Until recently, mostly one-story houses were built in suburban areas. Recently, however, many have begun to build more spacious and comfortable cottages for living. Houses on lots today can have two or more floors. And of course, comfortable stairs are installed in such buildings without fail. In a private house, such structures are assembled from a variety of materials. At the same time, stairs can differ in the form of steps, dimensions, angle of inclination, etc.
What is it made from?
Such designs can be made in private homes from:
- concrete;
- metal corner;
- galvanized steel pipes;
- wood.
Concrete stairs are distinguished by reliability and the longest service life. However, such structures are equipped in private houses, mainly on the street. Interfloor stairs made of concrete in suburban residential buildings are poured, of course, extremely rarely.
Metal lifting structures can also last quite a long time. In principle, their assembly is not particularly difficult. Howevermade using the corner of the stairs in the premises do not look too aesthetically pleasing. It would also be more appropriate to build such a structure on the street.
In a private house, stairs to the second floor, made of galvanized pipes, usually look quite attractive. However, such material is, unfortunately, relatively expensive. Yes, and it will be problematic to make supports and railings out of galvanized pipe. Owners of private houses usually purchase such stairs ready-made.
In most cases, wooden lifting structures are installed in suburban residential buildings. Such stairs are relatively inexpensive, easy to install, durable. Yes, and the designs of this type look very attractive. Photos of wooden stairs in a private house are presented on this page. And the reader can clearly see that in most cases they look really solid and aesthetically pleasing.
Varieties by design
All stairs mounted in country houses can be classified into two broad categories:
- marching straight or turning;
- screw.
The last type of lifting structures is installed in private homes if the owners want to save interior space. Such stairs are considered somewhat less convenient than mid-flight. In addition, assembling them is a technologically rather complicated procedure.
Most often in country houses, therefore, more simple to manufacture andeasy-to-use marching structures. The main elements of such stairs are:
- supports - bowstring or stringers;
- tread - the supporting part of the steps;
- risers - the vertical part of the steps;
- interfloor platforms;
- railing with handrails.
Sometimes risers are not used when installing stairs. In this case, not so solid, but also quite reliable structures with gaps are obtained. Stairs of this type in private homes can be seen quite often.
What should be the dimensions of the stairs in a private house? Calculation
Projects of interfloor lifting structures are drawn up taking into account the following standards:
- the angle of inclination of stairs in a residential building should not exceed 40˚;
- optimum tread depth - 290-300mm;
- optimal riser height - 15-30 cm;
- minimum march width - 90-110 cm;
- minimum depth of the platform in front of the opening at the top - 1.5 m (an open door should not go beyond it in any case);
- optimal handrail width - 40 mm;
- minimum allowed railing height is 90 cm.
The dimensions of the stairs in a private house to the second floor may be different. But all steps in the march (with the exception of the first) in any case must have exactly the same height and width. Otherwise, the design will eventually turn out to be unsafe for movement.
Of course, the dimensions of the staircase in a private house should be such that it is convenient to use it. Before starting the assembly of such a structure, be sure toit is worth doing the calculation. In particular, it is important to choose the correct height and width of the stairs. Taking into account these parameters, in the future, among other things, the optimal in this or that case, the angle of inclination of the march is calculated. Determine the ratio of the height and width of the steps of the stairs, using the following formula:
2a+b=600…640 mm, where
a - riser height, b - tread width.
What materials do you need?
As already mentioned, most often in country houses they equip wooden interfloor stairs. The choice of materials for such a design should be approached, of course, as responsibly as possible. To assemble a wooden staircase to the second floor in a private house, you need only high-quality edged boards with a moisture content of not more than 12%.
Lumber of any species can be used to assemble home lifting structures. Cheap pine boards and very durable and expensive oak or beech boards are well suited for this purpose.
In addition to lumber, for the manufacture of an interfloor staircase, you will also need such fasteners as bolts. It is impossible to assemble such structures using self-tapping screws. Otherwise, the ladder will loosen very quickly during operation.
What tools do you need?
To make stairs in a private house with your own hands, in addition to the actual lumber and reliable fasteners, you will need to prepare:
- hammer and pliers;
- screwdriver;
- power saw;
- electric milling machine;
- a piece of plywood for making a template.
Assembly of supports
The steps of wooden stairs to the second floor in a private house can be fastened both on stringers and on bowstrings. In both of these cases, a board 40-50 mm thick is used for the manufacture of supports. Bowstrings can be made in two ways. In the first case:
- two boards are laid parallel to each other side by side on the floor;
- a reference line is drawn along the entire length of the boards;
- on one of the boards a pattern is applied to fasten the steps;
- picture in mirror image is transferred to the second board;
- according to the marks, grooves are cut in the bowstrings for fastening treads and risers.
Before starting to make a bowstring using this technology, you can also make a special template. In this case, drawing on the boards will be easier. And the lifting structure itself will later turn out to be more accurate and durable.
Grooves in the supports of the future stairs are usually made using a milling machine. If there is no such tool in the house, a slightly different technology is used to make the bowstring. In this case, wide short bars are attached to the boards as a support under the steps. In this case, these elements are mounted on bolts.
Most often, when self-manufacturing, wooden stairs in a private house are made on bowstrings. But you can, of course, assemble such a design on stringers. Such elements are made as follows:
- drawing is applied to the boards along the contour of the steps along the entire length;
- saw off the unnecessary upper part from the boards.
The pattern for making braids is usually also made according to a pre-made template.
