Our son, Nik, tested the stairs today. His younger sister, Kate, tested the stairs on the day the stairs and bridges were installed.
First, he inspected the stairs carefully, including the landing and opening to the pantry.
Then, Nik ran up the stairs.
The stairs passed the test and received Nik’s approval.
Our son, Nikolas, takikng his first steps on our stairs.
Nik on the landing.
Today was a big day for us. A very big day.
The team from Larson Steel (Hector, ’Little Hector’ and ‘Little Pete’) was fabulous. They worked well with Ben, our crane operator from West Coast Crane.
With our atrium going through to the lower level, our bridges and stairs will be a big part of our house. The railings will be critical as visitors will touch and feel them.
There are very few interior bridges in residential houses, so our two interior bridges will differentiate our house from many others. Oh, we have an exterior bridge, too.
Bryan arrived at the job site at 7:25 am this morning. It was a bit foggy. Our crane was waiting patiently on Winchester Boulevard. Ben, the operator, wasn’t going to move the crane into position until 8:00 am because of the loud ‘beeping’ noise it makes when backing up.
Bryan, with help from the Larson Steel team, removed the temporary safety railings.
Arriving at the job site. Note the fog - it will be a very hot day today.
Crane parked and waiting patiently on Winchester Boulevard, ready to start working at 8:00 am.
Bryan has to remove these temporary safety railings.
And, remove these temporary safety railings around the atrium.
Temporary safety railings are gone and the crane is getting set up. Still a bit of fog to burn off.
We knew it was going to be a tight fit to put the stairs in place. We had 1/4 inch of clearance with the feature concrete wall. We rigged the stairs four different ways before finding the correct combination to bring it in. Essentially, we ended up bringing the stairs in low, then raised it up and pushed it back.
Stairs being lifted from the Larson Steel truck.
Here come the stairs!
Bringing the stairs in low, then raising the stairs.
The stairs are in place!
With the stairs in place, Bryan scurried up them and helped Hector with the final adjustments.
We're done.
The two bridges were put in place in minutes. Literally.
They fit perfectly and there were no issues.
Here comes the first bridge.
Little Hector and Pete positioning the first bridge (Bridge Foyer).
Testing the bridge. Yes, it is solid. Rock solid.
Second bridge coming from the truck.
The second bridge being lowered into position (Bridge Hall).
Placing the Bridge Hall exactly where it needs to be.
Our stairs and bridges are now in place.
Done. The crane completed its work by 9:41 and left the job site at10:00 am.
We installed the HSS 4×4 x 3/8″ steel column as well today. It went in relatively fast and needed to be welded to the W6x16 steel I-beam.
Welding the steel column to the steel beam.
Threaded bars welded to I-beam for the Hardy Frames.
Our flag is now flying - we're ready to host visitors now!
Bryan has been working with Steve Kreck at Paramount Modular Cable Railing Systems on the design of our railing system around the atrium and on the stairs. Steve is great to work with and has a keen eye for detail.
Having installed the stairs, Steve wanted to know if we had sufficient clearance for the 1×2 inch stainless steel posts on the stairs. Bryan measured the gap and it will be close. We’ll have to ensure the concrete doesn’t extend over the steel I-beam by the stairs or there certainly won’t be sufficient room for the posts.
There is a one-inch gap between the HSS 2x8 stringer and the W10x12 steel I-beam. Just enough for the stair posts.
You can see there is just 1/8th of an inch of clearance between the concrete wall and the stairs. Exactly as designed.
You can see the Titen bolts that hold the stairs to the concrete wall so there won't be any sway in the stairs. These bolts will be hidden behind the risers.
The same Titen bolts hold the landing to the concrete wall. It is solid. Rock solid.
You can see how the HSS 2x8 stringer on the right becomes a 3/8 inch plate that floats against the concrete wall. The same steel stringer continues all the way up the stairs on the left side.
Jim and Brittany came by to see our progress. We had dinner with the O’Briens on Saturday evening so it was great to host their visit.
Jim and Brittany O'Brien arrive at the job site.
Jim wants the Madrone decking on the bridge before going across.
Jo-Anne and Kate inspected the site and tested the stairs. They approved!
Kate and Jo-Anne arrive at the job site, ready to test the stairs.
Taking their first steps ...
It works! Jo-Anne and Kate declare the test a success.
We were very excited to see the bridges and stairs being fabricated at Larson Steel in Gilroy. These will be extremely important features of our home so they need to be designed, engineered, fabricated and installed carefully.
Although we had some initial ideas regarding the bridge design, Hector Guerra of Larson Steel designed the structural steel components. He recommended that we use two pieces of tube steel, 5 inches wide by 5 inches deep, with 1/2 walls. Knowing we didn’t want any ‘bounce’ or movement in the bridges, he thought this basic structural design would work.
