Stone staircase

07/31/2010 - 15:43

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy a stone staircase?  We stayed in a rented house recently near Bagni di Lucca that had a lovely stone staircase which on close inspection could have actually been new (although it looked authentic) Having now bought a place of our own I would love to change our fairly grotty open wooden tread, modern stairs up to the first floor.  It could have been brick with limestone treads, I can't quite remember.... Any ideas anyone? Jan 

Comment

The best thing to do is to track down your local quarry - we have one nearby and they sell and make anything made from stone at a very reasonable price. It would be best to get a builder to construct the stairs then have the steps cut from stone and get the builders to bed them in. I have seen designs totally made from stone but these are likely to be horribly expensive. http://www.myabruzzohome.com

We have just tiled a big room and needen a stone step in a corridor. You should look for a marmista - they have tons of different shades of stone to choose from. We used one in Piano di Coreglia (where I think there are 2 marmistas), and I know there is one in Bagni di Lucca as well (previous post). For an entire staircase I recomend getting several quotes - some like to make extra money from the stranieri...

It is always wise to get more than one quote, but I do take exception to the comment that Italians are sometimes out to fleece you because you are foreign, it hasnt been our experience after nearly 5 yrs living here. The number of events we used to go to when a bunch of ex-pats main topic of conversation was how they had been cheated. I would suggest that misunderstanding and a total lack of language skills and a lack of effort in trying to learn Italian was the culprit rather than a wish on the Italians part to be dishonest.