Construction Tips on How to Build Stairs

When making a stairs, you must think about the functionality which is its most important feature and as such, safety must be taken into deep thought. The first thing to do before you begin building the stairs you must ascertain the size of the stairwell and the headroom. If this is not done, you risk having to demolish what you made and to endeavor to build it again. A stair normally includes three sections, the riser, the stringer and the tread.

The stringer is the part that reinforces 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 make the stairs do your calculations beforehand using a calculator and record the findings. Overall rise is the vertical height from the landing of the stair to a point that is level with the top of the stair. To discover this, position a 2 x 4 on the deck of the stair and measure from the end of the 2 x 4 to the ground. Ensure that it is level by testing with a carpenter's level.

Next you need to discover how many steps or risers the stairs will incorporate. Divide the total rise by 7.25 as this is the standard step height. Round off the result to the nearest whole number. For example if the overall rise is 68, divide it by 7.25 which will give you 9.4 so you round off to 10. Hence, you would need 10 steps to finish 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 overall run, multiply 9 by 11 inches (width of a typical step). This will result in 99 inches which is the overall run of the staircase.

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

Instructions:

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. Place the long side of the square on the end of the 12-foot wood and align the tape marks facing toward you. Mark the places on the board using the pencil.
3. Slide the frame up to the top mark and mark once more. Continue to the end of the wood.
4. Use circular saw to cut along the marks. Stop at the corner marks and finish cutting using 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 affixed to the frame of the deck.
7. Use 3" nails and hammer to attach the 2" x 6" boards (treads) in position starting from the bottom.

Tips:

Always choose straight lumber for your 2 x 12 stringers. It is best to sketch a plan to work from when building a staircase. Think about installing a railing to prevent individuals from dropping off the stairs.

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