End of HSS 5x5, notched to sit on the W6x16 I-beam. Do you think it will be solid? Rock solid?
This is the main bridge that goes from the foyer across the atrium to the living room. It will be covered with Madrone hardwood flooring from the Santa Cruz Mountains. We want this to be solid. Rock solid.
Pete Larson inspecting the Bridge Foyer. Note the cross-pieces that will then support two layers of 3/4 inch plywood and then the 3/4 inch Madrone hardwood.
This bridge goes from the Living Room to the Master Suite. The bridge decking will be made of glass, fritted for safety and frosted for privacy. Importantly, using glass will allow light from the clerestory windows to go into the lower level, which will reduce the electricity required over the building’s life.
The Bridge Hall will have a separate aluminum frame in it that will hold the six pieces of 1-inch thck glass decking.
Due to the narrow 38-1/2 inch opening between the steel column and the feature concrete wall, the stairs were a challenge to design. We used HSS 2×8 with 3/16 wall for one stringer and, by the concrete wall, 3/8 inch plate.
It was very rewarding to see the design coming together.
HSS 2x8 stringer components, ready for inspection prior to welding.
This is the bottom of the stairs, where the stringers will be attached together with a 3/8 inch plate. Yes, that plate will be attached securely to the concrete and then covered with 3 inches of concrete.
This is the stair stringer that goes against the feature concrete wall. The lower part (left hand side) is HSS 2x8 tube steel as we are not constrained for space at that location.
Many people have asked us about why our project has been delayed. We’d like to explain …
The short story is that Bryan made a mistake with the sequencing of items on our construction. His error was thinking that the bridges and stairs could be installed AFTER pouring the additional 5-1/4 inches of concrete that is required on the ground floor level. Wrong.
In June, Bill Brown pointed out that the bridges and stairs needed to be installed prior to pouring the additional concrete. He was patient and we put our project on ‘hold‘ until the bridges and stairs are in place.
We stopped our construction in June so the two bridges and stairs could be designed, engineered, approved, fabricated, painted and installed. Currently, the bridges and stairs are at the fabrication stage and we’re scheduled to install the bridges and stairs on September 17 (or so).
In addition, the posts for the railing system around the atrium needed to be designed (to meet the building code), then fabricated and installed. The posts need to be welded to the steel I-beams that support the hollow core concrete panels, and these posts will then be embedded in concrete.
Complicating matters is that concrete has a high probability of cracking around the four corners of a square/rectangular post and less probability of cracking around a circular post. Thus, we need to have our square/rectangular posts welded to circular posts, which would then be welded to the steel I-beams and embedded in concrete.
It gets more complicated …
The I-beams are carbon steel and the posts are stainless steel. We’re going to have the square/rectangular stainless steel posts welded in the shop to circular carbon steel posts. Then, the carbon steel can be welded on site to the carbon steel I-beams.
Next, the railing system has to meet the code requirements. This is non-trivial and subject to interpretation. We had to understand how Monte Sereno interprets the requirements for stairs and balconies under the International Building Code (IBC) and not the International Residential Code (IRC). Take a look at http://www.stairways.org/pdf/2006%20Stair%20IRC%20SCREEN.pdf to see the interpretation of the IRC.
But, we, in the State of California, need to comply with the IBC.
In addition, one has to understand our design requirements and the materials that we are using, including the following:
1. Our primary design principle is, ‘less is more.’ This principle is exceedingly difficult to follow. It is easier to make large bulky connections using joists, chases and molding where items can be ‘hidden.’ We are trying to make everything very thin and light looking, while having structural strength so the components are rock solid. For example, we want our bridges and stairs to be very thin but we want them to have very little sway or bounce. We want them to be solid. Rock solid.
2. Our primary building materials are concrete, glass and steel. These materials are not as malleable and forgiving as wood. And they require much, much more precision. Yeah, they cost more too.
3. For us, the materials need to tell a ‘story’. We want the materials to be unique and of interest (not from the Home Depot in Campbell). OK, we want the materials to be unique but we need them to be at a low cost, even lower than the Home Depot in Campbell.
These are difficult criteria to meet and restrictive constraints to comply with.
It is exceedingly important to meet these criteria and constraints because, when someone walks into our house, they will see the bridges, stairs and railing system from most parts of the house. Plus, they will touch the railing system so it will have yet another important dimension – how it feels. We need to consider the tactile nature of our design. In particular, the underside of the guard rail and hand rail will be where people run their fingertips, which are extremely sensitive.
So, we have been spending the last two months designing, engineering and sourcing the components. We haven’t been doing construction.
The components are coming from a number of locations. Once designed, finalizing the dimensions and ensuring everything will fit together correctly required obtaining samples and seeing, touching and feeling (physical presence). We have a number of different suppliers, all of which provide components that must come together at our site to become part of the bridges, stairs and railing systems.
