Hello!
I wanted to see if there's any builder (or similar) here on the forum who could provide some input/help regarding the construction of a staircase that I am going to build.
Background: We are in the process of building a pool, and for this, we will be purchasing a pool cover. To hide the pool cover when it's parked (when rolled to the side, next to the pool), we wish to roll it under our balcony. The balcony is directly adjacent to the pool area, and from the balcony down to the pool, it's about 80 cm. Our idea is to build a staircase between the pool area and the balcony, and this staircase should be able to be raised/opened like the trunk of a car. When the staircase is in the raised position, you roll the pool cover under the staircase and into under the balcony, then lower the staircase again. See below for a simple illustration.
The staircase is only three steps high but 3.6 meters wide (the entire width of the pool cover must go underneath). To be able to lift the staircase this way, I've assumed that the construction needs to be relatively stiff. One idea is to make the underlying structure out of square tubes (welded together). The structure is then covered with impregnated decking to blend in with the rest of the balcony. With a quick estimation, the entire staircase (steel + wood) will weigh about 85 kg. For this reason, two gas springs will be used to facilitate opening and closing.
Now to my question...I want to ensure a stiff and good construction, yet not make it unnecessarily heavy. What dimension of square tubing would be suitable for this type of construction? I'm considering using 30x30x1.5, but maybe it needs to be increased to 2mm wall thickness? I'm thinking of making 7 "stringers" that are then also connected with square tubing. This is to give a center-to-center distance of approximately 60 cm between each stringer.
Not sure if I've missed any important input now, but I’m happy to provide more information if needed...
I wanted to see if there's any builder (or similar) here on the forum who could provide some input/help regarding the construction of a staircase that I am going to build.
Background: We are in the process of building a pool, and for this, we will be purchasing a pool cover. To hide the pool cover when it's parked (when rolled to the side, next to the pool), we wish to roll it under our balcony. The balcony is directly adjacent to the pool area, and from the balcony down to the pool, it's about 80 cm. Our idea is to build a staircase between the pool area and the balcony, and this staircase should be able to be raised/opened like the trunk of a car. When the staircase is in the raised position, you roll the pool cover under the staircase and into under the balcony, then lower the staircase again. See below for a simple illustration.
The staircase is only three steps high but 3.6 meters wide (the entire width of the pool cover must go underneath). To be able to lift the staircase this way, I've assumed that the construction needs to be relatively stiff. One idea is to make the underlying structure out of square tubes (welded together). The structure is then covered with impregnated decking to blend in with the rest of the balcony. With a quick estimation, the entire staircase (steel + wood) will weigh about 85 kg. For this reason, two gas springs will be used to facilitate opening and closing.
Now to my question...I want to ensure a stiff and good construction, yet not make it unnecessarily heavy. What dimension of square tubing would be suitable for this type of construction? I'm considering using 30x30x1.5, but maybe it needs to be increased to 2mm wall thickness? I'm thinking of making 7 "stringers" that are then also connected with square tubing. This is to give a center-to-center distance of approximately 60 cm between each stringer.
Not sure if I've missed any important input now, but I’m happy to provide more information if needed...
