Outdoor stairs can perform a variety of functions in the house. Similar designs are usually made of wood, metal, concrete, brick or blocks. Actually, the assembly technology itself depends both on their purpose and on the material used in the installation process.
The main varieties of street stairs
The most popular type of such structures is, of course, the porch. Such a staircase is available in almost every house. In addition to the wings, in suburban buildings can also be collected:
- leading to the attic or second floor of the stairs;
- firefighters.
In shape, street structures of this type are:
- round;
- rectangular;
- trapezoidal.
As a support under the steps, when assembling the stairs, braids are often used. Sometimes they are replaced with a bowstring. In the yards of cottages and residential buildings, stairs can be installed with or without railing. The location of these structures in relation to the building is also different. Convenient can be both external stairs adjacent to the houses, and installed parallel to the walls or at an angle to them.
By design, marching and spiral staircases are distinguished. The first variety is considered much more convenient to use. Porches and stairs leading to the second floor or the attic usually make it marching. Screw constructions are rarely used in yards. They are mounted mainly only where there is not enough space to install a marching variety.
Vertical outdoor stairs can usually be seen only in the courtyards of urban high-rise buildings. But sometimes they are mounted in private homes. Such designs are used mainly only as firefighters.
Fencing
The railing of the street stairs, as well as the steps themselves, can be made of different materials: concrete, wood, metal. The main requirements for fencing are strength and aesthetic appearance. For the assembly of the railing, it is not necessary to use the same material as for the construction of the march. So, concrete stairs can be supplemented with a metal fence, steel - wooden, etc.
Handrails usually have only one requirement - they should be easy to use. Therefore, this element is most often made of wood. A beam and a board are known to have a low degree of thermal conductivity. Due to this feature, wooden handrails do not heat up in the heat and frost.
Enclosures of external stairs: design
The choice of design for the railing should be approached more closely. It is their design that usually determines the appearance of the staircase as a whole. Wooden fences are often carved. Forged metal railings are also very beautiful. Galvanized modern steel fences look good in combination, for example, with materials such as polycarbonate or impact-resistant glass.
To decorate the monolithic side walls of concrete marching structures, tiles or porcelain tiles are often used. Sometimes external stationary stairs of this variety are also made using natural stone. Usually it is either granite or marble. In very expensive houses, concrete railings can be finished using jasper, a coil, onyx, etc.
Stair design
The choice of design for marches of stairs, as well as for railings, depends mainly on the material used for the manufacture. Wooden steps themselves look quite impressive. Therefore, they are usually simply coated with varnish intended for the processing of street structures. Metal steps are often lined with wood or rubber or plastic linings are used. Concrete structures, like monolithic railings, are faced with ceramic tiles or natural stone.
SNiP requirements regarding sizes
Of course, street stairs should be not only beautiful and convenient to use, but also safe. When erecting such structures, the following SNiP standards are mandatory:
- The width of the stairs should not be less than 90 cm. If the march is already narrow, people moving along it towards each other simply will not be able to disperse. The optimal staircase width of 1-1.5 meters is considered optimal in terms of material costs and amenities.
- The depth of the steps themselves should be such that they fit the foot of a person walking up the stairs. According to the regulations, this indicator should not be less than 30 cm. Only the outer fire escape can have narrower steps. For the manufacture of such structures, a corner with a shelf of 5-10 cm is usually used.
- According to the rules, there should not be more than 18 steps in one march. Moreover, their minimum number is not limited.
- The optimal riser height on the stairs used to move the residents of the house is considered to be 15-20 cm.
- The height of the handrails should be at least 90 cm. At the same time, a distance of more than 15 cm should not be left between balusters. It is especially important to observe this rule in those houses where children live. Kids are very curious and if the distance between the balusters is greater, they can stick their heads between them and get stuck.
The vertical staircase leading to the attic can be either stationary or attached. The latter option is mainly used to provide lifting only to unheated attics. Structures designed to rise to a residential attic or to the second floor should only be stationary.
Features of the assembly of wooden marching stairs
Street constructions of this variety are usually mounted from pine. Such lumber is durable, resistant to moisture and ultraviolet and at the same time not too expensive. As a support for steps in wooden stairs, kosour is most often used. Sometimes bowstrings are also used.
Marches on Kosoura look more thorough and attractive. However, collecting such stairs is more difficult. They are kosour wide boards with cut-out landing nests under the steps in them. Bowstrings are simply set parallel to each other. The support for the steps when using them is made from pieces of timber. This material is simply stuffed on bowstrings from the inside with a certain step.
An external staircase to the second floor or to the attic can be assembled from two or three marches. In this case, intermediate platforms are also assembled from the board.
Features of the assembly of metal stairs
Such designs are usually collected on bowstrings. Moreover, only one such support (from the channel), launched in the middle of the march, is often used. In this case, pieces of the corner are attached under the steps themselves. Sometimes braids are also welded under metal steps. Landing nests on such supports are made of bent steel strips.
Steel structures are usually more expensive than wooden. Therefore, in most cases, only a metal fire escape is used in the courtyard. Sometimes a corner and a channel, since they are more durable than wood, are also used for arranging marches leading to the attic or second floor. Porches are still often poured from concrete or knocked down from boards.
Connect the elements of steel stairs by welding or using bolts. The steps of such structures can be all-metal or lattice.
The construction of concrete stairs
Using cement mortar, only the porches of houses are usually poured on the street. Previously, under such structures, a solid base is arranged in the form of a concrete pillow. Next, the formwork is mounted. After pouring the first step, the space between it and the base of the house is covered with soil or gravel and carefully packed. Then the second stage is poured. The formed "trough" is again covered with rubble. In this sequence, work is carried out to the desired height of the porch. At the final stage, the platform in front of the door is concreted.
Cement porch steps should be poured with reinforcement. At the same time, the rod mounted in their thickness should protrude at the edges by about 20 cm. This is necessary to connect the march frame with the reinforcement of the monolithic walls of the porch. The latter are also poured into the formwork.
Spiral street stairs
Assembling structures of this type, as well as marching, is not particularly difficult with their own hands. The main supporting element in spiral staircases is a strong pole. The steps are fixed on it by means of special fasteners. They are trapezoidal in shape. Spiral staircases look more modern and original than marching. However, with regard to safety of movement they are inferior.
What can be the steps
In any staircase, of course, this structural element is the most important. All steps in the march should be the same size. Concrete stairs are usually made only "deaf". In wooden and metal risers (vertical part) are often absent. Such designs cost less. However, stairs without risers also look less solid and reliable than the "deaf".
Sometimes it happens that during the installation of the marching structure there is not enough space for the arrangement of the site. In this case, the staircase is complemented by run-down steps. One side is narrower, the other is wider. That is, in shape they resemble the steps of screw structures.
Of course, this important element of the staircase, no matter what shape it has, should be as durable as possible. In particular, material should be carefully selected for structures such as wooden exterior stairs. The thickness of the steps board should be at least 2.5-3 cm. Fasten it to braids or bowstrings only on bolts. Self-tapping screws in this case can not be used. Otherwise, the steps will become loose very quickly and it will become unsafe to move up the stairs.