Home Improvement - How To Build Stairs

When making a stairs, you must bear in mind the functionality which is its principal and as such, protection must be taken into deep consideration. The first thing to do before you start constructing the stairs you must determine the size of the stairwell and the headroom. Failing this, you risk having to destroy what you constructed and to work hard to make it again. A stair normally comprises three sections, the riser, the stringer and the tread.

The stringer is the section that supports the stairs. Some stairs have two stringers, one at both sides while some have only one. The riser is the height of an individual stair and the tread is the width of the stair.

Materials Necessary:

2 x 4 wood
Sheet of paper
Masking tape
2 12-foot wood for stringers
Joist hangers
3" nails
2" x 6" boards

Tools Necessary:

Carpenter's level
Hammer
Calculator
Pencil
Framing square
Circular saw
Handsaw

Before you build the stairs do your calculations in advance using a calculator and record the results. Total rise is the vertical height from the landing of the stair to a point that is level with the top of the stair. To determine this, place a 2 x 4 on the deck of the stair and measure from the end of the 2 x 4 to the ground. Make sure that it is level by testing with a carpenter's level.

Next you need to find out how many steps or risers the stairs will contain. Divide the total rise by 7.25 as this is the standard step height. Round off the outcome to the nearest whole number. For example if the total rise is 68, divide it by 7.25 which will give you 9.4 so you round off to 10. Thus, you would need 10 steps to complete the staircase.

The last step of a staircase is either ground or the deck, thus you need one less tread than riser. In this instance where you have 10 risers you would only need 9 treads. To calculate the total run, multiply 9 by 11 inches (width of a typical step). This will result in 99 inches which is the total run of the staircase.

The height of the risers needs to be discovered. This is arrived at by dividing the overall rise by the overall risers. In this instance it would be 68 divided by 10 which would give you 6.8 inches.

Directions:

1.Use the framing square to lay out the stairs. Use masking tape to mark the long side at 11 inches and the short side at 7.25 inches.
2.Position the long side of the square on the end of the 12-foot wood and align the tape marks in front of you. Mark the places on the board with the pencil.
3.Slide the frame up to the top mark and mark again. Continue to the end of the wood.
4.Use circular saw to cut along the marks. Stop at the corner marks and finish cutting with a handsaw.
5.Try the stringer to make sure the measurements are correct. If accurate, use that stringer as a guide to cut the others
6.When finished cutting all the stringers attach to the deck by using the joist hangers attached to the frame of the deck.
7.Use 3" nails and hammer to fasten the 2" x 6" boards (treads) in position beginning from the bottom.

Tips:

Always choose straight lumber for your 2 x 12 stringers.
It is best to draw a plan to work from when constructing a staircase.
Considersetting up a railing to stop individuals from falling off the stairs.