WTB or WTR Curved Staircase

blueeyesdesigns

Active Member
Looking to save ourselves some headaches and rent, borrow, or buy a curved staircase in the Chicago area. Needs to serve a platform at least 6' high, preferably closer to 8', and curve about 90deg from bottom to top. Designer has it drawn ~4' wide at the top and ~7' wide at the bottom.

I have a feeling that a custom build here is not going to be in the budget, so I probably have room to negotiate dimensions with the designer.

The show's Follies; loads in staring 10/8, opens 11/9, closes 11/18.

PS: could also use a ratty-looking chunk of red drape to be old main rag. ~25' tall
 

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You could just make and build small square platforms, overlapped at whatever angle needed and legged for each level. Thats not too hard if you're building other stuff/have a stock of platforms.
 
I just did a set of curved stairs using the construction method in the attached PDF. You do need to add horizontal braces at the bottom which are not shown in the drawings. very simple and cost effective.
 

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I just did a set of curved stairs using the construction method in the attached PDF. You do need to add horizontal braces at the bottom which are not shown in the drawings. very simple and cost effective.

Thanks, we've worked out a design pretty similar to that. Glad to know great minds think alike. ;) We're adding a bit more framing since our steps are so wide and deep near the bottom.

It's all do-able, just a lot of labor that I don't really have the crew-hours for. Was hoping to take a bit of a shortcut if someone else already has one they can part with for a few weeks.
 
Cleaning out my phone and came across some pics I took of the finished stair project. Thought I'd add them to this thread in case they might be helpful for anyone else stumbling across this thread; the final product is basically a series of small platforms on studwalls. The bottom/widest step is almost 8' wide, tapering to the top about 4' wide. Railings are strips of masonite laminated with wood glue and bent to match the curve before the glue dried. (What. A. Pain.)
 
Oh, and here's some in-progress pics of the curved railing being formed.
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I did the first part with ripped-down 2x4 for reasons I don't recall, and had to fight it a lot. In a classic "hey, dummy" moment, a wise coworker suggested masonite would be easier to work with and he was right. Glad I listened. The second and third came together a lot faster.
 
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