Dear Blogosphere,

Hopefully everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday.

We’ve found that a lot of people get the idea for a spiral staircase around this time of year. When you’re living in your home during the majority of the year, everyone has their own space. During the holidays, our homes fill up with family and friends from all over. When the house fills up, ideas for better space utilization and rennovations come to light. We were talking about this recently at our shop, and by happenstance, came up with 5 reasons to go with a spiral stair.

One: Space

So you’ve made the decision to add another stair to your new construction or home renovation project. Fantastic. In planning, though, you should take into consideration just how much space a straight stair takes up. If the stair is the secondary or tertiary stair in your home, maximizing square footage is paramount. What’s more, if you’re in a high rent district, the square footage gained with a spiral over a straight stair could actually pay for the entire project!

Two: Access

Our sprial stairs can be custom fit to match any size floor opening. This makes it extremely easy and convienient to gain access to underutilized areas of your home, like attics or back bedrooms.

Three: Materials

There are three choices: 1) all wood, 2) all metal, 3) combo wood & metal. Within each of these choices, however, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of options. Materials can be used to help meet certain budgetary restraints, or can be used to help you explore your creativity. We’ll let you get a crazy as you want. Aluminum handrail, galvanized baulisters, solid oak center colum, and bamboo treads? No problem! Of course, I’m exagerating for effect, but I think you understand my point.

Four: Design

We find this is particularly important when dealing with an interior stair. Our sales professionals work with interior designers and archetects all the time. If there’s a certain theme or look that is required to make the stair tie in with the rest of the house, we can work up any number of style choices.

Five: Conversation

Spiral stairs are very pleasing to the eye. Experts would say it’s because of the swooping lines and symetry. As a result, a spiral stair has a habbit of becoming a popular conversation topic. With the vast number of customizable options available, our customers are proud to show off their work of art.

If you think you may be ready to take the leap and go spiral, give us a call!

Salter Spiral Stair

1-800-368-8280

So you’ve made the decision to buy a spiral stair. Of course we think you made the right decision, but in all seriousness, we do recognize that it’s a big commitment. Whether the stair is going to be inside your home, or out, it’s something that you’re going to have live with (both functionally and aesthetically) for many years to come. It doesn’t matter if the spiral is your primary stair (perhaps you live in a two-story condo), secondary stair (perhaps a way to access your second story from a section of your home that is far from the front entry), or tertiary stair (maybe an exterior stair that connects your deck to the pool area) – the stair you choose has to not only serve it’s purpose, but also blend with the rest of the decor.

Once you choose the design and settle on the alloy, you’re still left with a plethora of options for finishing. That is, galvanzing, priming or powder coating. At the end of the day, the purpose of finishing is to protect the stair. If the bare metal were to be left untreated in the elements, it wouldn’t have nearly the durability as if it was protected somehow. Grant it, this is just my opinon, but if a family memeber asked me how they should finish their spiral staircase from us, I’d push them towards powder coating.

Simply put, powder coating is a way of electrostatically applying a plastic resin to a metal. When the plastic resin is being manufactured, there’s an infinite number of choices when it comes to color, gloss, metallic and texture.

Powder coating is a science, and like most scientific fields, there are people researching ways to make it better. Historically, customers that wanted powder coating were forced into certain color choices based on functionality requirements. In recent years, this has all changed, and is continuing to change and improve. There are now a number of different plastics, super plastics and hybrids that allow for the customer to choose any powder finish they want based solely on cosmetics. No longer does the environment dictate the color.

Most of the spiral stairs we sell are finished in either black or white. Those are both perfectly acceptable choices, but frankly, they’re too conservative for my taste. This stair is going to be a part of your life. In my humble opinon, the finish you choose shouldn’t be an afterthought. Why not tie it in with the decor? For that matter, if your choice for a spiral was in part to be an architectural piece, why not make an artistic statement with a bold color contrast?Why not go multicolor?

Paintings and sculptures are very pleasant to look at, but there’s something extremely novel and intriguing about functional artwork.

As an interior architecture major in college, I loved learning about ancient architecture and was fascinated by our ancestor’s ability to build iconic structures such as The Coliseum and the Pyramids. These buildings still stand as representations of the superb engineering capabilities of past civilizations. In doing research for my next blog entry, I stumbled upon some interesting information about spiral staircases in ancient and medieval architecture. I thought I would share a bit about the origin of the spiral stair in my next series of posts. From the skillfully engineered spirals of the ancient Greco-Roman empire, and stair designs used to thwart invaders in the castles of the medieval time period, to the more modern and imaginative spiral stairs of the 21st century.

