amyole Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Background: Okay, stairs are not my forte. I love how they look when finished, but prefer to eliminate them when possible. Lately, I have a new stair-avoidance with my houses, and have stopped working on a house for a while when I get to the stairs part. My problem: DH/Santa gifted me with the RGT Light house kit. I love it! Um, stairs... Then, DH helped me assemble it (yes, I dry fit it & did not notice this). While the stair holes line up correctly, they are on the opposite side of the house they should be (stairs turn on a landing and, being made out of mdf, are milled to fit in one direction) . I cannot take the house apart to fix this, so I am trying to figure out how to make my own stairs. If you have any ideas, please share. This is adding to my stair issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Post-It notes or other small bits of paper taped/ glued together to make a pattern of the stair's stringers and make a mock-up in cardboard that you can use later for a pattern to make new stringers in thin plywood. Tongue blades cut down for treads & risers. Do they hug a wall, or are they "out there"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyole Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 Holly, they hug the wall and turn on a landing. The turn is what has me stymied because the slant is geared to the wrong side. I have considered doing ladder-type stairs (they'd be straighter, no need to turn and take up less space for furnishings), but prefer them to be more "stair" like. BTW: I am keeping this house as it was a gift and not giving it away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kells Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 The slanted walls in RGT's lighthouse would, I think, make stairs difficult to create from scratch. Personally, I have no problem leaving stairs out of houses with too little floor space. I already blocked the stairwell opening in a little Craftsman cottage I'm doing. The staircase took up 3" of a small 12" wide living room! Good riddance. I also usually hate ladder-type stairs (that's just me) unless they're going up to an attic. HOWEVER, they look right at home in a lighthouse. They have that steep "boat feel", if that makes any sense. To me, they look rather nautical, and would be perfect in a lighthouse. Maybe try "rope" railing with them? I've seen that done - maybe even in a gallery here - when the rope was run through eyelets screwed into the wall. Also, try searching right here to see what others have done. Here is a pic from PapaJKK's lighthouse. I love what he did with these ladder stairs. Just beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyole Posted July 21, 2021 Author Share Posted July 21, 2021 Kells: Those stairs look very good - kind of a cross between the ladder and stairs. Excellent suggestion. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fov Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 Those ladder stairs look great with the banisters! I think that's a narrow staircase by Alessio? I used the half scale version leading up to a loft bed in one of my houses and I love how compact they are. Amy, have you considered folding stairs? That might look okay in a lighthouse, and then you have the benefit of having stairs without having them take up space in the room unless they're pulled down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 I made fake folding stairs to my farmhouse attic: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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