Library builder

• Every stair over three risers needs at least one handrail. • Stairs 44 in. wide need a handrail on each side. • Locate the handrail 30 in. to 38 in. vertically off the nose of the stair tread. • Diameter of the railing must be 1 V2 in. to 2 in. for easy grasp. […]

Handrails and guardrails come in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Like a seat — belt on a car, they are necessities for safety, but they can also be the highlight of a set of stairs (see the photo on the facing page). So not only do they need to look good, but they also need […]

If the stairs are going to be covered with carpet, the treads and risers can be cut from scrap material leftover from sheathing. I use at least 5/s-in. plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) for the risers and 3/нп. plywood for treads. Scrap material can be ripped to width on a table saw or with […]

Because a stairway is often asked to bear considerable weight, stringers need to be securely attached at top and bot­tom. There are several ways to attach a stringer to an upper landing, deck, or floor system (see the drawing at right). Whichever method you choose, the first step is to measure down on the face […]

Take a moment to check that your lay­out is correct before cutting out all the notches on the stringers. I make two cuts—the horizontal (or level) cut that rests on the floor and the vertical (or plumb) cut that nails to the top header joist. The stringer should fit snugly at both top and bottom, […]

A simple adjustment often needs to be made at the bottom of the stringer to keep the first riser the same height as the rest, because if you nail а 3/нп. board to the first tread, for example, the step increases to 8 in. from JVa in. (see the drawing on the facing page). This […]

Once you’ve determined the total rise of a set of stairs, you can calculate exactly how many steps are needed to get to the second floor and how high each step will be. The total rise for a typical two-story house with 8-ft. walls (accounting for plates, studs, and joists) is often around 109 in., […]

One of the most important parts of stairbuilding is to determine the total rise, or vertical distance between finish floors that are connected by a stairway (see the drawing on p. 160). While figur­ing the distance between the two floors is simple, a problem can arise because stairs are usually built before the finish floors […]

Stairs and the stringers that support them come in different shapes and styles. Some stringers have a simple plumb cut at the top and a level cut at the bottom, with fixed cleats in between to hold the treads. Most stringers have notches cut in them where treads and risers are attached. Stringers that sit […]

Stairs, like roofs, come in many different styles and shapes. There are straight stairs, L-shaped or U-shaped stairs, winders (stairs that change direction over the course of several steps), and even circular stairs. They can be as basic as treads attached to a couple of stringers or as ornate as a double-helix beauty that spirals […]