L.J. Smith is pleased to announce that we are now taking orders for Baluster Runners™ —the latest addition to our exclusive collection of stairway installation tools.

As you are well aware, we have been working on getting AccuStair updated for quite some time now. The software company working on the project has not been able to complete it and appears unable, at this time, to give us a definitive timeline for completion. Therefore, it is with great regret and disappointment, that we must announce that we still do not know when AccuStair 3.0 will be available! We're genuinely sorry for all of the confusion and discontent that is created as a result of this product appearing in our catalog and being unavailable. Please rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to get this project finished even as discouraged as we are, right now.

Founded in 1988, the Stairway Manufacturer Association’s original mission was to make stairs safer while preserving the architectural and aesthetic integrity of our industry’s product. The charter members (of which L.J. Smith is one) gathered at a time when an onslaught of conjecture over the causes of stairway accidents had fomented random building code changes without credence to scientific research. By investing heavily in independent testing, the SMA was able to provide its’ members, as well as the code community, with industry specific research based upon responsible methodology. Their researchers pioneered the first dynamic testing of actual staircase falls; data from such testing has been used to develop building codes and standards with real world applications. To this day, the SMA’s code and research committee continues this work as an active participant in every code cycle.

The SMA has evolved into a dynamic organization that is not only proactive in code and standard development, but also in meeting the additional needs of stairbuilders, stair part manufacturers, building related organizations and public authorities. As publishers of the highly acclaimed “Visual Interpretations” of building codes, the SMA serves to educate and inform the building community as to code compliance for the purposes of stair design, construction, and code enforcement. In addition, the SMA is developing Quality Standards that provide members of the industry, as well as architects, designers and builders with a tool to control costs and ensure the quality level of their stairway projects.

Your organization would benefit greatly by joining the Stairway Manufacturers' Association!

For more information on the SMA or to download the 2006 Visual Interpretation of the International Residential Code for Stairs, visit their web site: www.stairways.org