Previously this week, we shared a visual tour of Seattle Stair & Design's voyage to the awe-inspiring shores of Juneau, Alaska. Snow-capped peaks and mussel-encrusted shores set an illustrious backdrop for the crafting of a custom-built cherry handrail laminated and curved onsite.
The mobility of Seattle Stair & Design's shop built stairs and stair parts is one of the most unique aspects to the company. Over the past thirty years, Seattle Stair & Design's founder Shawn Christman has fine-tuned the process. Every project provides Seattle Stair & Design the opportunity to expand their reach and capabilities through problem-solving and experience.
The Juneau project was no different and presented a unique challenge: create a curved handrail and newels for a pre-existing staircase in a city over one thousand miles away.
The number of variables involved in constructing a curved handrail that rises, curves, and fits into a pre-existing space supersedes most handrail projects, propelling Shawn and Christian to laminate and construct the handrail onsite. The process is documented below.
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| Christian and Shawn flew to Juneau, Alaska with a plane full of materials. Christian assembles a bracket onsite. |
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| Shawn mixes the glue that will bond the cherry planks to form one, stacked handrail. |
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| Shawn and Christian use rollers to distribute the glue across the surface of the cherry planks. |
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| The planks are stacked to form a solid beam. Shawn lifts it up the stairs, which have been outfitted with brackets. The brackets provide both a guide to the curve and a place to clamp the handrail in place. |
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| Shawn and Christian bend the handrail into place. |
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| Once the handrail has been bent to shape, it is clamped to the brackets. The clamps secure the handrail until the glue dries. |
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| After the glue sets, the handrail is transported back to our shop in Seattle for custom profiling. |
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| Today, we shipped the finished handrail to Juneau where it will be installed. |
Mary Anne Carter
Assistant Director of Marketing
I recently got a great new Oak staircase and it looks great. I also got it for a great price and would definitely recommend new staircases to others as they can really make a difference to your house.
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