Although building a wooden staircase may seem like a difficult undertaking, you can accomplish it on your own with the correct assistance. Building a custom wooden staircase lets you give your home a unique touch, whether you’re replacing an outdated staircase or adding a new one.
You will be guided through every stage of the procedure with the help of this guide, so you will know exactly what’s involved. We’ll go over everything you need to know to construct a strong and elegant staircase, from choosing the appropriate materials to the last installation.
To succeed, all you need to do is take your time and follow these simple instructions; you don’t need to be an expert carpenter. You can build a staircase that looks fantastic and endures over time with a few simple tools and a little perseverance.
Step | Description |
1. Planning | Measure the height and space for your staircase, then design a suitable layout. |
2. Gathering Materials | Purchase the necessary wood, screws, nails, and tools for the job. |
3. Cutting the Stringers | Mark and cut the stringers, which are the sides of your staircase. |
4. Attaching the Stringers | Secure the stringers to the top and bottom points of your staircase area. |
5. Adding Steps | Cut and attach the steps to the stringers, ensuring they are level and secure. |
6. Installing Handrails | Attach handrails for safety, making sure they are sturdy and well-fitted. |
7. Finishing Touches | Sand the wood to smooth out any rough edges and apply a finish or paint. |
8. Inspection | Check the staircase for stability and safety before use. |
- Construction of a wooden staircase
- Types of staircase designs
- Marching
- Screw
- Types of structures
- Calculations of staircase dimensions
- Total height of the stairs
- Number of steps
- Riser height
- Step width
- March width
- Plan length of the staircase
- Size of the ceiling opening
- Stringer length
- Online calculator for calculation
- Material selection
- Video on the topic
- Budget staircase from 150 board (or temporary rough staircase)
- How to make stringers for stairs.
- Do-it-yourself wooden staircase to the second floor, price and complete assembly.
- DIY wooden staircase. Part 2: making stringers.
- Make a wooden staircase with your own hands in a private house or cottage on the 2nd floor in 3 days. Simple and cheap
- 🍀Assembling a wooden staircase. | I build it myself
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- Kd.i: Stairs in 21min, 9.4tr with your own hands. Step-by-step instruction. Convenient and safe. ch2.
Construction of a wooden staircase
The majority of the time, a private home’s wooden staircase consists of one or more flights, which are situated between floors or intermediate platforms.
A flight of stairs is constructed from a variety of parts serving a range of functions:
- Kosour. It is a load-bearing beam made of wood with a sawn comb. Risers with steps are fixed to it, so the part must be durable.
- Bowstring. In some cases, it becomes an alternative to a stringer, performing load-bearing functions (especially if one side of the structure is adjacent to the wall). Before installation, the string must be marked in detail so that the steps are located at a horizontal level.
- stage. The main element of any staircase, which is attached to one of the supporting beams. In addition to the usual ones, there are winder and radius steps. The winder elements have a non-standard shape and are mounted at the starting point of the march. Radius steps have a curved leading edge and can be semi-circular, wavy or with rounded corners.
- Riser. The part is optional, but it provides the staircase with high strength by supporting the step in the center. A spacer sleeve is used to fix the riser. A radius type is installed under semicircular steps, and a curved version is mounted under the corresponding steps or under the landing between flights of stairs.
- Pillars for support. Placed at the starting and ending points of the stairs, as well as along the edges of the inter-flight platforms. The elements increase the strength of the fence and serve as support for the handrails.
- Balusters. These are supporting posts for handrails, from which side railings are formed, and can have different configurations.
- Handrails. Are a required part. They rest on balusters and support posts. The main requirement for the element is a smooth surface.
- Spacer. Such a stand is required for any structure with several flights (even when using stringers).
Types of staircase designs
The primary consideration when selecting a staircase structure is the amount of space needed for its construction. The comfort and ease of ascent and descent come in second. The frequency of use, the presence of kids and senior citizens in the home, and other factors must be considered in this situation.
