We have installed all kinds of stairs over the past five years, and in my view, the best kind is known as 'integral landing', more on this later (and yes we are using this type of stair on the current job).
For compact inner city jobs like we basically always must build, constraints are a common problem. The higher we make the ceiling (which we like), the more treads we must add, and this eats horizontal space (we don't like this). For example it is common to have to squeeze 16 or even 18 risers into a semi detached house that has high ceilings and 14 inch joists. This can start to really encroach on hallway space or even render rooms unusable. We can't have that sort of problem so the art of stair design is a really important skill to hire out.
Lacking any kind of stair design or fabrication skill, I turn to my supplier at Built-rite. Troy is the guy in charge and he knows stairs, that is all they do every day at Built-rite and they have a nice shop on an acreage east of Calgary where they pump out massive volumes of treads.
I had Troy come up with a carriage style closed rise integral landing U shaped three piece assembly for this project. While that may be a lot of jargon, I think the stairs will be super nice once complete, and that is what is important. These stairs are one of many custom touches I am incorporating in this project, while staying on budget and on time (hopefully).
Carriage style refers to the notched stringer, integral landing means the flat landing is connected to the treads (no posts needed), and closed rise means there is not a gap between each tread. Once installed the upper stairs will have a look of almost being suspended in the air and adds to the open concept feel of my layout.
The open rise style of tread is significantly more costly to supply and finish, and doesn't add a lot of value to my concept. This type of U shaped stair does require a lot of railing, and this alone adds a signifiant sum to the budget. There are far less costly ways to install stairs in a home. A straight run, as an example, between two studded and drywalled walls would only cost a few hundred dollars to supply and not require much railing either. A custom staircase and the many finishing details can add tens of thousands to the low cost option. Here is a photo of the upper piece of my U shaped stair. The structure is largely 1 inch plywood glued and laminated together. We can't lift these easily, but fortunately we have a crane booked for next week to load lumber and it will hoist our stairs into position as well.
This is the third piece of the upper floor set, lying on its side in the snow. We will have to use a hoist to get these hung at the top of the stairwell and braced against the middle wall. These will be a great custom feature in the semi.