Some people are surprised to hear that spiral stairs are not new to design; they’ve actually been around for centuries and have been used throughout history for many different reasons. In the Bible, two spiral staircases were depicted as being a part of Solomon’s Temple, which would suggest that spiral stairs were being used some 3000 years ago. The stairs this temple, are said to have been used to access a sacrificial altar. As for actual archaeological remains, the earliest example is believed to appear in Temple A in Selinunte, Sicily, to both sides of the cella, which was constructed around 480-470 BC. The common design of many ancient spiral staircase structures included a center newel, crafted out of stone, which the stone stair slabs where constructed around.

It wasn’t until the completion of Trajan’s column in Rome.(113 AD.) when the new spiral stair design really became more common in Roman Architecture. Still standing in Rome today, Trajan’s column is said to be the oldest ‘preserved’ spiral stair structure in the world. Trajan’s column, including its base is built of marble standing at about 42m high (138ft). The outside of the column is wrapped with a band of reliefs depicting the victories of Trajan’s army in the Dacian wars. More than 2000 carvings spiral upward, the entire height of the column, depicting the war from army preparations to the very last Dacian expelled from their country. But, perhaps the most unique characteristic of Trajan’s Column is the winding staircase that exists inside. The precision and workmanship displayed in this spiral stair is incredible. Also present are a series of windows strategically placed on the outside of the column to give light to someone walking up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was the viewing platform, which overlooked the Markets of Trajan, Trajan’s Forum, Capitol Hill, and the Campus Martius. After completing the spiraling journey, the visitor would be viewing the splendor of Rome from over 120 feet in the air, which must have been simply breathtaking for the ancient Romans, even as it is for us today.

To be continued:

Hello! I hope everyone is having an awesome summer! If you don’t have a Salter Spiral Stair to enjoy while using your deck or while entertaining this summer, but are thinking about getting one, you’ve come to the right place. This is Salter Spiral Stair’s blog page where you can learn more about what makes our product the best. In the past few weeks, I’ve touched on our handrail options and the uniqueness of our pre-formed handrail manufacturing standards as wells as our tread designs and the distinguishing features that make them the highest quality treads in the industry. This week I will be focusing on our spiral stair baluster construction and why our process not only makes our stair a better quality, but how the choice of balusters affects the stairs appearance and can make the stair more visually appealing than other spiral stair brands.

As mentioned in my previous blog post about stair treads, when selecting your stair, you’ll want to pay special attention to the choices that give your stair its style, such as tread types. In addition, balusters will also be a major factor in achieving a certain look and style. Not only are balusters one of the most decorative elements to a spiral stair, providing a options for a customized look with different styles and types, but each baluster acts as a lock but each baluster acts as a major structural element, connecting to an upper and lower tread, stiffening each tread and securing the entire stair together. In selecting the baluster type and pattern arrangement, you may have as many as three options working together to create your own pattern and grouping. Having a unique combination of materials such as steel and wood coupled with an ornate grouping of balusters can add much needed detail to a space and really enhance the style of a home. Salter Spiral Stair offers several styles of balusters to choose from whether you want to match your stair or add contrast, including wood, classic steel, forged iron, aluminum, and even galvanized. Each of our unique stair collections offer a variety of baluster options; Salter’s Classic Spiral Stair Collection offers a variety of 1” round steel balusters with a choice of standard press-formed tips that are pre-set to the angle of the stair for a smooth connection. Our forged Iron collection offers many styles that can be combined throughout the staircase. The Solid Wood Collection offers a variety of solid wood balusters. In addition to the wood stair styles you also have the option of forged iron balusters to choose from which change the appearance of the stair and personalize it to your own unique style. And last but not least, our Aluminum outdoor Living offers a selection of 1” aluminum balusters that are available with custom tips as well as our Galvanized Steel Exterior which offers an assortment of 1” round steel balusters, also available with standard press-formed tips, so you don’t have to sacrifice style on your outdoor stair.

Thanks for checking in with our blog postings… Our balusters are just another feature of our stairs that showcases the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Any questions please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at kim@salterspiralstair.com or call us at 1-800-368-8280 to discuss it.

