Advanced Carpentry

Our carpentry skills extend well beyond just building a basic house. Often Blue Stone Construction is contracted to provide specialty framing and carpentry services. Our advanced carpentry includes the following.

• Arch and column construction
• Circular stair walls
• Custom fire place design
• Post and beam detailing
• Arched ceilings
• Curved floors and beams
• Arched roofs

We have provided a number of different projects here for samples of some of the advanced carpentry we have done. Please browse the portfolio below. Click on a picture to enlarge it.

Circular Stair Walls

This particular project was done in a house that we had already framed. The stair company installed an upper and a lower set of circular (curved) stairs. We were contracted to come back and circular walls to match the radius of the stairs.

The basement was where we started. The first and largest wall we had to build was along the outer curve of the stairs. Here the wall was full height and followed the entire length of the stairs. We calculated the radius and adjusted to allow room for drywall between the stair stringer and the wall. Then with the new radius for the wall we cut 3/4 plywood to follow the curve. Two plies of 3/4 inch plywood glued together provided the plate material. In this case, the wall was so long we had to splice them in order to make the wall one piece.

After that was in place, a second smaller wall was built on the inside curve of the stairs. Part of it was full height, the other half was angled to follow the top of the descending stringer for later installation of handrail.

The main floor was the trickiest to do. The stair radiuses were slightly different from the stair manufaturer and we had to compensate so that the walls above and below would line up. This involved tapering a few walls and ripping down the studs compounded with the top plate angling downward to match the descent of the stairs.

 

 

 

Circular Floor/Curved Beam

During the construction of the circular walls shown above, a circular floor needed to be constructed to match the radius of the stairs and walls along the inside curve of the stairs. Because a portion of the curve was not supported below, a curved beam needed to be fabricated to the specific radius of the curve.

First, the radius of the curved floor was calculated. Then a template was to that radius. The first strip of plywood was screwed to the template and clamped in place.

Then gradually, each ply was glued and bent to fit the template using clamps and screws. The beam was built up to three inches thick. After curing, the beam was removed from the template and set into position. On one end it hung in a joist hanger. In the other, it sat on a bearing wall. Two joists were installed - each one hung off the new curved beam.

The circular floor was now ready for sheeting.

 

 

 

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