In suburban areas in our time quite often houses are built in 2-3 floors. In such buildings without fail installed interfloor stairs. In most cases, such structures are made of wood. They are mounted using not too complicated technology. The structural elements of wooden stairs are assembled from a timber and a thick board using reliable fasteners.
Main varieties
Wooden stairs installed in country cottages, among other things, can vary constructively. The most common varieties are:
The first type of stairs is most popular among owners of private cottages. Structures of this type may consist of one or several marches separated by interfloor areas. The advantages of stairs of this variety include primarily ease of use. At the same time, such designs look very solid and presentable. Best of all, such stairs are suitable for classic interiors, as well as seasoned in the style of country, Provence, etc.
Screw constructions are assembled around one vertical support. Such stairs are mounted in country houses with not too large area. In operation, spiral staircases are less convenient than marching. But at the same time, they take up very little space in the house, and also look original in the interior. Such designs are considered suitable for houses decorated in a modern style, hi-tech, minimalism, etc.
The basic structural elements of a wooden staircase
Owners of country houses can also install interfloor stairs with their own hands. The main elements of their design are:
steps;
supports;
handrail with handrails.
Also, when assembling stairs, in some cases, interfloor platforms can be installed.
What are the pillars
In spiral staircases, including wooden, this element is mounted, as already mentioned, vertically. It can be made from a bar, a thick pole or a log of not too large a section. Marching stairs, in turn, are assembled using two types of supports. Beams of such structures can serve as braids or bowstrings. The latter type of supports is most popular among owners of suburban cottages.
Kosoura of wooden stairs - structural elements made of boards according to a special pattern. In this case, marking is applied to the lumber at the location of the steps.
A string of interfloor stairs is also made of boards. In this case, the cutting of the supports themselves is not performed. Short boards (on corners or in grooves) are attached to the boards according to the previously made marking. It is they who subsequently will serve as supports for the steps. Do-it-yourself, of course, will make this type of support stair beams with your own hands easier than kosour.
What steps are made of
This structural element of the stairs, in turn, consists of:
Both of these parts are made of boards. Treads are an essential element of any interfloor staircase. It is on them that the person’s foot rests when ascending or descending. For the manufacture of this part of the march, it is supposed to use a board with a thickness of at least 3 cm.
Risers - optional elements in the construction of wooden stairs. Assembling the march without using them allows you to significantly reduce the cost of work. However, stairs with risers still look more solid and purely psychological - reliable. For the manufacture of such elements, a 2-2.5 cm thick board is usually used.
Fasten the steps to the braids or bowstrings using exclusively bolts. Self-tapping screws are not used for this purpose. When using such fasteners during operation, the steps of the ladder are necessarily shaken. Sometimes when assembling this part of the march, glue is additionally applied.
Interfloor areas
In wooden stairs, the frame of this element is usually assembled from a bar with a cross section of 100x100 mm. In most cases, interfloor areas are sheathed with a board of the same thickness as the tread.
Railing
This structural element of the stairs, in turn, consists of:
baluster or crossbars;
handrail.
Such elements of a wooden staircase to the second floor or third, like a railing, provide first of all the safety of people moving on a march. It is mandatory to install them when assembling the lifting structure installed in residential buildings. The exception to this plan are only attic stairs. Handrails can be mounted on marches both on one and both sides. The first assembly option is used for stairs installed next to the wall, and is the most popular.
Balusters or crossbars?
In most cases, wooden lifting structures in country houses are complemented by railings with balusters. They call it vertical elements mounted along the entire length of the march at a small distance from each other. Balusters are attached to the steps of the march using studs. With self-production, you can also purchase ready-made elements for this type of wooden staircase. For example, if desired, you can buy a railing with curly carved balusters. But the simplest designs of this variety will not be difficult, of course, to make, including with your own hands.
Crossbars in country houses in most cases are supplemented only with metal stairs. But sometimes such elements are also used when assembling wooden ones. Unlike balusters, crossbars are mounted in the railing parallel to the march and handrail. Protections of this design are often additionally sheathed with transparent plastic or glass.
Handrails for the assembly of stairs are always made of boards or beams. These elements are complemented by both metal railings and wooden. After all, touching a tree while moving along the march is much more pleasant than metal. Of course, extremely well-ground lumber is used to make handrails.
Wooden stairs with forging elements
Such designs look very attractive and rich in the interior of the house. Beams and steps at stairs of this type are made of wood. Forged they usually have only railings.
