If you think that only a professional can cope with this task, then you are deeply mistaken. Having become acquainted with the manufacturing technology, you can even in the absence of experience make steps for stairs made of wood or any other material.
Design and shape options
A step is the main component of a flight of stairs. According to the recommendation of specialists, the minimum allowable number of steps in the stairs is 3, and the maximum is 18. There are three main criteria that determine the type of steps.
By location:
- Frieze - there are upper and lower. The first ends the rise at the upper level, and the second - begins it at the lower level.
- Ordinary - all other steps forming a march.
By geometry:
- Straight - ordinary elements having an equal depth along the entire length of the tread. The predominant number of marching stairs consists of them, especially with regard to direct ascents.
- Zabezhnye - elements used in the modeling of turning marches. They are used in screw structures and have unequal tread depths: narrower at the inner edge and wider on the opposite side.
Depending on the presence or absence of risers, stairs are:
- Open - have steps in which there is only a horizontal part or tread. The distance between the structural elements remains unfilled.
- Closed - have steps with risers.
In addition, the elements of the flight of stairs differ from each other in shape:
- Direct. They look like a rectangle. This type is not recommended for screw structures. You can fix such elements in any way.
- Round ones are characterized by radial edges. They are often used to decorate the porch on the street and as the lowest step when climbing.
- Semicircular steps are also used when entering the house from the street. On the one hand, they have a semicircle, and on the other, a straight line.
- Elements in the form of a trapezoid form the design of spiral staircases and rotary staircases.
The steps are made of different materials: wood, concrete, metal, glass, brick, veneered plywood. According to experts, it is easiest to work with wood: workpieces are made easily and tools for their manufacture are quite simple to use.
Types of wood for steps
Reliability, aesthetic appearance and durability of elements directly depend on the characteristics of the material. The tree has the following requirements:
- Structural homogeneity of wood fibers. There are no cracks, delaminations, knots and other defects on high-quality workpieces.
- Integrity. Before buying wood, you should pay attention to ensure that there is no rot and traces of wood beetles on the blanks.
- Humidity is within normal limits. This indicator should not exceed 12%. Otherwise, the boards should be thoroughly dried before use, avoiding direct sunlight.
Elements that will be subjected to constant load are recommended to be made of solid wood. If this is not possible, then it is permissible to use glued beams.
Different types of wood are suitable for the manufacture of steps with their own hands. But the most popular are:
- Pine. It is an inexpensive and easy to process material. It is characterized by a low degree of hardness, therefore, working with it, you can use the most common tools. In addition, pine is always available: it is not particularly difficult to find lumber of the right size and shape. The disadvantage of pine products is low wear resistance and the appearance of yellowness on the tree a few years after installation.
- Birch. Differs in durability and special texture pattern. Unlike pine, it is more difficult to process, but birch details will last much longer. When using birch in construction, particular difficulty is the selection of blanks. It is almost impossible to find boards of large dimensions of a uniform color and without defects. Therefore, experts recommend pasting the composite structure with veneer.
- Larch. Steps from this tree species do not deform, do not shrink, do not rot due to the high content of tannins. The main disadvantage is the high price.
- Beech. It is considered more suitable material for stairs inside the house. The appearance of the blanks is a beautiful color and texture. The main disadvantage of a tree is its instability to temperature fluctuations and humidity. Even beech blanks soaked with varnish will change shape under the influence of natural factors.
- Ash. It has a high degree of hardness, so it is perfect for the production of steps. However, due to the complex processing and bright texture, not everyone likes the material.
- Oak. Wooden steps for stairs made of solid oak are the best choice. Such steps will last more than one decade. The only negative of this material is its high cost.
Calculation of stairs
Having decided on the material of the blanks, it is necessary to proceed with the calculations.
Geometrical parameters of steps
In the manufacture of steps, template sizes are used:
- The height of the step is equal to the length of the riser and varies from 150 to 220 mm.
- The depth of the element is the segment from the outer edge of the tread to the riser. It should be such that the foot is completely on the tread. The minimum depth is 25 cm, the maximum is 40 cm.
It should be noted that the depth of the step can be unequal along the entire length of the tread. This is observed in spiral and rotary models. On the outer edge it is larger than on the inside. The depth of the tread remains unchanged only in the center of the step. However, this drawback can be dealt with in two ways: using protruding steps or abandoning risers.
- The width of the step is the distance between the edges of the tread. This indicator depends on the intensity of movement. The standard value is from 900 to 1000 mm. If the movement is busy, then the flight of stairs can be increased to 1.5 m.
- The thickness of the tread is in the ratio of 1:20 with respect to the width of the step. So, with a width of 900 mm, the thickness of the tread will be 45 mm. It should be remembered that the minimum allowable thickness of the tread is 35 mm.
- The riser thickness varies from 1.8 to 2.5 cm.
Based on the data obtained, the slope of the structure and the number of steps are calculated.
Optimum slope of the stairs
The most convenient slope of the staircase design is recognized as a slope from 23 to 37 degrees. The usable area depends on the steepness of the structure. Naturally, for steeper structures, much less space is required than for gently sloping ones.
Stairs with a slope of 45 degrees are difficult enough to climb, and with a slope of less than 23 degrees, they can be replaced with a ramp.
