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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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 Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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Not getting a lot of participation here..... 
(to our previous question regarding how do you make code with a 6 inch wide exterior handrail)
but you're all paying for this website,
(and even though I could care less),
I'm required to go over the answers and explain why most of you didn't do very well.
(A). Pretend the house isn't new.
This is obviously the wrong answer because the
building official knows the house is new and pretending anything
to the contrary just insults his or her intelligence and
makes it extremely unlikely you'll ever get another building permit.
(B). Claim a giant lives there.
This answer is in the same category as (A).
If you thought B was the right answer,
you are f***ed in the head and probably need therapy or medication.
(you also might think about cutting back on the pot and beer parties to 3 times a week.)
If your answer was (C.) Pay off the building official.,
this demonstrates a serious lack of judgement and a high probability that
you are incapable of telling the difference between right and wrong.
(unless you live in DuPage County, Illinois.) 
(D). is a very poor answer because as everyone knows...... (all together)
architects.... never.... make... a.... mistake. 
(E). is an equally lame response, because just like architects,
(all together)
builders.... never.... make..... mistakes.
If you choose F, see A. and B above.
The correct answer is G. (none of the above)
and you should have written in the correct answer which is H.
Add an additional handrail with a 1.25 - 2 inch diameter.  |
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 853
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 4:32 am Post subject: |
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I missed you last couple of posts.... sorry. I saw your name at the main menu and just figured it was the bathroom photos. My bad.
Now the real question.... will you be allowed to use that bathroom - or is there one in the basement for you. 
Everything looks great. |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 2246
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:15 am Post subject: |
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Well this is not been a very participatory thread in nature. Mostly it is more like a documentary of this houses construction and a conversation between you and cousin Eddie so I look at the pictures but often don't read very closely.
Yes I think the only thing you could do is add a rail above it or to the side. Personally I think these stair issues are often "codes gone wild" next thing you know we are going to require mountain climbing gear for "safety"
_________________
-Chris Stewart
http://bcshdb.blogspot.com >
The B/CS Home Design Blog |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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phansford, just having a bathroom/sink in the basement would be a dream
come true. A bucket in the backyard is standard for the simple
carpenter. It's not so bad now, but just wait until Jan.
chris, I was making a little kidding about the lack of participation, but
thanks for the response just the same. Some codes are overdone and
some are worthwhile especially when they protect the frail and feeble(minded?) like me.  |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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It was time to remove the temporary front porch stair railings
and get to work on the finished design. We started with 3 x 6
pressure treated southern yellow pine. I wouldn't have normally
selected this wood for the railings but the north facing front porch
received very little sun and this batch of wood was unusually
clean and straight grained. Also pre-priming all six sides works
well for preventing most checking and warping.
It's important to save your templates, photo above, especially if
you don't complete all work at the same time. This template insures
the upper porch railings and the stair railings are an exact match.
We always bevel the top of the railings to minimize
water absorbtion into the wood. Simple powers tools
including a table saw and router make these railings fairly easy to
make.
The 4x4 inner post (now almost a year old), was anchored between
a pair of stringers and fastened to a teco base embedded
in 12 inches of concrete. This method of connection ensures
rigid newel posts and railings.
We beefed up the inner post with some leftover 5/4 deck flooring
making sure to leave a little air space between the core and filler.
.
The exterior pine finish material is cut on a 45, glued and clamped to
the filler for support, again leaving some air space to help prevent rot and decay.
Once the newel posts are dry and primed, top and bottom rails are
fastened using 3 1/2 exterior deck screws, pre-drilled and countersunk
The "spindles" are made from hand-picked quartersawn 2 x 6 doug fir
and traced out with our original upper porch template.
The top and bottom angle is set on the miter saw and each pattern is cut on the band saw and routered on the edge with a chamfering bit.
The top diamond pattern needs to touched up with a sharp chisel to complete the 90 degree corner angle.
I was a bit surprised how the pattern changed on the diagonal to
more of a natural tree-like shape while still maintaining the identity of
original design.
The cap for the newel post is made from 2 x 10 doug fir,
pine blocking and a factory made gothic finial.
Cousineddie always has a trick or two up his sleeve when he
fashioned our "code compliant" auxiliary handrail
from 1 1/4 galvanized pipe.
I think he had some leftover pipe from making his white lightning still. 
(I'll post it tomorrow if I can get his permission.)
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 853
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:15 am Post subject: |
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I love the beefy profile of the rail panels.
FWIW..... I thought I better reply as I certainly don't want cousineddie getting all high horse on you about no one responding to your postings.
On a serious note..... PLEASE send some photos of this house to Residential Architect magazine or some other similar publication. |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 2246
Location: USA
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:19 am Post subject: |
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How much room was left for the panels to expand? And what was the final rail width solution?
