We’ve been building curved stairs for a long time – more than 50 years. In that time, we’ve built stairs with all kinds of materials for treads, risers, and balustrades. Almost always the frames for our curved stairs are built in wood. Occasionally we build in metal … but our first choice is nearly always wood. Here’s why:
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Wood can be shaped and formed with flawless precision. Complex geometric shapes – elliptical, conical, helical, skewed, and other multi-radius configurations – are refined elements when they’re constructed in wood. Really, they’re art.
Your staircase is unique because of the details that go into every design. We really pride ourselves on building stairs that are incredibly sound structurally and impressive visually. Building in wood allows us to be ultra-creative in how we design stairs. Building the same stairs in metal would be difficult, if not impossible.
Bottom line: Wood is Versatile.
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Wood, as a building material, provides all kinds of benefits. But perhaps the one we notice the most is its intrinsic beauty. Wood is warm to the touch and has been associated with a feeling of peace, relaxation, coziness, and comfort. We build with all different kinds of wood species. Each has a signature grain and its own personality.
The beauty of wood lives on. Many of the staircases we built and installed more than 50 years ago have aged with such grace. When people have chosen to refinish them, they gain a whole new personality. That’s not possible with metal.
Bottom line: Wood Is Beautiful.
Imagine a building material that can be grown with soil, sun, and water. That’s wood.
In Wisconsin, we’re serious about forest management. The Department of Natural Resources works with businesses and landowners alike to make sure we’re able to “sustain and grow the benefits that forests offer.” Forest products contribute more than $24 billion to our state’s economy each year. From an economic perspective, it’s right to make sure our source materials are available well into the future.
In addition to the benefit of forest materials as a sustainable resource, forests also contribute other incredibly important benefits. They provide improved air quality, wildlife habitat, recreation, and so much more.
Bottom line: Wood is a Sustainable Resource.
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In some homes and buildings, installing a heavy metal staircase is completely out of the question. When you build in wood, you’re offering a greater range of options in environments that may have a size or weight limitation. Every day we design and engineer wooden staircases to meet and exceed strength requirements. Our stairs are often installed in earthquake-prone areas. (Yes, we’re licensed in California.) When architects and builders in California envision architecturally significant stairs, we can build their dream in wood. The stairs often have a complexity that could not be constructed in metal.
Bottom line: Wood Staircases Are Structurally Sound.
Here in Wisconsin, we’re surrounded with fresh water. It’s an incredibly important resource – one we know will someday be in short supply. The volume of water needed for growth and production of wood materials is vastly different from the water needed to make steel. Currently it’s estimated that it requires 62,000 gallons of water to produce a ton of steel. A comparable quantity of wood uses roughly 25% of that total.
It’s not just water. In addition, we’re really conscious of energy usage. Most studies estimate that products and buildings built with wood consume between 28 – 47% less energy than comparable items built with steel. Of course, sometimes steel is essential. But wood is a superior choice environmentally. (And it’s usually a lot prettier.)
Bottom line: Wood Uses Water and Energy More Efficiently.
“The Wood Handbook offers essential information on wood as an engineering material. It details the properties of wood and wood-based products, focusing on aspects important to architects and engineers. The handbook also covers design considerations and practical applications of wood and wood-based products. The Wood Handbook aims to provide technical background information on wood and its products.”
https://research.fs.usda.gov/fpl/news/featured/wood-handbook
