renovationism

“stairs” part 1: stringer structural stupidity

Many parts of the basement renovation project have induced angst. Only the stairs, however, had the power to produce such constant long-term fretting. As I begin to document that part of the journey, the stair work is done, and I’m reasonably happy with the result. Reaching that result, though, was…

First, a look at the original stairs in their natural habitat.

A view from February, 2002

My plan was to keep the original strings and refinish them with new treads and risers.

The stringers exposed

However, during demolition in 2006, it became clear that the original stringers weren’t desirable. A previous owner had notched the stringers to create the framing for an under-stair storage space, thus severely compromising their structural integrity. They had shored up the downhill side of the stringer with 2×4s but I was pretty sure they wouldn’t pass framing inspection if and when I got to that point.

It doesn't take a structural engineer to see...

So, I bought a couple of 16′ pieces of 2×12 and laid out my own stringers. I ran into two issues. First, the stairs are steep and, therefore, the ratio of rise to run wasn’t within the limits of county code. Second, with the low ceiling in the basement, the headroom above the bottom step was too low for code. If I had maintained the original stringers, the deviances would have been grandfathered in. However, by replacing them, I had to either meet code, or get a waiver. A couple of visits to the permit office, a few forms filled out, and one visit by the inspector later, and I had my letter of variance.