In the article we will talk about how to build a staircase with your own hands and what you need for this. When designing a staircase, attention should be paid not only to the functionality and reliability of the structure, but also to the appearance. Before starting production, it is necessary to take into account all the factors that affect both the design and the dimensions.
Factors affecting the design of stairs
Factors that directly or indirectly affect the choice of stairs include:
- Available area of the room in which the structure is planned to be installed.
- Height of the room.
- Ease of use.
- The load the ladder must be designed for.
But how to build a staircase with your own hands correctly? There are a large number of options for execution, so the choice must be approached thoroughly. Next, we will consider the choice of design and methods for making stairs with our own hands.
Which ladder to build?
There are spiral and mid-flight stairs. The design of the latter is quitesimple, it is the most attractive, especially if you are going to do it yourself. But in order to make a normal slope and step height, a large area is required. Such a ladder is very convenient to operate, it is able to withstand heavy loads. But along it you will not be able to easily lift furniture and other items to the second floor in the future. It is also very safe, so it will be the best solution if the elderly or children live in the house.
As for the design of the spiral staircase, it is more complex. But it can be used in conditions if you are limited in space. Usually it is installed if there is not enough space to ensure a safe slope of the flight stairs. The main disadvantage is usually not a very convenient design, it makes it difficult to lift large items. But if you make a beautiful and high-quality staircase, then it will have high strength, as well as an aesthetic appearance. But let's look at how to build a staircase to the second floor with your own hands.
Before you start making stairs, you need to make sure that it is as safe as possible. First, it should be ergonomic and comfortable. In this case, you need to pay great attention to the height of the steps, the slope of the stairs, as well as the shape and location of the railing. Secondly, the entire structure must withstand any load. Be sure to take into account that the steps must be non-slip, and the gap between the balusters must be chosen in such a way that througha child could not squeeze through them and fall down.
Stair design features
And now let's talk about how to build a staircase to the second floor. Depending on how the steps are attached, marching structures can be as follows:
- On bowstrings. They have two side beams, steps are attached to them. These beams are called bowstrings and are made of wood or metal. Their fastening is carried out to the wall or to the supports, which ensure the strength of the structure. Before you build a wooden staircase, you need to make the right calculation so that it has maximum strength and reliability.
- On stringers. The stringers are attached to the beams located below. They exactly repeat the geometric size of the entire structure. These beams can be curved or straight. Straight stringers are usually serrated, steps are mounted on the teeth.
- The bolted connection is the most durable, so such structures do not require additional supports. They can be installed at just two points. The steps are mounted and fastened to each other with the help of special bolts - metal rods. As a result, it turns out to eliminate the creak, which is caused by the friction of wooden elements. If you are going to build a staircase in the house to the second floor, be sure to consider the fact that it can creak when people move along it. And that's not very nice.
Material selection
In order to make a ladder, softwood is usually used. There are many reasons for choosing this particular material,among the main ones are cost and ease of processing. As for the oak staircase, it will be durable, but the price of the structure will be several times higher. And you need to pay attention to the fact that oak is much more difficult to process than conifers.
You will need not only the availability of special tools, but also a we alth of experience. As you understand, building a staircase in the country with your own hands is much easier than making a similar design for use inside the house.
Main stages of work
Now let's start to consider the main stages of making stairs on stringers. Before you start designing structures, you need to understand for yourself that even small inaccuracies and errors in calculations will lead to problems during installation, and very serious ones. Treat all stages as carefully as possible.
And now about how to build a staircase to the 2nd floor. The design of the stairs will consist of three elements:
- Kosourov.
- Handrails.
- Steps.
First, you need to make a careful calculation.
How to calculate the height and width of steps
Most of the masters use the same formula when calculating the size of steps. The sum of the height of the step and the double value of the width should be equal to 64 cm. Usually the height of the steps is taken to be from 14 to 17 cm. For example, in our calculations we will use the value of 16 cm. First you need to measure the total height of the stairs and divide it by16. For example, your total height is 240 cm. To do this, you need to divide 240 by 16. As a result, you will get 15. Therefore, the whole structure will consist of 15 steps.