Fixing steps to supports
These elements should be fixed on bowstrings and stringers, of course, as reliably as possible. Otherwise, the stairs will turn out to be unsafe for movement. Treads and risers must be bolted together before assembling the stairs.
The method of fastening the steps to the supports depends on the type of the latter. For example, on bowstrings with grooves, such elements are fixed using glue. Additionally, the steps in this case are bolted to the back of the support.
Steps are installed on stuffed bars using usually only metal fasteners. But if desired, and in this case, it is allowed to additionally apply glue.
Steps are attached to the stringers using bolts. In this case, the upper horizontal edge of each "tooth" serves as the supporting part. At the same time, risers are fixed in the vertical part of the cutouts.
Mount march
Stairs in a private house to the second floor, assembled both on stringers and on bowstrings, can be installed in place with their own hands, for example, using this technology:
- at the top of the stairs to the ends of the supports fix a wide board;
- a bar is attached to the wall of the house under the doorway along the width of the stairs;
- put the ladder against the wall so that the end board nailed at the top rests on the bar;
- attach the board to the bar with corners, and to the wall with bolts;
- another board is fixed to the ends of the bowstring or stringers from below;
- screw this element to the floor.
The advantage of this technique is, of course, first of all, simplicity in execution. However, this technology is used only when assembling wooden stairs in a private house, leading, for example, to the second floor, equipped in the attic. Much more often, suburban residential buildings are equipped with more convenient in operation and structurally complex lifting structures.
In this case, a support frame is first installed under the doorway, consisting of:
- from 4 legs;
- top harness.
Next:
- two legs of the frame and the back rail of the strapping are attached to the wall under the doorway;
- fix the top of the assembled march on the front beam of the strapping of the supporting structure;
- fasten the march to the floor using a plank.
On long stairs, additional supports can also be installed between the wall and the lower edge of the march. At the final stage of the assembly of lifting structures of this type, the area in front of the doorway is sheathed with a board.
How to make a railing?
In the photo of stairs in private houses presented in the article, you can see that almost always such structures are complemented by railings. In principle, the installation of this element is considered optional. But with railings, the stairs still look moresolid and beautiful. In addition, with a handrail, movement along the marches becomes safer.
At finished factory stairs, the railings are usually supplemented with balusters. It can be quite difficult to mount such elements with your own hands. Balusters are fixed on the steps, usually using special metal studs. Using the same elements, a handrail is subsequently attached to them.
If there are no small children in the house, when making stairs with your own hands, railings instead of balusters are often supplemented with crossbars. This is the name of the elements that are not installed vertically, but according to the angle of the march.
Produce such railings as follows:
- mount 4 racks 90 cm high at the corners of the upper platform in front of the doorway;
- install two more racks at the bottom of the stairs;
- stuff from the side of the flight of stairs the required number of crossbars;
- stuff crossbars on the railing of the upper platform;
- mount handrail.
To make the stairs leading to the second floor in a private house on stringers or bowstrings look neat in the future, the heads of the fasteners are sunk into the wood during the installation of the crossbars and covered with a putty made from sawdust and PVA glue. The handrail bolts are masked in the same way. If desired, under the crossbars, you can also make grooves in the upper and lower posts of the march railing, and then fix these elements with glue.
How to weld a metal structure?
Sometimes the stairs to the second floor are equipped not onlyindoors, but also from the street. In this case, it is more expedient to assemble such a structure, of course, from metal. After all, a tree on the street, most likely, will not last too long.
It is easiest to make a metal staircase in a private house with your own hands using a metal corner and a channel. The technology for assembling such a structure on stringers looks something like this:
- install metal racks and weld the frame of the top platform;
- markings are made on the wall and a channel is attached to it with shelves outward in relation to the march;
- in the segments of the corner, cut for the manufacture of step supports, make a cut and bend them at an angle of 90˚;
- weld the corners to the bearing channels;
- sheathe the steps and the upper platform with a board.
A photo of a staircase in a private house to the second floor, welded in this way, can be seen a little lower. Installation of this type of structure is not particularly difficult.
It will be even easier to assemble a metal ladder on bowstrings. In this case, the corners will not have to be bent. In this case, the channels are usually installed so that the shelves look up. Further, pieces of a corner are welded to the shelves located from the inside of the future march in a horizontal position so that they come forward. At the next stage, steps from the board are sewn onto the resulting supports.
After the march is ready, a railing is made using a welding machine. To do this:
- weld at the bottom andat the top of the stairs support under the handrail;
- stretch the cord between the supports;
- focusing on the cord, install rod balusters;
- weld a handrail to the supports and rods;
- gather the parapet of the upper platform.
If desired, instead of balusters on the railing of a metal staircase, you can also weld crossbars, for example, from a steel strip or a corner with a not too wide shelf. Below you can see a photo of the stairs to the second floor in a private house of just this design.
The handrail of a metal staircase at the final stage should be lined with a well-polished beam or a narrow board. This will make the operation of the lifting structure more convenient. Metal in the sun or in frost on the street, as you know, gets very hot. Wood, on the other hand, has a low thermal conductivity and never cools or heats up too much.
Stair trim
Do-it-yourself metal or wooden stairs at the final stage are usually painted by the owners of country houses. Sometimes varnish or oil is also used to finish the wooden elements of such structures.
In any case, for processing stairs installed inside the house or outside, you should, of course, use only the highest quality coatings that are resistant to abrasion. Otherwise, the steps and railings of the lifting structure will soon have to be repaired. Interfloor stairs in country houses are usually subjected to quite serious loads.
