“Every multilevel home needs safe and comfortable stairs. The right measurements for landings, treads, risers and railing heights are an exact science…” – Mike Holmes
Who is the professional responsible for most of the stairs built? – the carpenter.
Students in CVCEC’s Carpentry Program spend over one hundred and thirty hours studying and practicing the exact science of stair building. They learn that they will, as journeyman carpenters, be the principal professionals entrusted with calculating the many precise details required to make safe and comfortable wood or concrete stairways.
About midway through the program, the students are put through their paces building the formwork necessary to create concrete stairs, with particular emphasis on building exterior stairs suitable for the demanding climate of Quebec. (See included photos of a recent groups efforts constructing stair forms).
The final module of the Carpentry Program consists of one hundred and twenty hours devoted to wood stair construction. Not only do students become acquainted with handrails, balusters, winders, headroom, and much more, but the module serves as a “roundup” for all the skills that they have developed over the past months, as they make and install each stair component, at their own pace.
CVCEC’s carpentry graduates are well prepared to fulfill their role as effective and responsible builders as they enter the workforce.
Peter Dahms-Carpentry Teacher