Building Stairs In Your Home

Building stairs at first glance seems to involve a great deal of work but by using the proper tools and working safely you should be able to build a set of stairs in less than 10 hours. The tools you will need to build a proper staircase include a square, tape measure, level, tape, a circular and a hack saw. The materials you use to build your staircase are very important for this type of project. Using high quality lumber will improve greatly improve the look and durability of your staircase.

Layout
Having a design planned out before you begin to build your own staircase will make the entire job run more smoothly. If this is your first attempt at building a set of stairs you should try and keep the design fairly simple and keep in mind that building a straight staircase is much easier to build and design than one of those circular staircases. Using some graph paper you should sketch the basic design of what you want your staircase to look like as this will give you an idea of the final look of your design, make your measurement taking much easier, and also how much lumber you will need to purchase.

Do the Math
When you are building a staircase there are many measurements that you are going to need in order to build a proper set of stairs. The measuring you will need to have includes the rise, run and number of stairs required to build your staircase. Measuring the rise of the stairs is found by measuring the vertical distance between the top of your floor to point on the next level where the stairs will end. Determining the number of stairs needed is found by dividing the total rise by the height you wish each stair to have. Finding the run of the stairs is found by multiplying the total width of a stair by the number of stairs in your new stair case. Once you have taken all the needed measurements you can begin to cut the lumber and put your staircase together.

Building the Stairs
When it's time to get your hands dirty and build the staircase you should take your time with every step as quality and safety should be your main concern when building a staircase. Take your time using the circular saw when cutting out a template for the first stringer in one of your 2 by 12. After you have made the first cut you can use this one piece as a template to ensure the rest of your cuts are accurate. Use as many 2 by 4 pieces of wood as need to add support to the stringers and make your staircase more secure. To secure your staircase to the upper and lower floors you will need to hammer nails into both levels to ensure safety. By following these basic steps you will have the basic knowledge to create any type of staircase you could imagine.

When you are attempting any type of home renovation project you should always wear proper safety equipment and follow any instructions listed on the tools you use and the packaging you have.