Here's another view of the staircase I'm working on. :o) I've moved out the shear wall on either side of the stairwell to give a bit more breathing space here. I'm not sure if my beam line should be supporting the edge of the landing or the top or the run of steps... I need to show this to the engineer. I may have to increase the number vertical railing supports to comply with safety regulations, but I do not want it to feel like a cage. I am thinking of glass cladding the front face of this stairwell and giving a full height glass door at the ground floor. I don't know what materials are allowed by budget, but I would like to get a nice light wood finish either beech or maple. The only worry is that this won't work for a high traffic area, so I may go with precast terrazzo slabs in a honed finish so that it is not slippery. Cheers! M

Mind Over Matter
"If you don't mind, then it don't matter."