Stairs, Stairs, Stairs

First in 2024, we added the stairs from the basement to the main floor. This was huge because we could go back and forth from the basement where we were living to the main floor without going out in the sometimes rain and deep snow, making our living area larger.

2026

2026

Stairs, Stairs, Stairs

Then in 2025, we added the stairs from the main floor to the loft level once the loft floor was finished. Giving us access to the loft without going up an extention ladder.

Now, in 2026 we are about to build stairs to the last and final level.

And that is to the cupola room. Now in this picture there was no first-floor framing, no loft, no loft rooms framed, and no cupola floor. Just a multiple level scaffolding and a long climb.

But that has changed, and we are about to embark on building the last access to the last floor.

Uh, hey guys, these stairs don't go anywhere. what's up with that?

By the end of New Years Day, Dan had the first section of stairs completed. 

And the landing sheated.

Next, it's time to build the cupola floor. Correctly locating where the master joist goes is the first step. It is parallel to the cupola wall above.

The master joist determines the edge of the staircase, and the rest of the joists are measured off of it.

To get the other joists in place, they have to go up and over any joists already in place. 

Once all the joists (except for the ones that will box in the stair opening) are in place, sheathing can begin. 

The inch and an eighth plywood also had to go straight up past the joists then laid flat.

Very little room to move it around and mark the edges without hitting the ceiling of the dome.

My red rubble road was drying to a color lighter than I wanted, so I applied another coat of colorant to it.

Once I put up more chicken wire on the top section, masked the wagon wheel, and the gray rock, I began the red rock road.

Making progress. The red rubble takes less time to put up than I thought it would.

Ready to go back to the gray rock.

But it didn't stick around long and soon we were back to warmer days and it all melted away.

In the first week of January, we finally got some snow. Over about 6 days we got about 20 inches of snow.

But Remi tangled with a coyote, so I will be caring for her for a while and put the gray rock on hold. 

After getting the cupola floor installed, we went up and looked out the windows.  

Oh bummer! We misjudged the floor height. We wanted the windows low enough to see out of comfortably while sitting, but we went a little too high on the floor. Making the windows too low.

And then compounding the error, we thought for sure we had decided on 2x12 joists, when in fact I had drawn 2x8 joists. I guess that's what happens when a period of time goes by between drawing and building and you don't double check.  

First, they pulled, cut, and ground off the nails (ring shank nails don't give up easy) and cut off a strip of plywood. 

Dan decided he couldn't live with the results and so began the lowering of the cupola floor project.

Next, they put up two beams across the underside of the floor.

They added braced support posts beneath the beams with jacks secured at the top of the posts. And strapped the beams to the joists for good measure. 

The beams can't go through the wall, or they will be in the way of the lowering. So, a removable cleat is added above the beams.    (red arrow)

Then all the wall studs are cut most of the way through from the inside of the pentagon room.

Using a Sawzall, the studs are cut off from the back side.

Once the studs are cut a new top plate is added and corner support blocks are temporarily put in place.

To lower it safely and to keep it from tipping they went around and around replacing the corner support blocks with shorter and shorter blocks.

It was down!

Until finally..........

And we are very happy with the result! It's perfect when we are sitting, and acceptable when we are standing.

Now onto the last            ! As soon as they are complete, I will post a panoramic view from the cupola!

stairs

stairs

You may have noticed in the drawings of the cupola staircase that the top set of stairs is a little odd looking. And you may be wondering what they are and why we are using them. And are they legal?

Technically they are called "alternating tread stairs", but are often referred to as Monk stairs.  

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Alternating tread stairs are steeper, they dictate which foot you can begin with, and you cannot bring both feet together while descending or ascending. 

But, alternating tread stairs take up half the room of normal stairs and unlike a ladder you can descend facing forward.

OSHA classifies them as non-standard stairs but allows their use in some applications. Studies show they are safer then ships stairs and reduce the risk of falls compared to ladders. They can take up less room and be safer than circular stairs depending on the radius of the circlular stairs.

