Is it this easy to build a straight staircase?

[tobbew]

Hello

If you do a bit of googling, you will soon learn that stairs should have a certain design and specific relationships between the height and depth of the steps.

Once you get a grasp of this and want to start focusing on details:

I first build a staircase hall to make space for stairs about 90-100 cm wide.
I make stringers from 45x95 studs where I then screw on "triangles" which become the actual support for the steps.

There will probably be three stringers, one at each end and one in the middle.

Each step is a 45 x 220 + something added for deeper steps. Maybe 45x(220+45).

The stairs go from the garage up to a hallway, 12 or 13 steps, I haven't decided yet.

The hallway will be tiled, and the plan is to tile all the steps in the staircase with the same, something with a little texture that doesn't become slippery.

Then, of course, all stair steps also have a nosing, which is presumably really ugly with 45mm+fix+tile. So, it's probably around 60mm in size. Maybe tile there too, or a metal sheet or something.

Is it really this "simple" or am I making a significant mental error?

Thanks!

I've looked at the following pages to gain knowledge and ideas:

http://www.viivilla.se/Gor-det-sjalv/Trappor/Bygg-trappa-med-klassisk-rytm-45808
http://www.atab-trappan.se/sv/viktiga-matt_r/
http://www.dinbyggare.se/communicate/artiklar/article.aspx?id=6031

 

[Gabbe1]

It is not particularly difficult to build a straight staircase; I have done it myself in our house. I followed the standard for step depth and height, measured carefully beforehand, and then used a laser during the construction.

But I'm skeptical about installing tiles on steps made of wooden beams. I strongly doubt that all the tiles will stay in place in the long run.

 

[slacker]

But mounting tiles on steps made of wood joists, I'm skeptical about that. I strongly doubt that all the tiles will stay in place in the long run.

I agree, tiles on wood probably won't be able to hold under any circumstances. It should be a dead material; a thought would be to screw/glue floor gypsum on the steps and then lay the tiles in that case. Still uncertain regarding durability.

 

[MathiasS]

Is it really possible to build a straight staircase from framing lumber? I imagine you need to use dried and then planed lumber for it to turn out well.

 

[Mikael_L]

It could work, but choose nice pieces. A friend built a straight staircase out of regular wood, which held up well, looked nice, and was straight the entire time for many years. It was originally a temporary solution during the build, but it worked so well that it stayed for many years before he had the energy to deal with it. He built with stringers on the sides of the steps, and attached the steps with 10mm dowel plugs. He drilled with a 10mm bit right through the stringer into the steps, then glued them with PU glue and simply tapped in the "plug" (dowel). He did this step by step, and when all the glue dried, he sawed off the dowel flush with the stringer and sanded the surface a bit nicely.

I remember it was also impossible to get it to creak.


BUT I am doubtful about a stringer with dimensions of 45x95.
Double that dimension, roughly.

 

[Mikael_L]

But of course, Mathias is right in what he writes depending on the construction technique. If you plan to build a staircase where you groove into the stringer for a fixed, but unglued peg or tenon, then of course wood that shrinks another 5% when drying for indoor use won't suffice.

But as the friend built and as TS seems to think about placing the stringer under the steps, it will probably work fine, at least as well as with joinery-dry wood.

Finally, structural timber is spruce or pine, which is quite soft, and it becomes quite worn in a staircase. There are plenty of pine staircases, but perhaps staircase manufacturers choose slightly more tight-grained wood than the usual structural timber.

 

[tobbew]

Hello and thanks for the wise answers.
In my case, one will be walking on this staircase with shoes only, so it should withstand tough conditions, even wet slushy shoes, which is the background for the tile thought.
But a bit of plaster might do the trick, or casting a small base for each step.

Regarding the size of the stringer, it at least has walls on both sides following it, so it is at least not free-standing. But maybe it should still be sturdier.

Edit: the mobile keyboard owned me.