Calculation of the number of steps in the march
To get the exact number of steps in a staircase, it is necessary to divide the height of the floor by the height of one step. The number of marches in this case does not matter. It should also be noted that the floor height refers to the interval from flooring to the floor on the second floor, taking into account the thickness of the coating.
Knowing the staircase structure and the height of the upper floor, the number of steps can also be determined using the graphical method. Then, using safety formulas, find the width of the tread.
Having decided on the scale, they draw a flight of stairs on graph paper. Errors resulting from rounding are distributed to the frieze step of the lower tier. All remaining steps are made the same size.
How to make wooden steps with your own hands
The manufacture of steps for stairs made of wood requires the following set of tools:
- electric planer;
- a circular saw;
- grinding machine;
- edge milling cutter.
Prepare templates of the right size and transfer them to the blanks. Then cut the treads and risers. When performing this work, difficulties can appear only when cutting rotary steps due to their unconventional shape.
The resulting parts should be treated with protective equipment and then proceed with installation.
Installation of wooden steps
There are four types of fastenings of steps of a wooden ladder:
- The central pillar on which the steps of the screw models are attached. By way of placement, they resemble a spiral with equal distances between the steps.
- Console or Bracket. The cantilever type of fastening involves fastening the protruding steps to the reinforcement using welding or anchors.
Suppose you want to attach elements to braids. Then tread and risers are connected in one of the ways:
- wood screws;
- with the help of a groove, which is cut into a tread in the alleged place of docking with the riser;
- by installing an auxiliary triangular rail acting as a backup.
Whichever method you choose, to ensure greater strength, the parts to be joined are recommended to be additionally glued.
In the case of attaching the stairs to the bowstring, they can be fixed using a bar, a metal corner or a groove.
The final stage after the installation of the steps is their finishing with a skirting board.
Metal staircase with wooden steps.
Wooden elements are attached to the metal base with holes made at a distance of 150 mm. In this case, it is necessary to indent from the edge of 20 mm.
When welding metal components, errors could be made that caused minor differences in height. In this case, to eliminate irregularities, a substrate is glued to the frame. For this, plywood 10 mm thick is suitable.
In order for the substrate to be securely fixed, self-tapping screws are additionally used. Foam is not suitable for these purposes. After solidification, it will begin to crumble under the influence of a load, which will entail loosening of the steps.
A tread of wood is pressed against plywood with clamps and fastened with self-tapping screws. To make the staircase with a metal frame look attractive, craftsmen advise making steps with ledges. They will hide an ugly metal frame.
Concrete staircase with wooden steps
Despite its strength, concrete structures can not boast of beauty. Therefore, such structures are usually laminated or decorated with wood. Lining with wood is not cheap, but the result is excellent.
Before proceeding with the installation of the steps, you need to wait for the complete drying of the structure. Otherwise, the cladding is saturated with moisture from wet concrete and is deformed in the future. The stairs should dry for at least three weeks.
The success of the operation largely depends on how carefully the formwork is prepared. But even in the best case, distortions and irregularities appear, which are easily eliminated with a screed. After it dries, the surface is cleaned and treated with a primer.
For complete alignment of the concrete surface and the creation of a moisture-insulating layer, plywood sheets are glued onto a special mastic, and additional fastening is done with dowels.
After preparatory work, proceed to the installation of steps. Treads and risers are joined to each other with the help of grooves done in all details.
They begin to install the steps from the lowest riser, which is bolted to the floor. They are screwed into the end face of the part so that the caps stick out 8 cm. Then they are cut off and put marks on the floor where they will stand.
Holes are made in the marked areas and filled with epoxy. In conclusion, the risers are fixed. After that, a tread with the next riser attached to it is laid on plywood with glue. To make the product stick better, it is recommended to use a load.
Steps for street entrance stairs
A neat ladder on the porch has not lost its relevance. Hardwood species that are resistant to constant external influences are suitable for its manufacture. As a rule, this is oak, ash, maple, beech.
For the design to serve faithfully for many years, it must be protected from such natural factors as moisture and temperature changes. Elements in contact with the ground are impregnated with oils, and the open surfaces of the steps are treated with drying oil and covered with paint or varnish.
The street staircase should be periodically inspected and, if necessary, eliminated rotten sections of the structure.
Facing stairs on the street has its own specifics. In the process of building the porch in the concrete, bookmarks made of metal are left, to which wooden steps will be attached in the future.
Protecting steps
Now you know how to make your own steps for a staircase made of wood. Next, it is necessary to ensure their protection from damage, the effects of external and internal factors. For these purposes, special tools are intended. These include impregnations, varnishes and paints.
Impregnation is a liquid that penetrates the wood structure and gives it certain properties. The most common are:
- Fire-fighting compounds that increase the resistance of wooden elements to high temperatures.
- Antiseptics are the means that protect the tree from fungi and bacteria. These compounds prevent rotting of the material even in high humidity conditions.
- Complex impregnations that simultaneously perform the functions of tinting and disinfection.
So that the impregnation is evenly distributed over the wooden workpiece and deeply saturated, it is recommended to apply it to the products before installation.
Paintwork products are used at the very last stage of work. Exceptions are only the components of the railing, which are more convenient to paint and varnish disassembled.
Alkyd and alkyd-urethane products are suitable for painting marches, and enamels for railings and risers. Indoor stairs are usually varnished on alcohol with a matte or glossy finish. Stair structures from the street are treated with nitrocellulose agents.