Exercise in craftsmanship

Building a concrete spiral stairway

ight man-months of skilled labor in the formwork paid off for the contractor. His own satisfaction of accomplishment was heightened by enthusiastic approval from the owner and architect. THE CHALLENGE: A spiral staircase in architectural c o n c re t e, with a broad, curved landing three steps up and a larger boat-shaped landing half way to the second floor. Monolithic sidewalls supporting a polished brass handrail end in scrolling curves with a 1-foot radius. With a skylight above and overhanging cast-

in-place planter boxes at the upper landing level, the stairway is planned as the dramatic focal point of a new public library. The builder has signed a fixed-price agreement based on estimates which, he realizes all too late, didnt allow adequately for the complexity of the stairway work. What to do? THE RESPONSE: Do the best possible work regardless of unusual costs. The contractor wisely recognized that the stairway would be the center of attention. To build it properly would require the finest craftsmanship, and no effort could be spared. Anything less might have prejudiced acceptance of the whole job. This article details some of the five months of forming and placing operations required for successful completion of the stairs.

A. After drawing a fullscale plan of the stairs on the concrete slab, carpenters erected a metal column which would provide center support for formwork. Steel plates were welded to the post in line with the face of each tread.

C. Soffit form for the stairs was made of two layers of plywood supported on 2x10s. This view of the inside of the form shows outside wall sheathing in place. Three thin layers of plywood were used to permit bending to the design curve.

BUILDING THE FORMS

Complexity of the drawings provided a good early warning for the form builders. After development of the concept, the architect had kept one man busy two months preparing the design drawings alone. The contractor received 212 large sheets showing the layout and details. From this starting point, two men worked four months constructing the forms. The formwork had to be finished almost as carefully as cabinet work, and strong and rigid enough to hold the fresh concrete and the men placing it.

B. Wood studs were set up at the outside of the 27-foot circle. Then 2x10s set below the location of each stair tread were supported on the studs and on the steel plates attached to the center metal post. Edges of the 2x10s were planed carefully to define the contour of the helical soffit.

Structural support for the stairs is provided by 30-inch round caissons, which extend 20 feet below the ground floor to rock. The first landing, up three steps, is supported directly on one of these caissons. A second landing, half way to the second floor, is carried by curving columns about 8 feet high, resting on two other caissons.

Forming the soffit

The stairway and its sidewalls lie within a 27-foot-diameter circle. The upper landing and planters have their own radiuses as do the lower landing and the scrolling curve with which the sidewalls end. To build all these intersecting curved surfaces, the carpenter foreman decided to start with a full-scale layout which he drew on the steel troweled floor slab. After creating this full plan of the stairway, he set up a 10-inch-diameter steel post (Photo A), which was braced to the main framing beams of the libra ry s second floor. Then began the task of forming the warped surface of the underside of the spiral stairs. Steel plates were welded to the post in line with the position of each tread face. Wood studs were set up at the outside of the 27-foot circle. Then 2x10s were placed under each tread location, supported by the studs and bolted to plates on the center post (Photo B). The edges of the 2x10s were next planed carefully by hand to define the contour of the helical soffit of the stair slab. Over this support, the soffit was formed with two layers of plywood12 inch on the bottom and 14 inch above (Photo C). Thicker plywood could not have been warped to the desired curvature. With two layers, it also was possible to offset joints and reduce the possibility of leakage through the form.

D. Forms for the two inner faces of stairway sidewalls were suspended from these wood Ts made of two 2x10s. Fortysix job-built curved panels needed to make the inner form had to be held above the soffit form to permit monolithic casting of walls and soffit.

Sidewalls for the staircase

The stairs have exposed concrete sidewalls 312 feet high above the treads, with a formed recess for the polished brass handrail. Form ties used in these 8-inch walls had plastic cones which left 2-inch-deep recesses that became a visual feature of the sandblasted concrete. The walls were to be placed monolithically with the stair soffit in a continuous pour. There were no control joints and no construction joints. The contractor elected to place about 12 inches of the concrete soffit in this continuous pour and then come back later to complete the stair treads. This would leave no visible joints and be much more convenient for the finishers. Stair tread concrete was doweled to the sidewalls. Outer forms for the sidewalls were made of three layers of 14-inch plywood to facilitate precision curving to the necessary radiusesabout 7 feet on one side and 13 feet on the other side of the stairs (Photo C). They were backed up by supporting curved wood wales. Joints in the forms were carefully sealed with plastic caulk. The outer wall forms could be supported on studs and joined to the soffit form at the bottom. The inner wall forms presented a different problem because they had to be suspended to permit continuous placing of soffit slab E. Curved forms for the inner wall faces. Note gap between form panel and soffit form to permit monolithic casting. and wall. The builders devised a set of inverted wood Ts made of pairs of 2x6s which they could support on the outside wall forms (Photo D). From these Ts they hung the 46 job-built curved panels needed for the inner face of the stair walls (Photo E). These panels were carefully hung and fitted, then dismantled for placing the reinforcing bars, and suspended again with special attention to joints between them. Slots were routed in the butting edges of the panels, and sheet metal strips 1 inch wide were inserted to hold the panels in alignment and to help prevent leakage.