The aesthetics of a criterion is crucial. The interior of the room should blend in with the staircase. You should also consider the available materials. For example, producing wooden stairs with a complicated configuration takes longer and costs more money than producing options with a simpler design and execution.
Marching
Are the most well-liked. Marches (flights) are a collection of coordinated steps that gave them their name. There could be one or more flights in the staircase.
There are two types of straight structures: one with a rest area and the other with two flights. They can be positioned close to the wall or free-standing. However, straight models take up a lot of room; therefore, two-flight options with a rotation angle ranging from 90 to 180 degrees are offered in order to conserve useful space.
Following the use of rotary steps, which are also available in structures with two and three flights without platforms, the flight has a curved shape with an ideal angle of elevation.
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The following are the most common styles of wooden stairs for a rural home:
- Regular one-march. They have a simple design with a span in the center of the room or near the wall – the most durable with reliable support.
- Curvilinear single-flight. Installed in large rooms to emphasize spaciousness. They are distinguished by a smooth turn and steps widened on the outside.
- Marching with lower turning steps. Sometimes this option is provided for by the layout of the room; it can support the chosen architectural style.
- Simple 2-flight system. A staircase with two flights and an interfloor turning platform can be mounted above the door and save space.
- 2-flight L-shaped design. Located in a rectangular opening along perpendicular walls and saves space.
- 2-flight U-shaped staircase with upper platform and turning steps. The design is installed in luxury mansions with a large hall.
- 3-flight system with two platforms. This type of stairs saves space, but requires a significant ceiling height.
You must accurately determine the available space for installation, measure it, and create a drawing in order to choose a particular configuration. Below is a comprehensive how-to guide for accomplishing this.
Screw
Generally speaking, private home owners use screw-type structures less frequently when they have limited space or for aesthetic reasons. They are difficult to move furniture on, and they are not as comfortable as marching ones. It will be necessary to carry out intricate calculations in order to install the stairs because even a slight mistake could cause it to stop functioning.
Sometimes spiral staircases serve only as decorative elements, particularly when the railing is crafted through artistic forging. Since these options take up less space than structures with a turn, they can be installed in nearly any room. There are differences between the following types:
- with cantilever clamping of steps on an internal post;
- with support of steps on an internal post and perimeter walls;
- with cantilever support of steps on a casing pipe;
- with support on a railing and bent bowstrings.
Modular spiral staircases are more intricate options. The structure is put together by folding modules at an angle in a specific order. They have a central column (they rest on a prefabricated column connected with bolts) and a central stringer (the steps are attached to the modules, and the edges are connected with bolts). Learn more about spiral staircases made of wood.
Types of structures
The ideal design choice for your room should be determined before building a wooden staircase.
There are the following common categories of structures:
- on two stringers;
- on one central stringer;
- on bowstrings;
- on pain;
- on the central post (screw);
A straight staircase is the most straightforward as it guarantees a straight path throughout the flight.
See the article on different kinds of wooden staircase designs for more information.
Let’s take a closer look at building a wooden staircase by hand using detailed, step-by-step instructions. There are two primary phases to the process: installation and design.
Calculations of staircase dimensions
You must perform precise calculations, create a diagram, and populate it with all the data before you begin designing. It is best to leave the work to experts if you are unsure about the accuracy of the calculations. They will create a skilled drawing that will enable you to install the system step-by-step and error-free.
Total height of the stairs
By taking into consideration the thickness of the ceiling, you can calculate the height by measuring the distance between the first floor and the second floor. For instance, suppose the interfloor ceilings on the first floor have a thickness of 300 mm and a height of 2700 mm. Consequently, the overall height will be 3000 mm.
In the event that the floor isn’t finished, its measurements should be close.
Number of steps
You can calculate the number of steps in the structure if you know the height of the risers and stairs. You must divide one indicator by the second in order to accomplish this. For instance, the computation will be as follows if the riser height is 175 mm and the overall staircase height is 3000 mm: 3000: 175, or 171 mm.
