Modern Lake House Glass & Cable Railings and Floating Stairs | Finger Lakes
Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Builder: King Custom Homes
Architect: Charles Cunniffe Architects
Material and
Finish: This modern multi-level deck showcases our Ithaca railing system engineered from aluminum with slender posts and our unique stainless steel cables and fittings for a clean contemporary look. The exterior stairs are built from robust C-channel steel and paired with lime stone treads, blending strength with natural beauty. Inside the staircase features a striking hollow form sawtooth steel stringer that delivers the appearance of a solid structure while maintaining a modern floating profile. The interior glass railing is designed with minimal aluminum posts and concealed hardware and without visible fasteners or glass clamps. The treads are made of white oak with slip resistant strips. The entire project is finished in a sophisticated flat black powder coat for a sleek aesthetic.
Description: On the exterior, this project features a multi-tiered deck with custom cable railings, exterior stairs with matching railings, dock railings, shorter cable railings mounted on the stone wall and handrails. Inside, the home showcases a striking sawtooth hollow-form steel stair stringer paired with white oak treads and sleek glass railing system creating a modern an open feel.
Modern Lake House in the Finger Lakes
The client and team at Charles Cunniffe Architects envisioned a clean, rectilinear design with a sleek, minimalist aesthetic for this project. Our team embraced the challenge and delivered this modern vision in every detail of the stair and railing project.
Interior Floating Stair with Glass Railing
The home’s floating interior stair features hollow-form steel sawtooth stringer, engineered to appear solid while concealing the stringer mounting plates for a clean, modern look. Because of the long span, our team performed finite element analysis to ensure the staircase maintained stiffness with minimal flex. For safety, we custom-machined a black anodized aluminum anti-skid strip that was inset into the white oak treads, adding slip resistance without disrupting the design.
For the glass railing system, the original plan was to use standard glass clamps, but the client preferred a more refined aesthetic. To achieve this, we machined slots within the aluminum posts and used a concealed rubber channel to secure the glass panels, creating a minimal, hardware-free appearance that delivers both transparency and modern elegance.
Exterior Stairs and Cable Railings
The exterior double-stringer C-channel stair was engineered with minimal supporting posts to maintain a clean, modern profile while safely supporting the weight of the limestone treads. The stairs were carefully designed using Finite Element Analysis software to reduce vibration, ensuring a solid and comfortable feel when descending. The custom railing posts were precision-fabricated to attach directly to the C-channel flange, seamlessly integrating the railing system with the staircase structure.
The Ithaca-Style machined aluminum cable railing posts wrap the home’s multi-level exterior membrane decks, as well as the dock and half-height stone wall with handrails. On the membrane decks, the stone tile is suspended on standoffs, so we engineered a custom method to securely attach the railing posts without compromising the membrane surface. Each post features precision escutcheon plates to conceal the hardware while preserving a minimal, sleek appearance and maintaining structural integrity.