Hello,

All day long here at Salter Spiral Stair customers call us because we are the experts when it comes to spiral staircases. Often we answer questions about code requirements, size of the footprint required, options for decks etc., but the most asked question is, “How much does a spiral stair cost?” This is by far the most popular question and often customers are very confused due to the fact that there are so many options and that the prices can vary so greatly. I hope to shine a little light on this subject now…

The first thing you should know about the price of a spiral staircase is that it can range from $500 through $100,000. Now for the purpose of this discussion we will limit the range from $500 to $20,000. Here at Salter Spiral Stair the quality of the stair is the same throughout the price range. The more expensive stairs don’t have a longer warranty nor are they manufactured using a different process. In reality the only thing that changes the price of a spiral stair is the size (Height and Diameter) as well as the amount and type of options you choose for your stair. For example we offer the smallest size diameter (3’6”) in a nine tread package for around $600. This is a quality carbon steel stair primed black with adjustable sleeves, but without any extra options added on. The other side of the coin is a three story Aluminum powder coated stair made to code in six foot diameter can come close to $20,000.

Let’s take a look at that Aluminum stair as an example for how a stair can increase in cost very quickly. First of all the raw materials costs for Aluminum alone increase the cost of the stair, but like anything there are benefits for this added cost which is namely the fact that Aluminum does not rust when exposed to the elements. Then on top of that we powder coat the aluminum to give it a beautiful color as well as extra protection in salt water environment. Now the size of the stair increases the cost in two ways. Number one the height is three stories high so in essence it is three separate stairs sitting on top of each other. Then we made it a larger size diameter made to code. The larger size diameter increases the amount of material and workmanship, plus making it fit for building code increases balusters as well as tread space limiters which increase the costs.

The Aluminum stair is a simple example, but the takeaway for pricing a spiral staircase is that each additional cost comes with a benefit attached to it. Here at Salter Spiral Stair we manufacture a stair for any budget and have some amazing extra features included in our stairs for no additional cost compared to our competition. Our goal is provide you the perfect stair in line with your budget. To do this properly we recommend giving us a call at 1-800-368-8280 and one our stair experts can through all the options and prices to ensure you are receiving the perfectly designed stair at the proper fair price. Plus free CAD designs are included with all of our stairs.

Any other questions please do not hesitate to e-mail me at sam@salterspiralstair.com

Thanks, Sam.

Hello again! As previously mentioned, only Salter Spiral Stair has the 7 fine details and extra features that make a quality stair at an economical price. With “The Salter Advantage”, every product line starts with a reasonably priced base stair that can be upgraded per individual style to achieve a fully custom stair. Our base stair packages includes design features normally found on expensive stairs. So, when price is a factor you won’t have to cut quality when buying a Salter Spiral Stair.  Last week I talked about the handrail options we offer and the uniqueness of our pre-formed handrail manufacturing standards. This week, I will be covering our tread designs and the distinguishing features that make them the highest quality treads in the industry.

 One of the things you will do when creating the spiral stair that fits your style and needs, is to select the sleeve type. Salter offers two types of sleeves, the standard adjustable sleeve tread and the custom continuous sleeve tread. The standard sleeve stair tread allows you to adjust the riser height, while the continuous sleeve tread, our most popular option, is built to your height specifications and forms one smooth, uniform cover over the center column, for a more finished look. In addition to providing a more custom finished look the continuous sleeve option also greatly helps the installation process by have the risers pre-cut.  When selecting your stair, you’ll want to pay special attention to the choices that give your stair its style, including tread types. Salter Spiral Stair offers the most options in tread types, including the standard tread, curve up, long curve, decorative ivy stencil, coder riser, fan style grated, and the industrial heavy gauge 3/16” steel tread as well as custom designs. For metal stair types, such as Steel, Forged Iron, and Aluminum, all welds are done inside the tread so they are hidden from view, for clean seams and flawless appearance.  In addition to the hidden welds, each tread has an enclosed tread end. A more expensive manufacturing process, this feature hides the assembly hardware, continues the clean line of the staircase, and stiffens the treads. Our metal stairs can be combined with wood details such as tread covers and handrails to achieve a style that works with any décor. We offer a variety of ornate details for our Hand-Crafted Solid Wood tread option. The true beauty and significance of Salter’s solid wood stair design, is that we manufacture a spiral stair package that doesn’t look like a pre-packaged kit. This is achieved by our unique stair tread attachment to a smooth round wood center column with hardened steel fasteners and components that are imbedded into the wood tread creating strength and stability. Our wood treads are available in a variety of species and we offer a long curve tread option that provides a graceful profile that softens the lines of the stair.

