Builders constructed a beautiful custom home in Avalon, NJ. It was just missing one thing…A show stopper! So, the architect specified an exterior helical staircase to draw the eye. However, since this house was located at the shore this proved to be more challenging than expected. Due to the harsh elements at the shore, the correct material and finish were required. Otherwise, it would corrode and become ineffective.
It was necessary for the stairs to be 17 feet tall overall due to the design of the house. Furthermore, we designed the landing at the top of the helical stairs. We designed it to be 2 ft long, with 3 ft. wide treads. The outside diameter of the helical stairs was 8 ft, to give you an idea of what this project looked like.
We proposed that the entire helical staircase structure be made of aluminum. With the inside and outside stringer in ¼” plate, plus with trim detail at the top and bottom of skirt. We also constructed the stair railing posts and top frame in aluminum. The architect specified the stair railing infill be horizontal ½” round stainless rod, 316 alloy in brushed #4 finish. This presented an additional layer of challenge as the stainless rod railing had either to be masked during powder-coating, or installed after we powder-coated the rest of the project.
We laid out the entire staircase in our shop, after the shop drawing was approved. Next, we created a cylinder for the inside stringer, and we welded all the treads into place. Finally, we installed the outside stringer in order to complete the structure of this incredible helical staircase.
After this, we placed all the trim work on the inside and outside stringer. The railing posts were placed next, with the top rail structure being prepared for the mahogany caprail. Now is when we formed the helical stainless railing rod infill, to avoid the problem mentioned above. Then, we created a rotisserie stair carrier that the helical stairs were transported on. The finish off production we blasted, primed and powder-coated the stairs.
We transported the completed helical staircase to the job site. A crane hoisted this phenomenal helical staircase into place. Now these show stopping helical stairs will provide access and beauty from lawn to second floor terrace of this New Jersey shore home for decades upon decades.
