Home > Video Channel > Installing the Concrete Cellar Stairs

Installing the Concrete Cellar Stairs

Back on site, pre-cast concrete cellar stairs, fabricated in Williston, Vermont, are lowered with a boom and bolted up against the house foundation. The stairs, which weigh a good ton, are bolted on with 4 3/4" bolts and waterproofed with a neoprene seal. When finished they will have a metal bulkhead door on top and a door into the basement below.
Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Clip Transcript For:

Installing the Concrete Cellar Stairs

  computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Now are these made near here, Ted?"

" Yes. Up by Burlington and Willows in Vermont."

" So it's gonna become a cottage industry in certain parts of the country. We've got little operators that are making this pre-cast concrete cellar stairs."

" Yes."

" Any idea what this thing weigh?"

" I would say a good ton. It's gotta be a good ton."

" Right. Right."

" But they just fix it right off of there with that boom."

" Right."

" And once it's up against the house foundation, it's just bolted on."

" Yes. It's 4 bolts that holds it on, 34 inch bolts. "

" And how do you waterproof it?"

" They have a neoprene seal as you can see----"

" Along the edge. Along the edge."

" And then this all gets backfill."

" All this backfill in tan."

" Yeah. And then what do you do to close it all in?"

" Okay. There will be a metal bolt at top, just a regular balky door."

" Uh huh."

" And of course, at the bottom of the balky would be door going into these basement."

" So it's a state-of-the-art as a gate. Can we go walk down it?"

" Sure can."

" Alright. Because they're starting to pour the concrete flaps."

" This involved here is the bulk."

" The bulks that would be on the side?"

" Yes. Yes, sir."

" Alright. We're gonna start concrete them in. That's quite a big crew over there."

" Yes."

" So 4 bolts and that's it. You waterproof it and you're in business."

" Yes, sir."

" It's a good way to do it."

 [-]


More Videos »Related Videos

Installing Custom Shower Doors and Bath Hardware and CO Detector
Installing Custom Shower Doors and Bath Hardware and CO Detector

Bob meets with Greg VanGrover of Ketcham Reflections to observe the finishing touches in the bathroom shower. VanGrover works with architectural drawings to custom fit the shower doors and glass walls. In older homes his factory-trained installers make a site visit prior to fabrication to insure the space is plumb and level. If its not his team will make the piece to fit whole so once its made the installer is not trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Downstairs Bob meets with Barry Driscoll, the electrician to discuss the importance of Carbon Monoxide detectors. In the basement Bob shows off his mini Wine Cellar with a Marvel Cellarette. Also in the basement is a Wood Waiter from Bruce Fowler Industries of Quebec, Canada. This nifty device saves your back from having to haul wood from the basement to the main floor. This wood elevator transports wood from a basement storage area to a cabinet near the fireplace.

Steel Bulkhead Doors
Steel Bulkhead Doors

A steel bulkhead door can be a great addition to a home. To install, a steel frame is lowered onto the pre cast cellar stairs. Next, pilot holes are drill into the concrete and the steel frame is bolted down. The door and latching hardware are attached, providing secure and weather tight basement access.

A Complete Basement Remodel
A Complete Basement Remodel

The new family room is all done and furnished and looks terrrific. Bob talks with Sarah Monzon, the homeowner who also acted as the general contractor on the project, about the remodeling work done on the room. The room was a "cave" according to Monzon before the project was started. A pitted soapstone sink was previously used as a laundry and had become an eyesore. The room was also cluttered with accumulated junk. Because of the shortage of space in the house, the family decided to finish the basement to add to the living space of the home. Monzon acted as the general contractor for the project because there wasn't money budgeted for the expense, which was not necessarily an experience she would choose to repeat. The local inspectional services department provided a large amount of information for the novice general contractor. It is imperative before homeowners do any work on their home that they obtain the necessary permits and find out what is safe and what is not. If homeowners do work on their homes without a permit and anything goes wrong, insurance will not cover the damage. Before any work was done on the house, the basement floors were concrete and heating ducts crisscrossed the ceiling. There was flooding damage in the basement during the past fall which needed to be corrected and prevented in the future. Basement Systems was called in to install a perimeter drain and drainage system. A lot of existing plumbing was then moved from the ceiling to make more headspace and a new HVAC system was installed to move the heating ducts. The new central air system complete with an air filter made the house much more livable. In one of the smaller spaces in the basement, a new bathroom was installed with the help of technology from Saniflo. Owens Corning Basement Finishing Systems was then called in to install new finished walls. Many of the mechanical devices in the basement are now hidden behind the walls but are still accessible as the walls can be easily removed. A new entertainment center was then installed in the finished basement featuring a S1 Digital Media Center. The media center allows the homeowner to browse digital pictures taken using the family's digital camera or to set the image as wallpaper for the screen. Television shows can be watched or recorded using a schedule guide. The media center also can store home videos, movies, and music. New reclining chairs from Bell'O were put in the entertainment room. When laying protection from flood damage in a basement, it is important to elevate wood from the concrete floor. Instead of using a plywood underlayment, a plastic tile system was used which interlocks and can be screwed down onto the concrete. Plastic webbing underneath the tiles diverts any water which may come up through the concrete or spill in the basement to the perimeter drain. Slide-Lok cabinets were put in the basement to increase storage space. The Slide-Lok wall system was put in place to hang tools in the workspace. The husband of the family is a musician and uses much of the storage space to hold his instruments. Because the room can double as rehearsal space, two and a half inches of fiberglass are in the walls to reduce sound transmission to the outside. The basement has a small office space for the husband as well. Accents throughout the space correlate with other things in the room. The lampshades on the desk have a design which relates to the flooring product. The floor does not have a wall-to-wall carpet although it looks as if it does. The floor is from Binvetec and features tiles of carpet which stick to the floor. The product has interlocking patterns which can easily be layed down. Bean bags from Sumo were put in the room for lounging in and the kids love to play on them. A stairwell fishtank from AquaVista is only four inches deep.