 Our treads are just another feature of our stairs that showcases the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Check back in later this week when I give a detailed blog on our balusters! Any questions please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at kim@salterspiralstair.com or call us at 1-800-368-8280 to discuss it.

Hello! My name is Kim and I will be contributing to this blog along with Sam and a few others here at Salter Spiral Stair. I began working at Salter a few weeks ago, and I can tell you one thing that immediately stood out in my first few days here; dedication. It is apparent that everyone here is truly dedicated to the company and to their individual contribution to its success. This passion is one that shows through in the craftsmanship of our stairs, and is something that makes Salter Spiral Stair different than the rest. You can see examples of our quality in the 7 unique details of our stairs, which I will be writing about, individually, over the next few weeks.

I will start my portion of the blog by telling you a little bit about our handrails. Salter Spiral Stair offers 3 different types of handrails; Wood, Aluminum, and Steel. First thing, and perhaps most notable in regard to what makes our handrails unique, is that Salter provides all kits with a pre-formed hand rail.  Pre-formed means that you will receive your handrail in one piece, already formed to the shape of your custom stair. This feature enhances the overall quality of your stair, making it stronger, resulting in a longer-lasting product. Only Salter Spiral Stair provides pre-formed handrails in their kits, which will save you time and aggravation during installation.

 The competition on the other hand sends out their aluminum handrails in a flat coil so that you have to do all the forming yourself. This is not only a much more difficult process, but it can also lead to screwing up the shape of your handrail. Sometimes it can even lead to a kink in the material which ruins the part and it must be replaced. The competitions wood handrails typically come in multiple pieces. This means that you must attach the pieces of the wood using a rail bolt connector which is time consuming and it is difficult to have the ends match precisely so that it is perceived as coming in one piece.

 We offer different options of solid wood handrail shapes for your stair, and they are available in a variety of species including oak, maple, hickory, yellow pine, American cherry, Brazilian cherry, mahogany, and cedar with additional types upon request. The wood comes unfinished and can be stained to match your existing conditions. In addition, we provide handrails in aluminum and steel options for a more industrial or modern look. These handrails have a 1 ½” outside diameter for superior quality, again, a detail that only Salter provides. The competition uses 1 ¼” outside diameter handrails with a thinner wall thickness as well. This feels less substantial in your hand which leads to a feeling and look of lower quality.

Our handrails are just one feature of our stairs that showcases the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Check back in later this week when I give a detailed blog to our stair treads! Any questions please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at kim@salterspiralstair.com or call us at 1-800-368-8280 to discuss it.

One question we receive from our customers on a daily basis is, “How well does your spiral stair stand up to the elements”? This is a great question because too often we receive calls about replacing spiral stairs that are rusted and have become unsafe. This problem can be easily avoided by educating yourself about the material your spiral staircase should be made, the finish on the stair, and the maintenance responsibilities.

Here at Salter Spiral Stair, we offer two different models which are great for beachside installations as well as any other type of deck, patio, etc. Our Aluminum Deck Stair and our Exterior Galvanized Steel Stair are not only warrantied against rust, but they are also maintenance free. I’ll take the Aluminum line first. Aluminum, naturally, is a rust prohibitive material which makes it a great place to start looking at exterior spiral stairs. Then we have our in-house powder coating process down to a science so that the powder adheres to your stair properly to create the perfect finish which can withstand the elements. Additionally, it allows us to powder coat your stair in white, black or any other color in the world. The combination of the powder coating process and the aluminum material makes this the perfect high-end stair for your deck.

The Exterior Galvanized Spiral Stair is a carbon steel stair that we then perform a “hot-dipped galvanizing” process that coats the material inside and out with zinc. The zinc creates a barrier from the elements that prevents rust. Then, if you would like a color, you can paint your galvanized spiral staircase with the proper primer and finish paint.

We sometimes receive questions about placing a carbon steel spiral stair (not galvanized steel) outside and if that will hold up to the elements. Our typical response is that eventually that stair will rust depending on where you live and how the stair is maintained. I have seen stairs rusting within a week next to an ocean and I have seen stairs last years in very dry climates with regular maintenance and painting done multiple times per year. We, unfortunately, cannot warranty such a stair because we know it will rust eventually.

We always recommend for a maintenance-free-stair to select our Aluminum Deck Stair or our Exterior Galvanized Spiral Stair. We stand behind these products and we know they will be a wonderful addition to your home for decades to come.

I hope this helped, regards.

Sam

You can reach me at sam@salterspiralstair.com