ᐅ Cantilever staircase is unstable; the stair builder is not a true specialist.
Created on: 30 Jan 2025 16:37
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Fenix34
Hello dear forum members,
I am completely desperate. We are currently building a house. I have wanted a cantilever staircase for years. Unfortunately, the companies specializing in cantilever staircases were outside our budget. That’s why I placed an ad on eBay Classifieds, and someone responded claiming to be a staircase builder. His price was “only” half of what the specialists charge, which is still quite a lot of money. In the end, he tried three times to attach the steps to the concrete wall. On the first attempt, the steps did not hold. On the second attempt, he used different anchors. On the third attempt, he used adhesive. The steps held for about three weeks with the adhesive. The staircase was never used, but just now we saw that one step slipped out and is no longer properly fixed.
After the first failed attempt, I became suspicious and contacted the Chamber of Crafts. Although he is registered there, he is not registered as a staircase builder; he is only allowed to manufacture wire frames.
Of course, we made an initial down payment. After the third attempt, we also paid the remaining amount.
I no longer trust him. Should I involve a lawyer and demand my money back, or should I give him another chance? I am worried that someone might get hurt if the staircase is not properly designed and secured.
I am completely desperate. We are currently building a house. I have wanted a cantilever staircase for years. Unfortunately, the companies specializing in cantilever staircases were outside our budget. That’s why I placed an ad on eBay Classifieds, and someone responded claiming to be a staircase builder. His price was “only” half of what the specialists charge, which is still quite a lot of money. In the end, he tried three times to attach the steps to the concrete wall. On the first attempt, the steps did not hold. On the second attempt, he used different anchors. On the third attempt, he used adhesive. The steps held for about three weeks with the adhesive. The staircase was never used, but just now we saw that one step slipped out and is no longer properly fixed.
After the first failed attempt, I became suspicious and contacted the Chamber of Crafts. Although he is registered there, he is not registered as a staircase builder; he is only allowed to manufacture wire frames.
Of course, we made an initial down payment. After the third attempt, we also paid the remaining amount.
I no longer trust him. Should I involve a lawyer and demand my money back, or should I give him another chance? I am worried that someone might get hurt if the staircase is not properly designed and secured.
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hanghaus20232 Feb 2025 11:56Clearly, the anchors have failed here. I have had very good experiences with Hilti adhesive anchors. Make sure to follow the exact installation instructions. You won’t be able to pull them out. What kind of concrete is that? How old was it at the time of installation?
Were the anchors pulled out without any load? Or did someone jump on the end of the cantilever?
Were the anchors pulled out without any load? Or did someone jump on the end of the cantilever?
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hanghaus20232 Feb 2025 12:28Now I understand the photo on the right. That is not your staircase, but an example. You don’t have a plate like that attached? Please take a photo showing the entire staircase. Without such a plate, the tensile forces caused by the leverage effects are so high that no anchor can hold. Has a structural engineer not calculated or checked this?
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hanghaus20232 Feb 2025 13:35Very roughly estimated, about 40 kN per anchor act under static load here.
With the plate, this reduces to approximately 4 kN.
With the plate, this reduces to approximately 4 kN.
wiltshire schrieb:
Only involve a lawyer if you have absolutely no understanding of contracts.I assume this is the case here, since choosing such a blatant fool as a contractor typically correlates with that lack of knowledge. Fenix34 schrieb:
Currently, we are considering enlarging the support surface by welding a metal plate to the existing steps and bonding additional threaded rods, see sample photo.It would have been sensible to show the condition from multiple angles for both the first and second attempts (!) instead of just one photo of the second attempt and an example image of a supposedly suitable alternative solution from elsewhere. However, there is enough evidence to suspect this is the debut work of this "stair builder." hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Is this how you wanted the steps? No architect planned it this way. How is the handrail supposed to be attached here?I already suspect that the "load-bearing" concrete wall was not planned (nor prepped for!), but that the original poster is from a place of questionable judgment (like Schilda), had the house "designed" by a general contractor’s junior staff member, and immediately rejected the staircase as a “builder-supplied” element (possibly because the general contractor is aware of their limits and knows they have no experience with this special request). This would be a prime (actually AAA+) textbook example of completely ignoring 11ant’s mantra. A "load-bearing" wall, specialized mounting elements (there are certainly some expensive products from the Schöck supplier for this alone), and the actual staircase including handrail (see above) form a single system that only risk-takers or thrill-seekers would try to separate. “Small sins are immediately punished by the Lord” – the combination of top-quality custom detail demands and cheap shortcuts is probably a sin of the highest order. Therefore, I must be honest in saying that—even though I still consider the acceptance of this job by the incompetent installer punishable—my sympathy in such a case is not just limited but even negative.
https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/
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Singelküche2 Feb 2025 15:28Fenix34 schrieb:
For him, it only cost half as much, which is still a lot of money.You can assume that financially, he has already spent his budget on your project. First, check if there is anything worth getting out of it. Why throw good money after bad?
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