Alternating tread stairs were found in old church steeples and in monasteries, earning them the name of Monk stairs. 

Although sometimes normal stairs that were exceptionally steep are also referred to as monk stairs.

These stairs are also sometimes call Witches Stairs. They were quite popular in 17th century New England, causing many to believe that the stairs origins' were associated with the Salem Witch Trials. The belief was that witches were unable to climb them and therefore a way to protect a household. But of course, that myth has been debunked and the staircases were just a space saving idea providing an alternative to rickety ladders when there was no room for a traditional staircase.

And now they have become popular with the tiny home and creative space saving followers.

For our build, the Monk Stairs are more about the ability to rise up into the cupola, getting past the edge of the dome with headroom, and not take up the whole cupola floor.

And while code says that this staircase can be as narrow as 20", with tread depth as little as 5", and with riser height as much as 9.5" we decided to use what room we had to make them a little more user friendly. 

Because monk stairs are a little harder to traverse than standard stairs, we chose to use them only when we had to. So, with ample headroom under the main dome, we started the staircase with standard stairs up to the landing.

Then Dan cut the first stringer. Using the run (tread depth) of 10" we wanted, and the rise of 7".

Because monk stairs alternate sides the rise on one single side is double. Making the cut into the stringer pretty deep. Dan was worried that the stringers wouldn't have enough board left to have the strength to support steps. So, he added a plywood gusset to them.

Then using the stringer, he could perfectly position the header.

Not only are they unusual stairs, but they come off the landing at an angle and go through the bedroom wall.

Then after the treads are in place we get to take our first trip up to the cupola without a ladder!

Once the skirt boards and all the stringers are in place he can begin placing risers and treads.

First comes some of the risers and we are getting to visualize our monk stairs.

But the views out the windows were awesome. 

I tried taking a panoramic picture, but I couldn't get back far enough. 

Then they insulated under the landing and the backside of the steps to deaden the sound of footsteps.

March 11th. Watching Dan remove snow from his car.

Normally a stairwell with walls is built first then stairs are added,

but the monk stairs had to be built first. Now we are adding the walls.

After the backside of the stairs was sheeted, the bedroom wall was framed and sheeted.

April fool's day! 

Warm sunny days with bulbs blooming and flowers budding.

Then the scaffolding over the stairs from the main floor was removed and we didn't have to duck under it to go up to the loft anymore.

The risers and treads are cut from plywood because they will be carpeted to cut down on the noise throughout the dome when being used.

We started April with a trip to Disney with kids and grandkids! 

Meanwhile, I finished the stone on the lower portion of the pellet stove surround,

finished the gray stone on the top part,

and got the last element, the sun, at the top of the wall.

Could Dan be in trouble with the storm trooper?

and ending under the stove. He also installed a tee so that when we permanently install the north pellet stove we can run the vent over to it.

Back home from sunny California to.... snow.

But not for long. By the end of April, the ridges on the mountain were beginning to already show.

Our new pellet stove for the south side of the dome arrived in town, so we picked it up!

Dan installed the fresh air vent for it. Going through the thick outside flashing and through the basement joists...

And my new saw was able to handle them. And this saw has a pump. So, copying Josh's idea, I put the pump in a bucket of clean water and put another bucket under the drain. It is way not as messy without recirculating the silty water. 

He stubbed it up through the hearth and capped it off. After the masonry is finished, he will trim it to the correct height.

I found these boulder slices at a rock yard and decided they would make a great hearth. Trevor liked the way they absorbed the warmth of the sun.

Then I tinted the mortar a charcoal color and installed them.

The pieces are heavy and I needed to rearrange them a lot to make them fit. So, I made patterns so I could move them about and mark where I needed to cut them.

Watching the gathering of log debris on the reservoir.

I cut pieces to complete the line across the floor, but I won't install these until I am installing the brick tile on the floor so as to get them at the same level.

Then power and water lines (in conduit) were run to the barn site. And water to the shop adding to the power and propane already in place there.

