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I remember seeing full-scale versions of these in actual houses long ago. Man technology has advanced for the better. These things are brittle, require regular

I remember seeing full-scale versions of these in actual houses long ago. Man technology has advanced for the better. These things are brittle, require regular maintenance, they are tiny in width (try getting a fridge up a few floors), ... This actually used to be a pluspoint: when maintenance is lacking, specific portions will deteriorate : so walking upon them there will be a circular fault, which your leg will sink into (as opposed to the whole staircase collapsing entirely). The thing is, this happened to someone I knew on a yearly basis. It can only be fixed by replacing the whole thing. And of course, these were actually put into houses sometimes 5 floors high. Exercise !

jimnotgym 9y ago
I think you are confusing the regular spiral staircase with the properly made 'geometric' staircase which most of these models represent. Spirals are a menace, but a spacer saver. In contrast geometric stairs were installed in the grandest homes, on huge scales and have often survived for a couple of centuries.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- pimlottc 9y ago
  Can you explain the difference between a "regular spiral staircase" and a "geometric staircase"?
  - jimnotgym 9y ago
    In a spiral staircase the stairs 'rotate' around a small diameter centre pole. They save a lot of space but seriously limit access for large items. They can be useful to access a loft space for example, where you want something better than a ladder but don't want to lose much floor space below. The small diameter centre pole seriously limits the way timber can be jointed. Long lasting timber joints need ways to deal with shrinkage, and therefore are better with a large contact area. Spirals are better made out of metal for this reason. Most of the images here are a much grander form of stair that 'rotate' around a large stair well leaving a large open space in the middle, which makes it easy to move furniture up by overhanging the handrail or even winching up the middle. The well can be circular or elliptical at the turns, and often have straight flights between. Since building a set of geometric stairs is complex and time consuming it is unlikely that you will see them outside of grand hotels and stately homes. It is likely that the simplest ones built in a traditional way would cost well over $100k. I struggled to find a reference that explained the true complexity outside of this classic book https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Modern_Practical_Joinery.html?id=KzNSAAAAMAAJ https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Modern_Practical_Join... Although here is a basic diagram here showing the curved strings and open well. http://year3shopfitting.wikispaces.com/Geometric+stairs http://year3shopfitting.wikispaces.com/Geometric+stairs Of course it is true to say that either type could have been made poorly and require maintenance, it is less likely that a common wood-butcher would attempt the second kind. Disclosure: I can use the term wood-butcher as in a former life I was qualified in that area!
tenpies 9y ago
> It can only be fixed by replacing the whole thing. Sounds like our electronics these days. We made progress, then completely un-made it.
bradknowles 9y ago
Which is part of why deliveries of large pieces of furniture in France and Belgium is still done through the windows, and a portable exterior temporary elevator. They are usually mounted on small pickup trucks or on trailers towed by trucks. Absolutely terrifying — and fascinating — to watch being used. Nothing quite like a slightly hopped up version of a fireman’s ladder with hundreds or thousands of pounds of furniture one it. Or maybe just piled up with a bunch of random stuff that they don’t want to have to carry up or down stairs. Been there, done that. Examples: https://youtu.be/LQg8JCtNPtg https://youtu.be/LQg8JCtNPtg and https://youtu.be/lnF0ETvdTXc https://youtu.be/lnF0ETvdTXc

jimnotgym 9y ago

I think you are confusing the regular spiral staircase with the properly made 'geometric' staircase which most of these models represent. Spirals are a menace, but a spacer saver. In contrast geometric stairs were installed in the grandest homes, on huge scales and have often survived for a couple of centuries.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
pimlottc 9y ago
Can you explain the difference between a "regular spiral staircase" and a "geometric staircase"?
- jimnotgym 9y ago
  In a spiral staircase the stairs 'rotate' around a small diameter centre pole. They save a lot of space but seriously limit access for large items. They can be useful to access a loft space for example, where you want something better than a ladder but don't want to lose much floor space below. The small diameter centre pole seriously limits the way timber can be jointed. Long lasting timber joints need ways to deal with shrinkage, and therefore are better with a large contact area. Spirals are better made out of metal for this reason. Most of the images here are a much grander form of stair that 'rotate' around a large stair well leaving a large open space in the middle, which makes it easy to move furniture up by overhanging the handrail or even winching up the middle. The well can be circular or elliptical at the turns, and often have straight flights between. Since building a set of geometric stairs is complex and time consuming it is unlikely that you will see them outside of grand hotels and stately homes. It is likely that the simplest ones built in a traditional way would cost well over $100k. I struggled to find a reference that explained the true complexity outside of this classic book https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Modern_Practical_Joinery.html?id=KzNSAAAAMAAJ https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Modern_Practical_Join... Although here is a basic diagram here showing the curved strings and open well. http://year3shopfitting.wikispaces.com/Geometric+stairs http://year3shopfitting.wikispaces.com/Geometric+stairs Of course it is true to say that either type could have been made poorly and require maintenance, it is less likely that a common wood-butcher would attempt the second kind. Disclosure: I can use the term wood-butcher as in a former life I was qualified in that area!

tenpies 9y ago

> It can only be fixed by replacing the whole thing. Sounds like our electronics these days. We made progress, then completely un-made it.

bradknowles 9y ago

Which is part of why deliveries of large pieces of furniture in France and Belgium is still done through the windows, and a portable exterior temporary elevator. They are usually mounted on small pickup trucks or on trailers towed by trucks. Absolutely terrifying — and fascinating — to watch being used. Nothing quite like a slightly hopped up version of a fireman’s ladder with hundreds or thousands of pounds of furniture one it. Or maybe just piled up with a bunch of random stuff that they don’t want to have to carry up or down stairs. Been there, done that. Examples: https://youtu.be/LQg8JCtNPtg https://youtu.be/LQg8JCtNPtg and https://youtu.be/lnF0ETvdTXc https://youtu.be/lnF0ETvdTXc