 

[MathiasS]

The fact that you can build a staircase that holds with structural timber is of course obvious, what I question is whether you can achieve a "furniture finish" on it.

The whole idea of using tiles feels unnecessarily complex, partly because tiles on a staircase are so 70s, and partly because it's hard to get it right on structural timber... I would clad the staircase in oak if it were exposed.

 

[tobbew]

I see. From the beginning, I thought about casting the stairs and keeping the gray textured surface. So furniture finish has never been part of the plan.

Unfortunately, I didn't live in the '70s and have never seen a tile staircase, so maybe I'm drifting off in my thoughts to something that people have stopped doing.

 

[bakterie]

Or cover each step with wet room carpet. It should be quite easily arranged (easier than tiles IMHO), and become durable.

 

[AG A]

That it's possible to build a staircase that holds with construction lumber is of course obvious, what I doubt is that you can get a "furniture finish" on it.

The whole idea with tiles feels unnecessarily complex, partly because tiles in stairs are from the 70s, and partly because it's hard to get it right on construction lumber.... I would clad the stairs in oak if they were exposed.

No, you can't get a furniture finish. Construction lumber is never so close-grained, so it's nearly impossible to get the surface finish, joints, fastenings, and other things completely exact. However, you can still create a very nice, but a bit different, staircase with regular construction lumber. However, I think you should build the staircase on-site, as you avoid a lot of fine carpentry. I built an L-shaped staircase for my small cabin this way. I was very pleased, especially considering the cost. It's not at all furniture finish, but it became "like another style." However, I should have let the wood dry for another week before I started.

 

[Gabbe1]

Or cover each step with a wet room carpet. It should be quite easy to arrange (easier than tiles IMHO), and become durable.

That sounds slippery and dangerous on a staircase where you sometimes walk with wet and slushy shoes. I would have a mechanical workshop or sheet metal worker cut and bend sheets of tread aluminum to cover the steps, it would be both stylish, strong, and safe.

 

[klaskarlsson]

It sounds slippery and dangerous on a stairway where you sometimes walk with wet and slushy shoes.
I would have a mechanical workshop or tinsmith cut and bend sheets of checker plate aluminum that could cover the steps, it would be both stylish, strong, and safe.

Or stick on some "anti-slip tape" - it should be available in larger sheets?
I think I've seen it on wooden stairs in smaller stores on the actual wear surface
/K

 

[tobbew]

Interesting...
I don't intend to stand my ground indefinitely, but in my world, tiles are very appealing, and with the current knowledge, they feel more durable and stylish than both wood and carpet. More complicated construction? Yes, probably, but it's likely manageable.

Here's what I'm thinking

- Straight staircase (between garage and hallway)
- 13 steps
- Built with standard lumber
- "Stairwell" = Stringers anchored all the way along the wall, not free-standing
- Steps made of 45x220 (+ 70x45 for extra depth)
- 100 cm wide, three stringers (four if needed)
- You will always walk on the stairs with shoes, gravelly, wet, scratched, sticky. Never without.
- Tiles in the hallway, possibly tiles in the garage, reasonable (looks good in our world) to tile the stairs too, like 300x500mm two in width.
- Each step will have a layer of floor gypsum between the step and the tile.

When I Google around and investigate a bit, it's common for people to be skeptical about tiles on stairs (especially because it's wood). But I think it's no problem to get the riser (the step) stable. To keep the wood from moving, that might be difficult, but that's where the gypsum comes into play. Cutting 13 equal pieces and gluing them down should be done in a few hours, right? Tiling with two tiles per step shouldn't be too tedious either. Or maybe I'm incurably optimistic, I have, after all, never tiled or built a staircase. But I've done most of the rest of the house.

I'm still very grateful for your wise words!

 

[Mikael_L]

- "Trapphus" = Stringers anchored all the way along the wall, not freestanding

Yes, then no strong dimension is needed.
I thought you were considering freestanding stringers (at least on one side), and then it would have required a bit stronger dimension.