Nob Hill Staircase Replacement

Wooden outdoor staircase with red railings, leading down to a small landing. Sunlight casts shadows across the steps and railing.

A wooden staircase with red handrails leads up to a closed beige door, situated between two buildings with wood siding.

A red metal handrail runs alongside a wooden staircase with wooden and concrete walls in the background.

A top-down view of a spiral wooden staircase with worn, narrow steps and sunlight casting shadows on the upper landing.

Wooden stairs and beams with red-painted edges, viewed from underneath, showing the structural framework and some sunlight through the gaps.

Wooden spiral staircase leading down, with orange railing and sunlight casting shadows across the steps.

Wooden stairs with strong diagonal shadows cast by sunlight, creating a repeating pattern of light and dark across the steps.

Focus

Replacing a century-old, five-story staircase

Location

Nob Hill, San Francisco

Year

2024

Client Feedback

“Associated Builders successfully navigated the challenging bureaucratic process with skillful and strategic communications as well as smoothly sequenced all trades and inspections – allowing a timely, worry-free project. ”

Project Overview

Associated Builders rebuilt a five-story staircase (second means of egress) at the rear of an apartment building constructed in 1911. After decades of continuous maintenance, the staircase had reached the end of its natural lifespan and required full replacement in early 2024.

The replacement, however, carried significant complexity: the original stair configuration did not meet current code requirements for riser height and tread depth. Bringing it into compliance would have required extending the staircase outside the original footprint (and further into the building) — an expansion that was not structurally or practically feasible. A requirement to keep egress path open during construction added further challenge as it was not possible to demolish the old staircase completely and build anew from the ground up; doing so would have required relocation of tenants.

Client Vision

Working with non-conforming conditions is a common reality encountered in older San Francisco buildings – especially in more historic neighborhoods such as North Beach, Russian Hill and Nob Hill. Current building codes require 7″ high risers and 11″ deep treads. Achieving those dimensions would have pushed the staircase’s footprint into the building interior — physically impossible without major structural intervention in an occupied residential building. The property owner’s objective was to completely rebuild the staircase without having to modify the building structure or relocate tenants due to egress interruption.

Associated Builders worked with the property owners, their structural engineer and the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection to secure the building permit under the description: “Rebuild existing non-conforming staircase at rear in same location with same footprint.”

Key Takeaways

Craftsman-level carpentry requires experience, not just labor

The staircase location at the building’s rear made scaffolding installation infeasible; crews were required to maneuver extremely tight quarters and install structural steel into a standing staircase — a task demanding significant experience and precision. In addition, not all carpenters have experience laying out and building staircases with winders – especially when some building elements are not square. By carefully sequencing the work and making templates from original forms of the winders, Associated Builders rebuilt the staircase step by step.

Early, proactive engagement with building inspection is beneficial

In balancing multiple (and at times competing) requirements of building compliance, egress and non-disruption to tenants, Associated Builders proactively involved Department of Building Inspection early on, presenting the constraints clearly and inviting collaborative problem-solving. This approach unlocked a practical path forward that protected the building owner, tenants, and the structural integrity of the property.