Black Walnut help please

[betterbuilt]

Looks Great!

 

[redfin]

Thank you. My steel guy said he would have the plate sheared and drilled by Friday. Im kind of in a corner with these, our house is to be set Monday and they need these done. We had our house built by a modular manufacturer. Its coming in 7 blocks. We are still over what we wanted to spend but it was cheaper than on site stick built.

 

[Yellowbeard]

redfin, I am really glad you asked this, because my wife (who is an architect) and I are thinking about building soon and I want to do something VERY similar in our house. Any chance you can post pictures of how you end up attaching the wood and then let us know what happens?

Thanks!

 

[Yellowbeard]

On that note, while I have some walnut air drying (curious why air drying looks better than kiln?), it's 2-3" thick and will need a year or two before it's done (according to what I have heard as rule of thumb for air drying). I also should have some white oak (which many of you know, I guess) and thought about using that. Thoughts? Very similar application.

 

[redfin]

The kiln operator told me my slabs will sit outside under roof for about 3 months then he will put them in the kiln. He said he will be looking for 8 to 10% when they come out. I will show pics of how I attach.

 

[betterbuilt]

Thank you. My steel guy said he would have the plate sheared and drilled by Friday. Im kind of in a corner with these, our house is to be set Monday and they need these done. We had our house built by a modular manufacturer. Its coming in 7 blocks. We are still over what we wanted to spend but it was cheaper than on site stick built.

Kinda tight schedule. Isn't it always that way. You still have a few days. relax. It always works out in the end.

 

[redfin]

Yeah your right. I have one more big cherry to take down before Saturday when they start staging all the blocks. It kind of funny, I have plenty of chainsaws but at the moment the biggest runner is an 026.

My 288 is at Randy's getting angry, I sold my 660 last week and ordered a 661, I ***** parts off my 044 to finish my buddies saw and my 261 I took the jug off to port! Apparently I don't have enough saws

 

[Marklambert61]

If you laminate the treads they will be stable and cheaper. There is really no need to use a 3" slab of Walnut for each tread.

 

[betterbuilt]

If you laminate the treads they will be stable and cheaper. There is really no need to use a 3" slab of Walnut for each tread.

Only if time has no value. If I was glueing them it would be much more expensive.

 

[redfin]

If you laminate the treads they will be stable and cheaper. There is really no need to use a 3" slab of Walnut for each tread.

I do believe the slabs will look good when I'm finished.

I got the blocking done under the floor joists today. I'm using .75" 82* flat head bolts to bolt the bottom plate to the floor. All my steel was to be done this week but ve yet to hear from him.

 

[redfin]

I'm just about finished with the steel fab. The first pic shows the slots I had milled for the screws to ride in for the treads.

 

[betterbuilt]

Nice. awesome job. Looks freaking heavy. I hope your not setting that alone.

 

[redfin]

Thanks. The steel will be at 750lbs. I won't be setting it by myself.

 

[4x4American]

Two things from me:
1. Hardwood boards that have pith in them are more likely to check, from what I understand.
2. Are these going to the basement? (will they be on the concrete?)

 

[redfin]

This is between the first and second floor. Why?

 

[betterbuilt]

I have been doing this long enough to know that wood is gonna do, what it's gonna do. Usually it has a tell. This board for instance. The log had a large crack right where this thing cracked. I wasn't surprised. I've yet to have a walnut board that showed no crack, to crack on me. Other types of wood that's a different story, but walnut is pretty easy going. Even if a crack did show up. I'd just add a butterfly or cut it down the crack, and joint it, and glue it back together. Redfin had his boards kiln dried and I would expect that to show any issues. Being mindful of those issues is on Redfin. I'm sure this staircase will end up being beautiful.

 

[4x4American]

This is between the first and second floor. Why?

Just seems like a lot of weight, especially in a modular. I'm not sure how your modular is slapped together but I would check with the builders to see if it'll support that much weight for the rest of it's natural born life. I'm no expert on this stuff, just playing the devil's advocate.

 

[pete_86]

I do construction, hard to comment not knowing exactly joist locations and etc. Are they actual solid joists and not engineered beams? If you have a basement underneath, guessing you would in PA, it'd be pretty easy to modify as long as any plumbing or more of an issue duct work is nearby. The best scenario is to have your bottom plate run perpendicular to pick up more than one joists. Also is staircase near end of joists or in center depending on house layout? Ends of joists equals less sag.

IMO, the easiest way of beefing up would be sister and double or even triple the joists on landing area, nailed in a fashion similar to header or beam building so they act as one. Than install perpendicular bracing or blocking inbetween them and a few other single joists to help spread the load across multiple joists.

All of this is much easier to do at the factory while floor is framed obviously. What's your weight estimate with the treads on? 2500-3k? I didn't take time to count treads. That's a heck of alot of weight and if you could I'd suggest making the bottom plate a bit longer to pick up more than one or two joists depending on joists spacing. Hard to comment not seeing house and ooking at a table, but with landing on ends of joists, I'd recommend 12 OC near landing and doubled joists and picking up atleast three joists with load so your 20" plate needs to be bit longer I'd say.

Easiest way, if you aren't finishing basement or could drywall around/ box in some trim to a beam in basemment would be to use a triple 2x12 nailed and glued beam style in basement with two floor jacks supporting beam. Make beam long enough to support atleast two joists and sister some 2x12 3' long to(2 per) joists to help actually eliminating the joists from taking weight. Basically blocking leading to beam than to jacks. May look out of place, but even with finished basement some creativeity to blend it all in. Maybe build a built in with custom cabinets or shelves depending on room use to hide it all.

Hope this helps, bit winded here but awful hard to give sound advice without seeing house.

 

[pete_86]

Also, my beam sizes are suggestions, refer to a load table and size there. Proper nailing and glue up. I wouldn't worry about side to side twisting as you mentioned your LB is plenty strong if bolted properly to upper stair plate. Your stairs are sort of like putting a hot tub in a house. Not an issue spread out over large area, but that small 20" area or so is a problem. I am more into the construction aspect, could you take pics of what you end up doing to brace flooring? With my idea for jacks you're sending load right to basement floor. May need big plate of steel under jacks to not stress basement slab, a 4" slab without much rebar in this area is stressing it too. You're getting into 8" thick footer territory with those loads.

Think about deck piers, some large decks have 12-15" bases at pier bottom and 6-8" thick and than a 6-8" colum leading to top depending on post size. This is also due to soil conditions. Last deck I did a wrap around had, 15" bell bottoms and 10" tops 48" deep, 6" gravel under bottoms.

I'd just cut a 1x1' square in floor, gravel, 8" thick, and rebar. I didn't rebar my piers other than scraps tossed in bottoms diagonally just to use them up as I did one pour. The above is all easy to do on a pre existing slab. Sounds over kill to some, but keep in mind not the weight a main issue but the small footprint of weight. Similar to installing an auto lift on a 4" slab. You're non typical stairs will need some non typical building changes.

 

[redfin]

There are two double 10" joists the bottom rests on and a double lam at the top. The edge of the plate is 6" away from my poured wall.

After its bolted in place Im putting a block pier under the joists that rest on a footer.

I didn't want a basement its just a 50" crawl space.