Making a Floating Staircase - Woodworking

I tore down my old staircase and replaced it with this one.
First time building a staircase, so I learned a lot.
This video has a lot of complicated joinery and tricks for building strong structures.
Thanks for watching!
more behind the scenes:

[SpareTimeShop]

Hi everyone, thank you for your many fair questions and remarks about this staircase in the comments.
I’ll try to answer them all but thought I would summarize the most interesting ones here:

- Strength:
I built this staircase about a year ago and used it to hall big lumber and furniture upstairs,
I’ve had no issue with it what so ever. Although it could have been even stronger if I didn’t recess the anker bolts in the sides.
(In hindsight, don't know why I did that) but again, its plenty strong.
- Railing:
I’m planning to install a railing on the wall. I want to keep the middle open so I can easily move big pieces upstairs.
- Safety:
here in Belgium (probably different from the US) only new builds and classified renovations need to be approved by an inspector.
This isn’t the case here but that’s a legal issue I won’t bore you with. To summarize; It’s safe and legal.😉
- Woodglue:
I used a lot of glue on the 3 individual pieces, so they would be strong. I did not glue those 3 pieces together though, I only used screws.
As they are each connected to a different part of the building (ground, wall and 1st floor) that can move in different directions.
Adding glue would prevent the natural movement that occurs and would over time loosen and start to creek.

If you have any more tips or questions, let me know! I’m eager to learn more 😊

[MrSaemichlaus]

I have only two suggestions for you: it's always advisable when building stairs to make one single step a tiny bit higher to trip up enemy swordsmen who may be after your upstairs treasures. Also if you and your guilde are right handed, always build spiral stairs with a clockwise rise to keep the advantage on your side for swinging a sword or dagger. All the best for your adventures, sire.

[kyflyboy]

I’ve been a carpenter and builder for over 40 years. I don’t know exactly how many staircases I’ve framed and trimmed but it’s a bunch! I often wonder how differently I might do something if I’d had the luxury and convenience of CAD and the availability of specialized structural screws. I guess it would look a lot like this! Good job, young man! Keep up the good work and keep striving to do the things that challenge you and the the things you enjoy!

[maplejames]

The fact that you don't know much about building stairs, but you went ahead and did it yourself successfully, is a fine statement for a hard working, young fella like you :) Great job, fist bumps from Canada :)

[breathoffreshair]

I will be replicating this exact build! Im building a tiny home and have been taking my time to ensure i do things right, im self teaching essentially every aspect and have drawn up stairs like this but havent been able to figure out how to switch the rafter for floating aspect, this is a beautiful stair and the exact shape ive drawn up!! Looks amazing ❤ thank you for the sick content!

[EthosLegos]

WOW the inspector was very thorough! It even said, good job. Can’t beat it when the inspector give you a compliment on your work.

[kingofcastlechaos]

Retired now, but I have built many staircases during my decades of work. There are many tiny nuances that the books/internet might not mention yet make a massive difference when the customer and their family use them. I wish you had consulted somebody who has done them before. You will figure out what they are yourself as you use them. Thanks for sharing. Great shop!

[kalenlarsen]

cant stop smiling while watching this. its so satisfying. IDK why youtube lately keeps showing me these videos of people with $20, 000 mills and they cant even follow a plan they have to make one piece at a time and use it to mark the next piece, it drives me crazy.
this video is completely opposite, using a CAD to generate your own prints and then using NORMAL tools and building the pieces exactly to spec based on the plans!
how refreshing, thank you! :D

[roblox]

60 years ago, my grandfather taught me how to do it, without a computer, milling machines and battery tools. The quality was 100%

[julietphillips]

"Any notes Mr. Inspector?" "Nah!" Good job! It looks strong and it looks perfect!

[evarsonazevedo]

This was your first time ever building a staircase?? Congratulations brother! from a carpenters perspective, I think you did a great job! I think i understand the way you thought process worked to come up with this design, and i can tell just by looking how much thought you put into it.
If i was you, and since this is a custom design for your needs and available space, i woulnt follow the prints too close in terms of measurements just to make the instalation process a bit easier on myself.
adjusting as needed to the surrounding area.
Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!!

[mickdriver]

So, a critique from a professional joiner.
Your opening should have a full length doubled joist along the long edge (Trimmer joist), and then a doubled joist across the short end (Trimming joist) to carry the ends of the joists that are cut short (Trimmed joists) for the opening. 45% is steep for a staircase. The ratio is usually 8 up to 9 along. Steeper than that will feel strange. The grooves for treads are usually a little wider than the tread at the back to allow room for a wedge which can be driven in to tighten up on the tread in case the timber shrinks (Which it probably will in the summer). All this information is available online if you care to look for it.
The amount that you countersunk for the anchor bolts has reduced the thickness of the timber considerably where the bolt attaches. It's kind of irrelevant how strong the bolt is if the timber that it is holding is so thin that is has much reduced strength.
I hope your stairs last as they are, but there are many reasons to use a professional for potentially dangerous items like stairs. Joinery is rarely as simple as people think.

[Samsdailyproduction]

I've learned so much and the music was also very pleasant. Thank you for sharing!

[livinginthenow]

Very nice safety inspector. Concise notes, delivered without drama.

[marcoschmidt]

Hey, I like the way you work. Especially that you make things simple with the jigs!

[ianpaterson]

Excellent job.. I have built lots of stairs, and even worked in a stair shop, but never designed my own. I have an Old house which needs a new stair and this has given me the confidence to challenge myself and build it myself, someday soon hopefully!

[MsFarmer]

I’m a Draftswoman/ Designer, and I love your videos; and the colors of the shop and especially those storage cabinets, Great job

[cheezyblasters]

Structural engineer here. Gotta warn ya bro that ledger to the concrete wall with no support on the other side is in what's called cross-grain bending. Wood has zero strength in cross grain bending, it's strictly not allowed. What would have worked is doing a tension tie type anchor at the top of the landing framing member that are perpendicular to the wall. This would take the tension out the eliminate the cross grain bending. If you built this extremely tight and redundant it will probably compensate and shouldn't get overloaded with just one lightweight person. But we usually try to support things correctly. I would use like a Titen HD with a DTT2Z or something similar. Cheers mate.

[GabrielPatroi]

Man I could used this video a couple of years ago. Simple, yet detailed, strong but doable. Perfect. Thank you!

[maguslascivious]

I've been remodeling most of my almost 40 years... plans rarely go to plan. lol..
That's an awesome job!