_________________
-Chris Stewart
http://bcshdb.blogspot.com >
The B/CS Home Design Blog |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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phansford, thanks for the supportive comments.
I'm amazed by some of the creative and intricate
designs from the 19th century. Maybe without the clutter of our
modern media and technology, architects and
designers were afforded some undisturbed opportunities to see
natural shapes, proportions and the effect of light and
shadow from a different perspective.
Not many people today have the time to sit and look
at the forest. (let alone smell the roses)
btw, I will give your suggestion a try with a few publications
to see if there is any interest.
chris, zero room for expansion on the panels and for some odd reason,
I haven't seen kiln dried, vertical grain doug fir expand under most exterior conditions.
(especially if it's acclimated to the exterior for a few weeks or months)
Usually the opposite is true with the wood having a tendency to shrink a wee bit.
I'm thinking pre-priming with latex acrylic stain
may have something to do with this and the fact
there are only 6 - 12 boards strung together depending
on location on the porch.
This is a current photo of the upper railings/palings completed last year.
They haven't shown any ill effects (yet).
I need to take a good photo of the rail cousineddie concocted, he used threaded, galvanized, 1 1/4 inch pipe.
It's a pretty good compromise between having to put a skinny,
modern wood railing and when you want something with
a lot of heft that won't make code.
The additional pipe rail gives the front steps a certain
old fashioned look.
I can't quite put my finger on it.....
I'll try to post it tomorrow. |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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Well it took long enough but here's
cousineddie's contribution to code compliance.
Way to go eddie.
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 2246
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 7:10 am Post subject: |
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Yeah -now the code gods will be appeased and not bring bad weather upon us.
_________________
-Chris Stewart
http://bcshdb.blogspot.com >
The B/CS Home Design Blog |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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Now that we have our outside handrails in good order,
it's time to take a look inside at the main staircase.
Like the outside, the staircase had temporary construction
railings and treads until most of the heavy work was
completed. The outside panel design theme was recreated
inside but 1 x 6 oak boards were used for a "lighter" looking
staircase.
Here the main posts are glued up with 1 x 5 oak and slots for the biscuits
are cut into the posts to receive the decorative panels (or palings).
A corresponding slot is cut into the first panel to receive the other
half of the biscuit.
Additional panels are glued and clamped in ascending order
and the decorative design takes shape.
A string is pulled tight between posts to make sure the panels stay straight
and even in height.
Tomorrow we go shopping for a handrail.
Last edited by cousinbirgco on Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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chris, just in time..... to keep those gods happy,
Yanks and Phils tonight and we know you're excited!!!! |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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Now the main staircase handrail presented the same problem
as the exterior stairs, we wanted a design that was in touch
with our 19th century carriage house theme and it also had to meet
code requirements, but figuring that out
turned out to be a bit of a challenge.
I had been playing around with a bunch of sketches for the past few weeks secretly hoping cousineddie
would surprise me with one of his old timer designs
to bring this part of the project to a close.
After experimenting with a couple of prototypes, we finally
agreed on one consisting of some store bought parts and a lower
piece made on the table saw.
We started with a 2 x 4 cut like the exterior railing
with a 3/4" dado on the bottom to receive the decorative panels.
 [/URL]
Next some angle cuts on the table saw and a lot of hand sanding
to round the edges a bit.
We then cut a piece of 1 by about 1 1/4" high and centered it on the top of
the 2x4 fastened with some glue, finish nails and a
piece of bed moulding nailed to each side, making sure they
matched the height of the one by.
To finish up, a stock 1 1/4" round handrail is glued and finish nailed to
the top. Hand sanding is critical to make the piece look seamless and just
when you think you can't sand anymore, sand for another half hour and
it will look just about right.
The final product satisfied both goals of code compliance and
building a staircase that didn't look like it came off an assembly line.
A few more mouldings and the newel caps and we can hopefully get
up to the roof to start the solar hot water collectors. |
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cousinbirgco
Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 199
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| Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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Some additional photos of our American Gothic Revival staircase.
One of my favorite relatives was an elderly Aunt, who more often than not,
was puzzled by my ongoing
(and sometimes very slow) efforts to restore or rebuild
(what seemed to her) ancient structures that should have remained
(at least in her mind), buried and forgotten in the past.
In her native language, although she spoke english quite well,
she would remind me, "Victoria est morte",
and I, (usually with good nature), would respond,
"My dear Aunt, Viva Victoria!."
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phansford
Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 853
Location: SW Ohio
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| Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| Nice stuff....... as always..... Have you moved in yet??? Otherwise... I have to image Mrs. B is going to start to have your hide. |
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