Indoor level stairs.

[Kojfabriken]

Hello,

I need to build a staircase between the living room and the rest of the house. It’s about 3-4 steps. I can only find pressure-treated stringers or steel ones intended for outdoor use. What is the simplest and best solution for an indoor staircase with 3 steps (plus a top step level with the higher floor. (The height is 705 mm)

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Testarn]

The step height is normally between 14 and 20 cm, and the step depth should be at least 25 cm, but closer to 30 is better so that one can walk "normally" on the stairs. There is also a "formula" that says 2 x step height + step length should fall between 60 and 65 cm for it to be comfortable to walk on the stairs. With a height of 705 mm, it becomes 4 steps at 176 mm each, and given the formula above, the step depths will be between 247.5 and 297.5 mm.

How much you want the stairs to protrude into the room might make you want to experiment a little with this.

An uppermost step level with the floor is probably not needed, a "nosing" is enough so that the staircase does not extend further than necessary into the room.

Once you have decided on this, the question arises whether you want a closed staircase or an open one, and how wide it should be, etc.

A narrow staircase only requires stringers on each side, and a wide one will require something in the middle, and you can make side-mounted stringers either concealed or visible - it's a design question. If you have completely concealed stringers, they can be made either by attaching blocks to a beam or cutting out a wider beam (this is how you have to make middle stringers regardless of the sides). For side-mounted stringers, it is common to mill slots for the treads (the ones you step on) and the risers (between the treads).

The attachment of the stringers depends on how the wall and floor they will connect to are made. If you make "legs" on the back of the stringers so that the staircase becomes completely freestanding, it just needs to be fastened so that it stands still; otherwise, the attachment must bear the load.

To complicate matters a little further, the question of a handrail may need to be resolved. Is one side of the staircase against a wall or not? In the former case, a handrail can be mounted on the wall, otherwise, posts for the handrail need to be included in the design, and it is simpler with side-mounted stringers.

If you think a little more about how you want it to look and provide some more dimensions for the staircase and maybe pictures, it will be easier to give advice.

 

[Kojfabriken]

The step height is normally between 14 and 20 cm and step depth at least 25 cm but closer to 30 is better for walking "normally" in the staircase. There is also a "formula" that says 2 x step height + step length should be between 60 and 65 cm for it to be comfortable to walk in the staircase.
With a height of 705 mm, it will be 4 step heights of 176 mm, and given the formula above, the step depths will be between 247.5 and 297.5 mm.

How much you want to let the staircase go out into the room may make you want to experiment a bit with this.

A top step level with the floor is probably not needed; a "nose" is enough so the staircase doesn't protrude more than necessary into the room.

Once you've decided on this, the question arises whether you want a closed or open staircase and how wide it should be, etc.

A narrow staircase only requires stringers on each side, and a wide one will require one or more in the middle, and you can make the side stringers either underneath or visible - it's a design question.
If you have fully underneath stringers, they can be made by either attaching blocks to a board or cutting out of a wider board (that's how you need to do middle stringers regardless of the sides). For side-mounted stringers, it's common to mill grooves for the treads (the ones you walk on) and risers (between the treads).

The attachment of the stringers depends on how the wall and floor they connect to are made. If you make "legs" at the back of the stringers so the staircase is completely freestanding, it only needs to be attached to stay stable; otherwise, the attachment needs to bear the load.

To complicate a bit more, the question of the handrail might need to be sorted out. Is one side of the staircase against a wall or not? In the former case, a handrail can be mounted on the wall; otherwise, posts for the handrail need to be included in the design, and then it's easier with side-mounted stringers.

If you think a little more about how you want it to look and provide some more measurements of the staircase and maybe pictures, it's easier to give advice.

Hi. I never saw that you replied earlier :/. Thanks anyway for a comprehensive explanation! I bought stringers in galvanized steel that I painted black. The height isn't optimal. I would have needed a slightly lower step height to fit perfectly, but it's close enough. I will use some spacers underneath to compensate. A worktop in oak became the material for the steps. Now I just need to find a suitable floor varnish for it.

 

[Testarn]

Hmmm... I read through my previous post and realize that I struggle with short, concise answers, like "buy ready-made vangstycken and screw them on"... even if that might be good enough. 🙂

Glad you found something that works and you're satisfied with.

(Then the language police in me can't resist... The side piece on a staircase is called a vang, not vagn. 😁)

Hope you find a varnish that turns out well. Feel free to post a picture!