The value needs to be rounded after that, and the result is 170 mm. A calculation example is displayed in the table:
Riser height
Experts say that a riser height of 150–180 mm is ideal; in fact, this is the length of a human step. It can reach a height of 150–200 mm. The standard states that the average value is typically between 160 and 170 mm.
Step width
You must accurately calculate the step width to ensure that there are no injuries caused by poorly chosen steps. Many years of experience have taught us that the part’s width should be between 220 and 400 mm.
You can apply a particular formula to get a more precise value. The height of the riser, multiplied by two, must be subtracted from the average width of a human step (600 – 640 mm), or 640 – 2×175 = 290 mm. When moving, this indicator will work best.
March width
Although it is preferable to take at least 90 cm, safety regulations state that the span should be at least 80 cm wide to allow for easy people movement. This measurement should be between 100 and 120 cm for easy furniture transportation in a private residential building.
Plan length of the staircase
You must multiply the tread width by the number of steps in order to compute this parameter. For us, the answer is 29 x 17 = 493 cm. That is to say, the staircase is fairly lengthy, and a minimum of six meters will be needed when building one flight. You will need to make two marches with 90 or 180 degrees in a small log house or village house.
Installed between the flights is a platform or turning steps. If you are unable to calculate the location of the staircase parts on your own, you can use the special program that is provided below. It will show you exactly where each part is located.
Size of the ceiling opening
In order to avoid bending over while climbing, it is important to account for the ceiling opening when constructing a solid wood staircase. This indicator is reliant on the slope, which is chosen individually and impacts mobility convenience.
Although a slope of 23 to 36 degrees is ideal, the small size of the room frequently makes it impossible to maintain the necessary angle (the steeper the slope, the less area it will take up).
The angle of the staircase will determine the size of the opening in the ceiling area. Therefore, a small opening will be needed for the folding structure, and a larger opening (up to 2 m) will be needed for a greater slope.
Stringer length
The Pythagorean formula is used to find the length of the stringer: (length of the staircase in plan)2+ (height of the staircase).²= (stringer length)².
In other words, given a length of 493 cm and a height of 300 cm, we obtain: L = √(4932 + 3002) = 577 cm (a margin of 580 cm is added to the indicator).
Online calculator for calculation
For your convenience, an easy-to-use online calculator with a visual interface is available to calculate wooden stairs.
Although building your own wooden staircase may seem like a difficult undertaking, it can be a rewarding do-it-yourself project if you have the proper equipment, supplies, and a thorough step-by-step guide. Detailed instructions for creating, cutting, assembling, and installing a beautiful and robust wooden staircase can be found in this article. Regardless of your level of experience, our guide will take you step-by-step through the entire process, making it simple and doable.
Material selection
Once you’ve done all the calculations, you need to buy the supplies. Boards with varying lengths and densities will be needed for this: the thickness for steps should be 3–4 cm, the thickness for risers should be 2–2.5 cm, and the height should be 150–250 mm for a bowstring or stringer. Since the production of handrails and balusters requires a lathe and wood measuring 10 by 10 and 15 by 15 centimeters, it is preferable to purchase them already assembled. Self-tapping screws, nails, and strengthened metal corners are needed for component fixing.
A wooden staircase is a rewarding project that can enhance your home’s appearance and usability. Build one yourself. You can guarantee a strong and expertly constructed staircase that suits your needs and tastes by carefully following the step-by-step instructions.
Every step involves meticulous attention to detail, from choosing the appropriate materials to performing accurate measurements and cuts. Planning ahead and carrying out each step carefully will pay off in the end, giving you a sense of satisfaction and a useful addition to your house.
Never be reluctant to ask for assistance or, if necessary, consult other resources. Although the process can be difficult, if you are patient and persistent, you will be able to build a staircase that not only fulfills its intended function but also serves as a reminder of your abilities and commitment.