Staircase Design & Build Business Thrives: Even After Wetlands, Fire and Flood

In Seattle Stair & Design’s history it’s literally faced wetlands, fire and flood. (Wetlands: in the form of $40,000+ paid to the County in fees to study “industrial” land Shawn Christman had purchased in 1982 for a new workshop and headquarters that turned out to be an environmental buzz saw trap of protected wetlands. Fire: in the form of a raging one in 1992 that swept through the studio, wiping out hardwood inventory and more. And flood: as the result of a legendary Seattle deep freeze in 1996 where the entire sprinkler system let loose, flooding two floors with 8 inches of water and destroying raw materials, damaging equipment and sidetracking the company’s entire team to mop-and-bucket duty for weeks. The bright side? The waters miraculously stopped just short of engulfing a spiral staircase representing two months of work and just nearing completion.) Despite obstacles like these, Shawn’s ever a risk taker with a big wave surfer’s mentality of riding the next big wave.

Photo of a snowy Seattle staircase from the West Seattle Blog.