Carving a staircase out of a single log

[snoogiesnerfis]

Hello.

My husband and I are preparing to build our own log home and we have an idea to carve a staircase out of a single log. The log is about 48 inches in diameter and about 15 feet tall. The log will be both the stringer and the stairs all in one.

Does anyone know of this being done before and if so, are there any photos or tips on how to accomplish this feat? Any comments, suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Sharon of the Dell]

Ask the guys in the chain saw section.I think at least one of them has done log stairs. My husband and i wanted to build a log home, but alas it's not in the picture.But there's all kinds of info on the internet.Lots of books too. Hope it goes great for you both.

[jiju1943]

In my career I built many different types of stairs but not out of one log. Without giving it a lot of thought I would say that you could make a stair case out of one log that size. I would think that you will have to flatten the front of the log as it would make the steps way too deep for safety. You will also need to beef up the floor where the steps sit and the wall the steps set against as that is a lot of weight.

Figure and cut the log like you would a stringer. The shallowest part as the log will be the weakest and will also have to support it's own weight, this you will have to determine. Remember the material that you are removing from the face will also remove weight from the overall unit which is good. By lessening the weight it will allow you to cut deeper into the log, if necessary, as the log won't have to support as much weight.

The wall that the top of the log, or stringer, rest against will really need bracing, beefing up as that will be an awful lot of pressure against it.

I just drew a circle to scale and it should work, although the circle will be more of an egg shape as the log will be on an angle. Without knowing the exact angle it would be just a guess as how wide the front of the tread would be if one foot of the log was removed for the front of the tread. For example, if you were to draw a four foot circle and draw a line across at one foot, that would be the front edge of the tread. Draw a line through the center of the circle parallel to the front of the tread, this would be the deepest part of the tread. You will notice that the front edge of the tread is 6 inches narrower than the back of the tread. When the log is laying at an angle the circle will be egg shaped as I said before, therefore the front edge of the tread will be narrower than if it were a full circle.

One more thing, a log that size usually will crack and could warp or bow as it dries but could take a long time. It may also shrink in width and length and you must take precautions in construct to allow for this. None of this should weaken the over all unit unless the log shrinks in length to the point of pulling away from the wall.

I hope I haven't confused you as I am not very good at explaining things. If I can help in any way let me know and I will be happy to do all I can to help.
Jim