Serious question, that McMansion job last week with the curved stairs nearly broke me

I was out in a new development outside of Charlotte, some huge house with a curved staircase and three landings. The homeowner wanted a custom pattern on each landing, like a diamond inlay thing. I spent almost 4 hours just measuring and recutting because the curve wasn't actually a perfect radius, it was more like an oval shape. My knee gave out halfway through from kneeling on those marble steps, and I had to use my helper's knee pads. The glue I used for the seams started bubbling up because the humidity was so high in there. Has anyone else dealt with a curved staircase that turned out to be more of a weird oval?

2 comments

2 Comments

henryp401mo ago

Wait, did you check the foundation for settling before you started? That sounds like a nightmare honestly, I feel for you. Those "curved" stairs are never what they claim to be, it's always some weird oval or uneven elliptical shape that nobody bothered to blueprint right. The humidity bubbling the glue is the worst, I had the same thing happen on a job in Atlanta last summer and it ruined my whole Saturday redoing it. Your helper's knee pads trick is smart though, I usually just tough it out and regret it the next day. Hope the homeowner wasn't giving you too much grief about the delays.

oscarc121mo ago

Used to think I could wing it on curved stairs but you're totally right, that humidity glue mess is brutal.