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FINE HOMEBUILDING
Fall 2003 |
A
fter framing a house
near Seattle, Timbercraft
Homes of Port Townsend,
Wash., tackled the job's
next phase: |
A spiral staircase whose central support was a
26-ft.-long, 2-ton cedar log harvested with the help of Steve Leggett
(photo top right).
The entire project took 550 hours of shop time and 1 1/2 weeks in the field
to complete, and most of the shop time was spent noodling out the
threads. Eventually, project leaders Andy Norlander and Earl Lang bolted
big plywood wheels to both ends of the log and cut the tread mortises
with a chisel mortiser (photo top center), rolling the log into the next
position as needed.
Before the windows and doors were installed, workers boomed the log
through the front of the house with only 1/2 in. of room to spare.
Using a forklift, a chain hoist, and come-alongs attached
to the house's frame, the |
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stairbuilders slowly cranked the post upright
and into position.
Job-site tasks also included laminating the 34-ft.-long cherry railing
and bolting the
2 1/2-in.thick heart-pine treads into place (photo top left)
with 3/4-in. threaded rod run through the log. What appear to be
through-tenons spiraling up the stair are actually plugs that hide the
mechanical connections. Because the log gradually was drying out, the nuts
had to be tightened every few months over the space of a year, but the
stairs have remained steady since.
Design by Stan Chessir and Associates, Portland, Ore.; Jake Bigham, architect.
Photo right by Charles Bickford; top photos by Timbercraft Homes. |
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