Difficult details
A continuous recess running the length of the inside wall form was needed to accommodate the brass handrail. This recess was formed with blockouts made of six layers of hardboard, hand sculpted to the curved contour, smoothed with gypsum plaster, and coated with shellac. The blockouts were mounted on the curved inside wall form panels. In effect, this reduced the wall

thickness from 8 to 5 1/2 inches at the top, adding to the difficulty of placing concrete. Even greater problems faced the form builders at the bottom of the stairs where the wall ended in a curve with 12-inch radius, which could not be formed like the rest of the wall (Photo F). Expanded metal lath, coated with gypsum plaster provided part of the solution, where the handrail recess assumed a more complex shape. The carpenter foreman had to work within narrow confines to caulk joints where this piece joined with the other forms. Here it was impossible to use form ties, and heavy external bracing was required to resist the concrete pressure.

G. Stair steps were placed in a second lift on top of the 12inch soffit slab poured monolithically with sidewalls. Dowels anchored this lift to the walls. Steel troweled treads were later covered with carpeting.

F. Stairway railings ended in a curve with 1-foot radius, requiring unorthodox forming. This view, looking down into the form, shows external bracing required becasue ties could not be installed here.

PLACING THE CONCRETE

The concrete, much of which would be exposed and sandblasted, had a design strength of 4000 psi. Local river gravel of 34-inch maximum size in varied colors was used as coarse aggregate. The portland cement was standard gray Type I. Slump was held to 3 inches, and a retarder was used for all but the first load delivered. Form planning had started in January, but concrete wasnt placed until May when the temperature was around 60 degrees F. The surrounding building frame had been completed by then, and artificial heating was not needed for stairway pours. Because of cramped spaces and the critical nature of the work, a rehearsal was conducted for laborers handling the concrete and the vibrators before any concrete was delivered. Two vibrators were used, a regular 2-inch spud and a 3/4-inch pencil vibrator. Concrete was conveyed in a bucket with elephant trunk by crane from the street through a skylight. The monolithic stair soffit and walls were concreted slowly over a 6-hour period. The total pour was 35 cubic yards, and deliveries were made in 3-yard batches to accommodate the crew working carefully in tight spaces to

p re vent honeycombing that would disfigure the architectural surfaces. Fortunately, the ready mix plant was just across the street so delivery could be carefully controlled. The 8-inch walls, which narrowed to only 512 inches at the level of the handrail, had #8 bars near the top. To help improve access for placing the concrete below, those final bars were not set into place until the form had been filled to that level. After the wall forms had been stripped, a second concrete placement was made to complete the stair steps (Photo G). The tread surfaces were steel troweled for later installation of carpeting. Planter boxes at the upper landing were cast seve ra l weeks after the rest of the stairway work, bringing the final total of concrete to about 49 cubic yards. Careful detailing and sealing of joints left forms so tight that the builder says less than a quart of cement paste leaked during the entire pour.

THE HAPPY ENDING

Form stripping revealed a highly successful piece of work, which has since been sandblasted to a depth of 16 to 18 inch, like the exposed concrete in the building around it. Second floor and roof waffle slabs as well as beams and columns all contribute to the architectural effect. With carpeting and polished handrail added on the stairs, plants overhanging the planter boxes, and a flood of light from the skylight above, the treasured focal point of the library has been completed. A concrete stairway whose cost goes well above $1200 per cubic yard has paid off for the constructor who spared no effort in building it. When the completed building was turned over to the library board in December 1984, the architect, the board, and the public had lavish praise for the finished job.

Acknowledgment: Thanks to Gordon Gates of Gates and Sons, Denver, and to Steve Chmelar of Carroll Distributing and Construction Supply in Ottumwa, Iowa for alerting CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION to this story. Credits: Architects: Brown Healey Bock P.C. and McConnell Steveley Anderson P.C., Cedal Rapids, Iowa Engineers: Shive-Hattery and Associates, Cedar Rapids, Iowa General Contractor: Knutson Construction Company, Minneapolis; Superintendent: Arthur J. Rinderknecht; Carpenter Foreman: Jon A. Rinderknecht Owner: Cedar Rapids Public Library, Cedar Rapids, lowa

PUBLICATION #C850191
Copyright 1985, The Aberdeen Group All rights reserved