Please note that the result may be a non-integer number, in which case it must be rounded up. Knowing the height of the steps, you can find the width. Using the formula above, you can find out that the width will be equal to half the difference: (64 - 16) / 2=24 (cm). But that's not all you need to know before building a staircase in your home.
The part of the step that hangs over the riser is called the ledge and should not be more than 4 cm. It is optimal to make the width of the steps such that it matches the average shoe size of the residents (this is about the 42nd size - about 30 cm).
At the same time, you need to take into account the distance between the steps and the objects that are located above them. For example, above the beams, ceiling, balcony. This distance must be at least 2 m. Horizontally, the stairs must have the following dimensions: multiply the width of the steps by their number. When doing this, keep in mind that the floor is the first step, so the calculation will look like this: 13 x 24=312 (cm).
Consequently, the size of the stairs should be 312 cm. If the height of the structure is very large, you can make a platform. They are installed every 7-8 steps. If you need to design a staircase with a given number of steps, you can slightly reduce their height in order to mount a platform between floors.
Howmake braids
In order to make stringers, a pine board with a width of at least 40 mm is used. First you need to make a pattern that will exactly repeat the size of the profile of the steps. Then you need to put markings on the boards. After that, you need to cut the teeth with a hacksaw, but it is much more convenient to use an electric jigsaw. Where the kosour will join the step, you need to cut the corner.
When one kosour is ready, it can be taken as a sample for the manufacture of steel. In fact, it will be a template. Please note that both safety and strength and durability of the entire staircase depend on the kosour. Therefore, there is no need to save on their number.
Also, you can not save on the quality of the material from which they are made. It is not allowed to use boards with knots or signs of vital activity of harmful insects. It is imperative to think in advance how to fasten the stringers. In order to achieve the desired strength, it is necessary to use 3-4 stringers for the entire structure.
How to install steps and railings
Fixing steps can be done both with stringers and with the help of additional wood elements, which are called fillies. First you need to mark and cut out the required number of risers and steps from the wood. Be sure to take into account the protrusion. The step is fastened with nails or self-tapping screws.
The most reliable design is the one that uses triangular fillies. They arefastened with dowels, for them you need to make grooves in advance. The strongest design will be the one that uses fillies of complex shapes. At the same time, special cutouts must be made on the stringers.
The elements must be connected and fastened with self-tapping screws and adhesives. As soon as the steps are ready, balusters and railings can be attached to them. To protect wood from the influence of various harmful factors, such as mold, insects, dampness, varnish is applied.
As you can see, making your own wooden stairs is not very difficult. All you need is good wood and a tool. Before starting work, it is necessary to carefully consider all the nuances that relate to the future design. Be sure to double-check all the calculations that were carried out at the first stage.
Spiral stairs
Let's list the advantages and disadvantages of a spiral staircase. After all, the design of a marching staircase is not suitable for everyone. The main advantage of the screw is that it is very compact. If the flight staircase is several meters long, then it will take up a significant part of the room, you will lose useful space. As for the spiral staircase, it will occupy an area of no more than 2 m2. In this case, you will make the necessary slope and height of the steps. And the whole design will be as safe and convenient as possible.
And the second advantage of this design is that it is very cheap. Formanufacturing a spiral staircase you will spend a much smaller amount of material than for a mid-flight. And if you still do all the work yourself, you will save a lot of money. In addition, the design of the spiral staircase has an attractive appearance, so in addition to being used for its intended purpose, it can become a good decoration for the home. If skillfully executed, the staircase will give the interior of the room individuality and uniqueness.
Disadvantages of a spiral staircase
But this design has its drawbacks. And the main thing is that it is not as convenient to use as a marching one. And with such a ladder, you are unlikely to be able to drag a sofa or wardrobe, as well as any heavy furniture, to the second floor or attic.