To make such a staircase yourself will, of course, be quite difficult. In most cases, forged rails are bought ready-made. But if you wish, such a fence for a wooden staircase, of course, you can try to make yourself. However, the owner of the house will have to spend extra money in this case. In building stores today you can also find a special tool designed for the manufacture of forged elements. Such equipment is at the same time quite expensive.
Below on the page is a photo of a wooden staircase with wrought iron elements. Such designs look, as you can see, actually very impressive.
Installation steps: frame assembly
Next, let's see how to assemble a staircase from wooden elements with your own hands. They begin to manufacture such structures usually with markup. At the same time, a line of location of the support beam is drawn on the wall. On the floor do the marking of the lower edge of the march. Kosoura before assembling the stairs are cut according to the template, in bowstrings they make grooves under the support bars.
Next, we proceed to the assembly and installation of the inter-march platform frame. To do this, opposite the wall, under the door of the second floor, support posts made of bursa are installed. Next, the actual frame of the site is knocked down. At the next stage, the resulting frame is fixed to the racks and to the wall under the door. Then sheathe the site with a board. If necessary, two additional racks can be installed near the wall.
The final stage
The subsequent assembly process of the interfloor staircase is as follows:
supporting bowstrings or braids are attached with the upper end to the platform frame, and the lower end - to the floor;
installation of steps is carried out;
railings are installed;
a handrail is stuffed.
At the final stage, the wooden staircase is painted or covered with transparent varnish. The last design method is used when expensive lumber with a beautiful texture was chosen to assemble the lifting structure. Elements of wooden stairs made of pine or, for example, cheap spruce can also be varnished. But more often such lifting structures are still painted.
SNiP requirements
Thus, how to assemble a staircase from wooden elements is understandable. In principle, the manufacture of such a design is nothing particularly complicated. However, the interfloor staircase, including self-assembled ones, of course, first of all, must be safe for movement and convenient. When installing such structures without fail, among other things, certain SNiP standards must be observed.
When assembling an interfloor staircase, first of all, you need to maintain the correct angle of its inclination. When choosing this indicator, it should be borne in mind that, according to the norms of SNiP, it should not be less than 30 and more than 45 degrees.
Also, when assembling the stairs, it is necessary to take into account such requirements:
the height from the march to the ceiling vertically at all points should not be less than 2 m;
the march must have a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 18 steps;
maximum width of steps - 25 cm, height - 22 cm;
all steps at the stairs should have the same dimensions;
the railing should not have a height of less than 90 cm.
If the house has a small child, the balusters in the railing should be placed in increments of no more than 15 cm. This will exclude the possibility that the baby will be able to stick his head between them and get stuck. In all other cases, balusters should be placed in increments of no more than 30 cm from each other. This will reduce the risk of people moving along it from the march to a minimum.
To finish the steps of a wooden staircase, you should not, of course, use slippery materials, for example, the same linoleum, among other things. It is better to leave the stairs simply painted or to cover the march with a carpet. Also, the staircase in the country house should be well lit. On the wall along the entire march, it is necessary to hang up a sconce or lamps. Interfloor areas, in private houses, including, usually equip next to the window.
Professional Tips: Safety Formula
The names of the elements of the wooden staircase to the owners of a country house who decided to assemble a similar structure with their own hands, of course, you should definitely know. This will make it easy to understand any scheme and create your own accurate project.
When installing a staircase, including a wooden one, of course, it is worth taking into account all sorts of advice from professionals. In this case, the assembly work can be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
For the construction of a wooden staircase, elements from lumber, for example, are supposed to be used only well-dried. Experienced craftsmen advise to choose a beam and a board without knots, which are quite thick and with a moisture content of not more than 12-15%. When designing stairs, professionals also recommend that you take into account the safety formula:
- 2h + s = 600–630 mm, where h is the step height and s is its width.
Marches in home stairs should, among other things, be made wide enough. In any case, they should not be already 90-100 cm. Otherwise, on the stairs it will be difficult to disperse to two people living in the house - going down and going up.
If there are small children in the house, experienced craftsmen also advise equipping the railing with additional handrails located at a lower height than the main ones.
Some more recommendations
Glass elements of stairs are recommended to be fixed using elastic gaskets. This can significantly extend their service life. In this case, all the glass elements of the staircase should be mounted so that they could be easily replaced if necessary.
In specialized stores today you can buy almost any component parts for wooden stairs. In the house with their use, it will be possible to assemble the lifting structure as quickly as possible. However, those owners of suburban residential buildings who want to reduce the cost of installing stairs, make them, of course, it’s better to do it yourself. At the same time, it is better to collect the main elements of the staircase not directly in the room where it will be installed, but in the workshop or, for example, in the household unit. This will protect floors and interior items from spoilage.