Constructing Staircases, Balustrades & Landings

This book will not give you all of the information required to build any staircase - anytime. But if you're interested in building stairs down to your basement or up to your 2nd floor addition, this is a very good source of information on the lay-out and space requirements. Professionals looking for new and interesting ideas will more than likely be disappointed. But if you're looking for a teaching aid for your guys, or a good book of examples of stairs, to show to your customers, then this book is a good buy. Don't EVER take the book "A Treatise On Staircases And Handrails" on jobsite to show to your customers unless your planning to move in with them. It takes a major investment in time to build those old antique designs with all of the decorative achitectural mouldings and ornamental handrailings. This book will have your guys using phrases like newell post and quarter turn landing as if they know what they're talking about. For the non-professional,, this is a good resource for the basics.

I purchased every book I could find on staircase building including _Basic Stairbuilding_ (usefull but not as straightforward as this one) and _Stair Builders Handbook_ (absolutely useless - don't waste your money). This book (Constructing Staircases...) contained the clearest diagrams and language that was easy for someone with no construction background to understand. I've used it exclusively to plan the construction of my staircase and am ready to begin building.Most of the reviews of this book are negative. I don't really understand why. If you want to build a staircase and have very little construction experience, this is the book you need. Building a staircase isn't rocket science but is reasonably complex as far as construction goes. Good luck!

I purchased the "Constructing Staircases, Balustrades & Landings" book after getting frustrated by the lack of details in the general purpose books out there, reguarding stairs. The book is GREAT! I learned a LOT about the basics in just the first two chapters. At under [$$], this book is a steal if you are looking for info on making your own staircase!