Also, ascending or descending in a spiral is somewhat more difficult than in a straight line. And therefore, if such a design is the main staircase, you need to think about its ergonomics. Be sure to think about how wide the steps will be, and also calculate their number. Be sure such stairs should have comfortable and reliable railings.
Main types of structures
Depending on how the spiral staircase is located, it can be mounted on a vertical rack or on the wall. The latter usually have a polygonal shape, repeating the configuration of the walls. The steps are connected with a bowstring to each other. Railings can be either spiral or straight.
You can also lay steps on stringers or fasten them with bolts. Such a staircase can be made without the presence of additional supports, as part of the supporting structure of the railing. They will be able to give the necessary rigidity to the stairs.
Materials for making stairs
Steps for use on spiral staircases are often made from woods such as maple, beech or oak. These hardwoods are very durable but are more difficult to handle. You can also use tempered glass, metal, plastic. For the manufacture of outdoor stairs, you can use marble, artificial granite, ceramics. The string and railings are usually made of metal or laminated wood.
In the event that you are going to make your own spiral staircase around a horizontal support, you need to make a wooden, metal or stone central rack. In this case, the most suitable option is to use a steel pipe, as it has high strength, and also makes it quite easy to fix steps on it.
How to make a ladder with your own hands
First you need to do the calculations. The optimal width of the spiral staircase is about 0.8-0.9 m. Let's say you need to make a staircase with a width of 0.85 m and a height of 2.7 m. The metal rack in the center has a diameter of 20 cm. First you need to determine the total the diameter of the entire structure, it will be equal to the value of the width of the stairs and the thickness of the support post. Therefore, you need 0.85 x 2 and add 0.2 to this value. As a result, you get 1.9 m.
Next, you need to enter the second circle into this circle. It will be along it in the futuremove man who climbs the stairs. This circle has a radius equal to half the width and radius of the B-pillar. Calculating this, we get a value of 0.475 m. And the most optimal value for the width of the steps will be 20 cm, but in our case it increases with distance from the center of the structure. For the manufacture of our stairs, you need to use the average step width of 20 cm.
In order to determine the number of steps per one turn, it is necessary to divide the length of the inscribed circle by the width of the steps. You will get the value 14.9. If you round it up to a whole number, you get 15 steps. This is the number of steps per turn of the stairs, now you need to calculate their height.
To do this, you need to divide the circle into 15 identical parts using radial lines. For comfortable lifting, it is necessary that the step height be about 14 cm. Knowing this, you can calculate the total number of steps. To do this, you need to divide the height of the stairs by the same step size. Therefore, you need to divide 2.7 m by 0.14 m. Rounding up, you get the number of steps - 20 pieces.
How to make steps and railings
You can use oak or beech to make the steps of the spiral staircase. But it will be easier to take ready-made steps, and then make blanks of the required shape from them. There are a large number of steps made of wood on the market, and their thickness can be different. Width, however, too. All steps can be independently sawn diagonally, withthis will make two blanks in the form of a trapezoid.
But how to build a staircase to the floor (second or attic) so that it fits perfectly into the interior. Everything needs to be done as attractively as possible, so all corners should be rounded off, and the edges should be processed using a grinder or sandpaper. Finished products must be varnished. Bushings must also be attached to all steps, with which they will be fixed on the central rack.
Balusters can be made from metal or wood rods. Handrails, as a rule, are made of glued laminated timber or plastic. The design of the railing may include several bars - straight or curved. It is much more difficult to implement a curvilinear shape, but such railings look very attractive. It is necessary to string steps on the rack, after that it is mounted in a previously prepared place and fixed on the floor and ceiling.
In advance, you need to think over the options for fastening the rack and make sure that it is reliable. It is necessary that the steps overlap each other by about 5 cm. And the steps are fixed with the help of bolts. Balusters are screwed to the wide part of the steps. And already railings are fastened to the balusters. It is necessary that the baluster be a little longer at the first step, since it needs to be fixed to the floor. This will increase the strength of the structure. Now you know how to properly build a staircase and what you need to know for this.
