The humans tell me tales of a time when they lived in a castle in Alnwick, England… which is why they had to have their own big and burly castle staircase. They wanted to pull off this heavy look with a breathable functionality. I am certainly not going to complain about this decision because I thoroughly enjoy zooming up, down, up, down and lounging around on it. A suspended staircase was a must to keep the clean and open aesthetic flowing throughout the Habitat. However, to remain cost effective and still utilize eco materials the Humans had to get creative about choosing the raw materials (let’s just say custom staircase = custom cost). To see and learn more about building the big burly steps… and one of my favorite napping spots,
The Humans decided to use two OSB beams sandwich jointed together for the stair stringers. Then, in an effort to make sure I didn’t fall thru (and to be up with the building codes) the treads needed to be thick enough so that the opening was less than four inches. That is why the Humans decided to use Parallam Beams for the stair treads. Use of the Parallam Beams added a heavy natural element into the space. (Parallam Beams are made of compressed recycled wood chips – reuse, reduce). The stringers and treads were sanded and stained dark black / brown. This added a rich earth tone to the otherwise stark black & white color palette of the Habitat.
Raw OSB stringers. A big thanks to Kenny for doing an amazing job cutting the stringers. Next the Humans sanded and stained.
The insanely absorbent OSB stringers take a soaking of stain.
Kristy staining away the stringers (water based stain, to save our lungs one more day)
The Parallam treads getting their final sanding
The Parallam material takes on dark stain in a very unique way because of all the different wood types compressed together. The end result looks similar to wenge wood.
Kristy staining the treads
The ends of the treads looked liked a bunch of worms and added a contrast factor into the staircase. They were left unstained and only sealed.
Picking out the best surface for the outside and top tread.
Treads removed for stringer installation. Each of these puppies weighed about as much as each Human. Not light...
Stringers installed. Due to my size I could have happily used these as my staircase and claimed the upstairs as my own.
Stairs covered and protected for the remaining build.
The staircase. Installed, tested, approved and very much enjoyed.
Why walk all the way up or down when you can rest midway?
Next, the concrete floors get a polishin’…
Check out the full HABITAT BUILD HERE.