Steel Risers, with the choice of tread infills, provides the builder with a cost-effective, aesthetically pleasing, and a durable installation for a Hillside Staircase.
The simple, prefabricated, custom stair body is rapidly fabricated and easy to install.
Site disturbance is limited to the width of the staircase.
The tread infills require far less materials, reducing the need for large stockpiles and heavy equipment.
A typical monolithic staircase of stone, concrete, block or wood requires the staging of mass raw materials, skilled labor, heavy equipment, and variable costs of construction.
Additionally, the 'building envelope' tends to disturb the greater landscape.
CEDAR HILLSIDE STAIRCASE
Cedar stairs are widely utilized here in the N.W. A skilled carpenter and a local lumberyard will get the job done.
But even weather resistant cedar degrades over time requiring annual maintenance.
The cost of both carpentry and of quality lumber increases annually as opposed to steel and earthen building materials.
RAILROAD TIE STAIRCASE
Railroad ties are considered a less expensive option to lumber.
Although cost effective, they too deteriorate over time.
They are not very child friendly, being rough in texture,
splinter prone and a nesting site for bugs.
And, environmentally speaking, their fixatives are pollutant.
FORMED & POURED CONCRETE STAIRCASE
When affordable, formed and poured concrete eliminates those issues, being cleaner, smoother, and more durable.
There is some debate regarding the manufacture of Portland cement, environmentally speaking, so there is that.
Poured concrete can be troweled to the desired surface texture or veneered in tile, brick or stone.
Regardless of veneer finishes, most of them require that poured concrete structure and its accompanying forming and cleanup.
BASALTIC STONE STAIRCASE
Stone stairwells can be things of great beauty, with an equally great cost.
A skilled mason can sculpt a stairway to last the centuries.
Much of the cost goes into the structural base and risers even through it is only
the tread veneer that catches the eye.
SECRET GARDEN STEEL STAIRCASE WITH
COMPACTED DECOMPOSED GRANITE TREAD INFILL
A modular steel stair body provides the opportunity to have the benefits of that stone tread veneer at a fraction of the cost.
Additionally, the contrast between the metal and the stone tread is exquisite.
This system, that I have developed, and field tested over time (an example of why we call landscape architecture a ‘Practice’), is a response to the wastes and high costs of landscape construction.
We can have our cake and eat it too.
This system will provide your clients with a finished installation that minimizes site disruption and wastes, while presenting a line-item cost that will please them.
A cost effective, durable, and aesthetically pleasing outcome is the holy trinity
in landscape construction.
Consider this alternative approach: Fabrication to Installation.
STEEL STAIRCASE WITH SAND-SET PAVER INFILL
