Internal staircase?

[onionizer]

Hi folks,
Ok, so me and a mate are going to build his internal staircase for his house that he's building. ... ... Howevr neither of us have built a staircase before... Now that isn't going to stop us ! but we would appreciate any advice that anyone may have to offer on this subject.
Basically it is going to turn a corner, and have 2 straight runs.
Does anyone have any good links on how to do all of this??
Thanks in advance

[Ausyuppy]

Sorry to barge into your thread onionizer, but I too am very interested in this subject as I plan to do the same in a house I will be moving into in 6 months.... Any ideas and pointers would be fantastic

Cheers
Steve

[pawnhead]

They're not that hard to build and I taught myself after looking at one.
There's a few on the web, but they're not the best and I can see you might not get the most accurate results following them. They're also designed with the stringers underneath the treads which is weaker than housing the treads into the stringers, and they don't go into winding treads if you want to incorporate them since you're changing direction. A landing would be simpler but a winding tread or two saves space.
I suppose I could do a set out for you and a run down on procedures if you want but it better be appreciated. A lot of the noobs around here sign up to ask a question then off without even a thank you.

If you give me a rough sketch of what you want and the exact dimension from finished floor level to finished floor level. Also if there's a specific dimension that you're governed by with the run of the stairs in either of the two directions I'll need that as well. Decide if you want a landing or one or two winding treads, and whether you want open or closed risers, then I might sketch up a stringer plan for you. It won't take that long. I've built a floor to floor straight staircase in a short day with my router and adjustable staircase jig, but all you'll need is a power saw, a pencil, a tape measure a piece of cardboard (if you don't have a roofing square) and a hammer and chisel. A router would be a bonus as well but not a necessity.

[tcns]

great to hear someone is happy to help, a greeny for you pawnhead !!

Hope the staircase building goes well
cheers

Tom

[olddog]

Good one John, should be a couple of cold ones on their way from Byron Bay I think...............Peter

[pawnhead]

Thanks for that guys. It’s nice to see that someone might appreciate some advice even if they don’t need it, but it’s a bit premature since I haven’t done anything yet. I’ve gone to some detail answering questions from noobs before and sometimes I don’t get any response at all. Perhaps they don’t even check back to see if anyone has answered them.
Although he’s been a member for almost a year, It seems that onionizer might have disappeared so I don’t know why he bothered asking the question. If I started a thread I’d check for responses at least once a day.
If you’re still there Ausyuppy, then I’d be happy to draw up a stringer plan and run through procedures if you’ve got some dimensions to work with. I suppose I could just pick some arbitrary dimensions and run through it but if there’s no one there who’s interested then it’s a waste of time, and it would be better to have someone’s dimensions so they could get some use out of the specific calculations I’ll be doing. An example with a couple of winders and closed risers would be good because that’s nice and tricky and covers straight runs as well. <o></o>

[pawnhead]

You could also build a staircase that returns on itself with half a dozen winding treads running through 180 degrees. They look tricky and they save a lot of space as opposed to just whacking in a landing or two, but they’re really not that hard to build if you’ve got your wits about you. You can just use a piece of 90 X90 as a newel post or you can buy a fancy one that’s been turned from a staircase company. You’ll be able to buy turned balusters, moulded handrails, scrolls for the end of the handrails, etc.

I once had a contract for a staircase that required a 180 degree drop return on a fancy moulded handrail. A staircase company quoted me over $600 to custom make one for my particular case. I decided to have a go myself using off cuts from the site and in less than a day I had it installed. I don’t know how the pros would do it but mine looked perfect and the architect on the job was very impressed saying “so that’s how it’s done”. You need a strong and steady hand for the arbortech carving that’s involved in that one though. I wouldn’t recommend trying that on if you’re a novice. They're nasty little buggers and you may chomp a big hole in the timber, or into yourself if you’re nervous with using one. I was a bit apprehensive myself. One slip and a day's work would be down the drain, or I might find myself waking up in a hospital bed

[Ausyuppy]

Hi Pawnhead,
Mate I would love to go into more detail now, but I wont be needing too much information until August or so when we move down to Brissy and start work on our home we just bought. I was just expressing interest in the staircase as onionizer was going to build one and figured there would be some excellent information given.

I have been only registered on this site for a month or so and am impressed with the level of knowledge here. If onionizer doesnt go any further I wont be too worried, as I will do a lot of my research closer to the date.

Cheers
Steve

[pawnhead]

Yeh, I don't mind helping people out if I can, and I don't care if you've signed up the same day, just so long as you're there to listen to me so I'm not wasting my time, as I may have been with onioniser.
If you get something out of it, a thank you would be nice.

I should still be around in August unless I've dropped dead by then, or I've been booted off the forums for being a ratbag.

If anyone else needs help with a staircase, post away. And if there's some interest shown, then I might do a set out using arbitrary dimensions of say, 3m floor to floor, with a 180 degree return on itself, using half a dozen winding treads, in a stairwell 2m wide, and however long I decide to make it.

[sleeping-wood]

I have an ancient book "The Australian Owner Builders Manual" (Pinedale Press, ISBN 0 9593024 1 7) not sure if it is still in publication but there is a good section on stair construction on pages 76-77.
I used the information when building a staircase in my own house, back then (long before the internet) it was the only decent documentation I could find. If you cant find a copy to look at PM me and I can copy the pages and post to you.

[Ausyuppy]

Hi Sleepingwood,
Thanks for letting me know about that. I did a good search for the ISBN number and came up with multiple hits with the book available in second hand book shops.

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=e...959302417&meta=

When I move into the house in August, I will have to look at buying that book or something similar.

Cheers
Steve

[garf]

Hi Pawnhead,
I thank you in advance for any info, I might glean from you regarding a staircase or set of steps, whatever it takes, to lead down into my cellar which is undergoing renovation.I plan to construct them from timber with a landing approx.half way down and a 90 degree turn to lead to the cellar floor.The entrance space is the major restriction however as it is a trapdoor entrance. I did post here a while ago about this project but maybe I was a bit vague about my plan as I had no replies. ( s...t having said that maybe I should go back and check again...lol...it was some months ago now.)Anyway if you could advise me I'd appreciate it and will forward on an exact set of dimensions for the space if you request them. Thanks again.:aussie3:
Regards,
Gary.

[pawnhead]

No worries.
Well you have to start with the measurements, and I might be able to make some suggestions.

1) Vertical height from your finished floor to your finished floor, between where the stairs start and where they finish. Use a spirit level and straight edge, or ideally a water level to check that the floor isn't out of level between these points, and add (or subtract) any discrepancies.

2) Overall width of staircase (opening width).

3) Length constraints, or where you want it to turn. How much space you've got in both directions of run.

4) Consider winding treads as opposed to a landing, to save space.

5) Closed or open risers.

If it's a trapdoor you might need to lengthen the opening. You should have a good 2.1m from the underside of the ceiling to the top of the previous tread below. A tall person may hit their head on the way down otherwise. You generally lean your head forward, looking down as you descend a staircase, so you need a bit more than a standard door opening over the tread that your on, just before the end of the opening. If it's tight you can taper the underside of the joists to grab a bit more headroom.

Draw a sketch, or take some pics (or both) and put some dimensions on them, and I'll have a look at it.

edit: - I found a good staircase calculator here. It's from one of the brickie members here. It doesn't go into winders, and it's aimed at concrete stairs but the calculations it spits out are good.
Ideally, I'd aim for a 170 > 180mm risers and a 260mm going (run). That gives a 30mm overlap with a tread made from 290 X 45.