For example, we have sourced the stainless steel bolts from NYC, the stainless steel posts and screws from LA, the cables and fittings from Nevada, the glass bridge decking from Texas, the wood railings from Ontario (Canada), the Madrone decking from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the structural steel components are being fabricated in a shop in Gilroy. We’ve had to integrate the components and ensure these individual pieces will work together as a system.
Given #1 and #2 above, this has not been a simple exercise. For example, the face of the 1/2 inch bolts we are using are 7/8 inch wide. However, the 1×2 posts only have a 5/8 inch face on them. Thus, we had to go to 3/8 bolts that are 1/2 inch wide. Except this requires going from 2 bolts per post to 3 bolts since the 3/8 bolts are not as strong as 1/2 inch bolts.
Another example …
The steel stringer for the stairs is HSS 2×8 with a 3/16 wall. The bolts only come in coarse thread, which is 13 threads per inch. Using 1/2 inch bolts in the stairs will only allow 2.44 threads of purchase in the 3/16 steel stringer. Now, we need 3 1/2 bolts in each post.
Regarding #3 above, we have some very interesting materials.
We wanted stainless steel bolts with Allen key heads. This is fine, except we couldn’t get these bolts. We could, however, get ‘security’ bolts from NYC in these sizes. Security bolts have a pin in the center of them so a special tool is required for the bolts. These bolts are found in high security areas – banks and prisons. Nice story.
Since both Jo-Anne and Bryan lived in Canada, we wanted to have a part of Canada in our home in California. The top wooden guard rails and hand rails offered an excellent opportunity for us (the other railings are 3/16 stainless steel cables). Think about Canada’s national flag – the maple leaf. The railings are what everyone will touch and feel. We found some very hard, clear maple wood in Ontario, Canada to use for the railings. Another nice story.
Now, the maple rail has to be attached to the stainless steel posts. Simple, yes. We don’t want anyone to see the connection so the wood is cut to hide the stainless steel bracket on top of each post. However, your fingers are going to feel the screws that connect the post to the railing. Stainless steel screws, with Torx security heads are just the ticket. These come from L.A. Why L.A.? Because they go in telephone booths.
Everyone steals things from telephone booths so they are made out of stainless steel and have security screws, which can only be undone with special tools. OK, kinda weird but yet another story.
This has turned into a very complex project, integrating the design with engineering and then the materials. It is better to figure it out on paper before getting the materials delivered to the site and then being surprised. With concrete, glass and steel it isn’t easy to slip over to the Home Depot and get the missed items.
It has been a nightmare.
(What did we miss?)
Oh, the fall rains are coming and we need to be weather tight very soon.
No pressure, yet.
Bill Brown explained that desiging the bridges and stairs are critical to our project. His words continue to ring in Bryan’s ears. Especially with the rains coming.
Bryan went to Lord & Sons Construction Supply in San Jose on Friday and picked up some bolt samples. We need stainless steel bolts to attach the stainless steel posts to the bridges and stairs. These bolts will be visible and an engineering feature of our house.
There are many alternatives available, including the head design and overall profile. This is going to require some reflection and thought in establishing the design and obtaining the look we want.
Different bolts designs and lengths. We need 1/2 inch in diameter bolts, that are 3-1/2 inches long. The bolts in this photo can be ordered in the size and material (stainless steel) that we require. The question is, 'which profile and head pattern do we want?'
We like the material (stainless steel), and the Allen key head, but don't like the profile of this bolt.
This cap head bolt looks good. It has a good surface area (important for structural strength) and we like the Allen key head. For us, this bolt has a very pleasing profile. We need this in stainless steel and 3-1/2 inches long.
The countersunk bolt looks perfect! Stainless steel and 3-1/2 inches long and we're good to go!
Bryan keeps hearing Bill Brown’s words,
“The bridges, railings and stairs are critical to your project. These are what everyone will touch and feel. The hardware on the railings are like jewelry – don’t make a mistake.”
Although Jo-Anne, Nik, Kate and Lucky are in Kelowna, Bryan continues to focus on designing the bridges, railings and stairs.
ArchiCAD makes it very easy to create renderings of a project. The structure and materials must be modeled in three dimensions, which helps to understand the design much better.
Bryan continues to learn ArchiCAD.
Our trademark red front door. Note how the two beams 'frame' the door entrance. These beams will extend into the atrium.
Looking to the foyer. Note the flange of the steel beam modeled in the roof. Also, note how the posts are now stainless steel.
Looking down the stairs. Note how thin the Bridge Foyer looks. We're getting there.
View from the bottom of the stairs looking up. The treads and risers are in contrasting materials so it is easier to make the three dimensional model.
Looking at the profile at the bottom of the stairs. We are definitely getting better with the design.
