury and convenience of CAD and the availability of specialized structural screws. I guess it would look a lot like this! Good job, young man! Keep up the good work and keep striving to do the things that challenge you and the the things you enjoy!

Great tutorial video. Thank you

I like you style of story telling. Looking forward to seeing more on your shop set up. Your shop has great natual light and I suspect will be great for woodworking. Very much interested in what you are doing.

I've been remodeling most of my almost 40 years... plans rarely go to plan. lol.. That's an awesome job!

This was your first time ever building a staircase?? Congratulations brother! from a carpenters perspective, I think you did a great job! I think i understand the way you thought process worked to come up with this design, and i can tell just by looking how much thought you put into it. If i was you, and since this is a custom design for your needs and available space, i woulnt follow the prints too close in terms of measurements just to make the instalation process a bit easier on myself. adjusting as needed to the surrounding area. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!!

Very nice safety inspector. Concise notes, delivered without drama.

I’m a Draftswoman/ Designer, and I love your videos; and the colors of the shop and especially those storage cabinets , Great job

Nicely done. I wish I had the space to renovate a space into a workshop like this.

Strong and efficient. Very nice! God bless ALL of us! WWG1WGA

Thank you for these video’s. You are very methodical, it is good to watch. Good job on the staircase👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

A very handsome, thorough, & "no fuss" inspector.