I’m looking for an inexpensive material to mill spiral stair treads, 17 at the arc by 35 radius. The client has very specific criteria:
– little to no wood grain character
– colored white, grey, black but not painted
– under $500 materials cost since the entire job is $4,000.
I’ve considered Paperstone but its too expensive, approx $3000.
I suggested fuming hard hard maple with ammonia which is almost
silver but that was unacceptable.
I’m open to any material.
Replies
Finely ground client mixed with concrete.
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Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
~ Denis Diderot
Funny you should mention concrete since I thought of that just like
making concrete countertops. Still, too expensive.MDF would almost work but wrong color. There must be some other man-
made products not so pricey as Paperstone.
Good luck! You may consider posting this over at Breaktime, but I doubt they'll tell you anything different.
BTW, your client sounds a little like my wife, which is why I've come to hate remodeling projects.
Specific criteria and cost sensitive...umm, bad combo. I did a concrete countertop and the materials are not expensive, but the labor to polish is a bit much for some.
Brad
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I have considered concrete but I'm pretty sure the polishing issue would put it out of range. Or, maybe I don't go for a high polish?
Could I get 14 treads done for $4000 total?
If they are all the same I dont see why not. Companies setup to do this work have far bigger polishing equipment than the hand held polisher I used. If you take a look a concreteexchange.com you should find several contractors specializing in this. One thing I would warn with this option is there will be some color variation, and the stone distribution will vary from piece to piece, so it might not fit well with your clients specifications. Best to talk to some specialists. A precast manuf I work for built a spiral staircase at a large winery. The treads spiral around a central core and were simply mortised to fit inside the core. Grouted in place after they were installed.
Thanks for the compliment on the vanity. I still dont like the finish on that vanity and I think I went a bit overboard with the bloodwood splines. Live and learn.
Brad
The treads are simple, identical and don't need to fit into anything. They'll rest upon the steel framing of the staircase. The staircase fabricator could accommodate anything.
I'm in Pittsburgh and there is a custom concrete fabricator who could do this easily--cost aside. I'm not concerned with the stone variation if the client accepts the colors and appearance of the polished concrete available.
I dont know what the concrete fabricators are charging, but I know my initial costs were $1000 for the various tools/materials, and the cost of future slabs will be very little. Labor is the killer with concrete options. This might be a better site install operation since it is just a topping/nosing. I would wonder if this client would like the design gaps that a precaster will require? I somehow had the impression these were thick structural treads. I would be tempted to cast these with bolts in the ends and simply bolt them to the steel stringers. There are many different precast fasteners one can use and there are many ways to hide bolt heads with a bit of planning.
Since it is a thin topping, Terrazzo may be a better option as it would wear less. Tons and tons of color options.
Good luck and please let us know how it goes.
The treads are not structural and could even be cast into a form
which would be part of the structure of the stairs which then suggests terrazzo! Great idea, I love the stuff. But alas, because of the difficult history with this client, the stair builder has decided to terminate the relationship and that's the end of it for me, too.
I've done a fair amount of custom concrete casting myself. That question can't be answered without more parameters. Are they all identical? How will they be fastened into the structure? Is there going to be shipping involved that has to come out of that $4K? ....... You get my drift. If you think using a vac press is too labor intensive, then give up on the concrete idea.
BTW, great looking countertop and cabinets, too. I like the keys in the faceframe if that's what I'm seeing.
I re-read your original questions and if $4k is for the treads (all identical) only, not installed, and you find a fabricator close enough to drive to get them concrete may be feasible. Thats $286 each, if the cost is $500 for tread materials only, then thats $36 each and thats not gonna happen.
Good luck
Brad
$4K would be for everything and leave me out of the loop so $500 for materials isn't correct if I go with concrete. The treads themselves are identical and without any difficult details--just simple pie segments. Still, I'm suspicious that $4000 for this is not enough. I think I'll call the concrete fabricator and pop the idea. I'm in Pittsburgh and there is a company doing this very close by.
plastic?
http://www.plasticlumber.com/v2/products.php
Plasticlumber would have been very good for either an exterior
application or a customer with a more informal setting.
In as much as cost is an issue--its not the entire story which
I'll spare you. Suffice it to say, its still a high-end job. The
client's home is an ultra-modern, exclusive setting. The
treads have to have a comparable finish. I'll still keep the product in mind for other work, though.
You'll need a veneer press and some means to sand OSB smooth and flat:
1. OSB, with white pickling stain or whitewashed
2. OSB clad with tempered hardboard
3. OSB or ply veneered with phenolic veneer backer
4. OSB or ply veneered with any paper of your choice. Then varnish, lacquer, shellac....
5. Your choice of substrate with venetian plaster.
6. Steel. 12 gauge reinforced with square tubing can be made very stiff. (might not make, probably won't, make the budget)
Or let the architect tell you what to use. It's his job and his budget.
I do have a vacuum press but I see any laminate as another step in
the fabrication process adding incremental cost. I believe I need
to find some sort of composite, man-made sheet goods material.
Someone suggested an mdf-based product that comes in several colors.
Its colored all the way through, too. However, I'm concerned about
mdf's application as a floor/stair tread surface in terms of wear.
Any thoughts on that? Otherwise, I'm thinking of ebonizing or
bleaching hard maple.
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