May 7th, we started digging ditches. Seemingly everywhere. From the basement to the shop...

and to the barn site. Making a big mess.

After removing railing, decking, and digging a ditch under the deck, Dan was able to get down below the frost line and... 

And drill a hole through the 8" concrete basement wall.

They branched off and ran water and power to the future gazebo/BBQ site.

To get a freeze protected water line into the shop, the end of the ditch had to go under the footing and up through the slab. 

With ditches open anyway, Dan took the opportunity to branch off and to run an ethernet cable to the shop.

Fortunately, Dan was able to drill the holes where they needed to be without moving too much stuff in the shop.

And while installing power and water to the barn site....

Maybe for a future project?

Once we got back, they filled in the ditches and stockpiled the rock removed during the digging of those ditches.

sheeting the loft bathroom.

With a little bit of rainy weather, Dan worked on wiring and insulating and...

With a light, a toilet, and a curtain we have a sort-of bathroom in the loft.

With the ditches dug and the utilities in place we took a little break and...

took my mom on a trip to Cashmere to celebrate Mothers Day.

And just in time for a little extra accommodation for family. 

And not to let an opportunity of extra help pass, the guys lifted the new pellet stove onto the hearth.

At the beginning of June we had the pleasure of hosting seven of Dan's cousins.

We spent a couple of days hiking, eating, and storytelling.

We were joined the next day by Doug. Making it Nine cousins (and me)!

The time went by quickly. And with the recent loss of cousin Gay we are reminded that we need to make these gatherings a priority!

It just needs its stovepipe and it will be complete.

And they have fine-tuned the build site and added gravel around the perimeter.

It's time to get back to the project. More gravel is added to the driveway.

The scars from the ditches have all disappeared. The mud is gone and it's like it never happened! (Except now we have utilities where we want them)

Then a time-out to watch our eldest grandson graduate from college. Don't know how we got to that point so quickly in our lives, but it was an honor to witness.

And my grandkids can play "cousin IT" from behind the wall and roll Ping-Pong balls out of the wheel.

The main project of the summer is to get the tractor barn built.

The girts and the knee wall in the attic are built. Then the ceiling joists.

Once the plywood decking is complete...

The ridge beam and rafters go up.

Then a million pieces of metal are attached and...

the beam is secured to the...

rafters above.

Then the center post can be temporarily removed and the rebar can be installed.

And it turned out very nice.

The back corner couldn't be reach by the concrete chute, so that part had to be wheelbarrowed.

But by repositioning the truck, they could reach everywhere else.

And since we were having concrete delivered, we decided to pour the pad the future new propane tank.

It was a bit tedious and took longer than expected (but then what doesn't), but turned out beautifully.

Dan took a little break from barn building and installed the redwood paneling between the triangle windows.

One of the rare projects that actually didn't take as long as I thought it would.

After the redwood was complete, I could start the stone window casings.

Rigid insulation scraps propped the stones up as I installed up the triangles.

And to support the stones at the top of the triangles.

We did a broom finish and edged it and called it done!

Then eleven days later we poured the apron in front of the barn.

It wasn't enough concrete to order another truck, so we ordered two small mixers worth and towed them up.

It is just past the middle of August. We feel good about where we are on the barn, but also know that the snow is coming!

to watch the sunsets, we keep pushing on the project.

Taking a little time to smell the flowers and...

Dan moved his older table saw down to the barn site to cut the rigid insulation more efficiently.

Then the east wall is started.

The insulation was cut to fit horizontally between the girts. 

Then, because we are going to side with Hardi board instead of metal, vertical studs are added over the girt level and insulation is cut to fit between the studs. 

Our 500-gallon tank does not last us a whole year, and we want to convert our generator to propane. And we have yet to hook up the hottub. 

So, we added a thousand-gallon propane tank. This will also give us the ability to buy when propane prices are best and not dictated by immediate need. 

September 4th. New snow on the mountain.