Installing Pre-Cast Concrete Basement Stairs and a Bulkhead
Installing Pre-Cast Concrete Basement Stairs and a Bulkhead

Bob is at the Mashpee home site for the installation of the pre-cast basement entry system from Bilco. He looks at a finished system and remarks on the light, sturdy doors that are molded of high-density poyethylene, ribbed for strength, yet light weight and low maintenance. He then visits an installation in progress to see how the pre-cast concrete stairs are drilled to accept the threaded steel rods that will join the stairs to the foundation. The faces of the stair system that will receive the butyl resin and bond with the foundation are first primed with a catalyst to help the butyl resin adhere. The resin is laid on in strips that will flatten, spread, and compress as the stairs are lowered into place and pressed against the foundation to form a water-tight seal. The stairs are made of 5,000 PSI (pounds per square inch)concrete that is so dense it doesn't need waterproofing treatment like the foundation. The door leaves are installed last, with pre-molded cutouts for the hardware. These light, ribbed doors are actually as strong as steel, but never need to be scraped, primed, or painted. They are sold as a premium product, at a higher price than traditional steel doors, because they are built to be secure and maintenance-free. These doors shed water by design, and direct it away from the house and the door opening.

Related Products & Services Showrooms

Decorative Hardware for your Home
Decorative Hardware for your Home

…hardware, door pulls, sliding door and screen door hardware, push plates, security fasteners, flush, surface and Dutch door bolts, hinges, and more. Cabinet items include; knobs and pulls, hinges, plates, and childproofing latches. Home & Bath…

Basement Waterproofing and Crawl Space Contractor Network
Basement Waterproofing and Crawl Space Contractor Network

… After! TripleSafe TripleSafe with SaniDry A wet basement is a common problem in all types of basements - from concrete to stone to block foundations - and we've fixed thousands of each type. Learn what causes your basement water problems and…

More Content »More Content

Garage Workshop Foundation and Slab
Garage Workshop Foundation and Slab

…foundation wall bear stress while mechanical vibration consolidates the concrete to eliminate voids and air bubbles that might weaken the concrete. Anchor bolts are installed in the concrete foundation to secure the garage walls to the foundation. The…

The Benefits of Concrete Houses
The Benefits of Concrete Houses

As this precast concrete log home in Montana shows that concrete does not limit the appearance of a home. As this precast concrete log home in Montana shows that concrete does not limit the appearance of a home. Far from the misconceptions…

How to Repair Cracked Concrete
How to Repair Cracked Concrete

…value or create a safety issue. We ll take you through a few concrete repair projects to help guide your approach. This concrete repair effort was inadequate. Proper concrete repair will result in a lasting solution. Photo courtesy of Karen…

Concrete Countertops: The Design and Construction Process
Concrete Countertops: The Design and Construction Process

…first appeared in homes in the 1970s, concrete countertops have continued to add value…
…natural composition. According to Concrete Network, a resource for Inlays add a personal touch and make concrete countertops unique to the owner. Photo…

Browse Topics

Click on a letter to browse content by topic alphabetically.



About  | FAQ  | Contact  | Sitemap  | Privacy Policy  | Terms of Use  | Help

© BobVila.com 2009