How to fix steps on a wooden staircase. How stairs are attached to bowstrings

Frame stairs are becoming more and more in demand and popularity. Undoubtedly, this is due to the fact that, in addition to strength and durability, they can be made in countless different shapes and designs. This article will be of interest to those who set out to make not just a typical staircase, but a real highlight of their home.

Choosing wooden stairs on a metal frame, you make a choice in favor of practicality, reliability and modernity. Huge dignity frame technology there are its adaptive properties, you can first make the frame of the stairs with your own hands, with the expectation that it will fit into the overall design idea premises, or you can build a rough version of the frame, and in the future, trim with a suitable material.

The combination of metal with wood is one of the most successful design solutions regarding the interior. Due to the successful combination of beauty and strength, wood and / or metal structures are popular with builders and owners of country cottages. This is one of the rare moments when builders and owners, relying on their tastes and preferences, clearly agree on one thing, the choice of wooden stairs on a metal frame.

metal ladder with wood trim will create an original atmosphere and interior in the house in a classic or vintage style. The possibility of decorating with forged and wooden elements is a real work of art that will give any room a true noble and respectable look.

An elegant metal staircase, decorated with wooden steps, looks swift and light, while remaining a reliable and durable structure that can withstand significant loads over many years of operation. Metal is the strength, durability of the stairs, and steps made of wood are comfort and style. metal ladder and wooden steps guarantee the convenience of descent and / or ascent of all members of your family, including the elderly, children and pets.

We make the calculation of the metal frame of the stairs

Wooden stairs on a metal base are made of light or durable grades of metal, an important indicator of which is corrosion resistance. The technology for building wooden stairs with a metal frame involves partial or complete sheathing of visible metal surfaces tree.

Having set a goal to independently design and build a staircase, it is important first of all to perform an accurate calculation metal frame stairs, so that unpleasant moments do not arise in the future.

The main indicator from which all calculations of the ladder frame are based is based on the width of the human step.

On average, this figure is 57-64 centimeters. Based on the above indicated indicator, the ratio of the step and the riser is determined.

• S is the width of the step,
• P is the riser height.

The formula will be:

In addition, it is necessary to calculate the formula for the ease of use of stairs:

As well as the formula for the safety condition:

All quantities cannot be taken into account separately from each other, it is important to grow, taking into account all design parameters, and for this it is necessary to make a clear analysis of the initial data.

Sheathing the metal frame of the stairs with a tree with your own hands

The most popular finishing method for minimal cost is the installation of wooden steps to the frame of a metal staircase. And the remaining visible parts of the structure are simply painted in suitable color, as a result, the metal staircase looks quite harmonious and natural.

If we talk about the complete sheathing of the metal frame of the stairs with wood, then the process includes finishing:

• understair space,
• steps,
• risers,
• imitation of a wooden string.

After such a "disguise", the metal frame becomes invisible, and the staircase is visually indistinguishable from the wooden one.

For clearance exclusive stairs use wood of valuable species of wood:

The above tree species have high aesthetic and operational properties.

The hardness of oak wood is several times higher than the hardness of pine wood, and is compared with the hardness of metal alloys. The natural material unique, and resistant to mechanical damage and wear. When choosing oak, the service life of the steps is equal to the resource of the frame itself.

Do-it-yourself installation of the metal frame of the stairs

As for installation and operation, wooden stairs on a metal frame are practically unpretentious. There are several options for installing them. If the owner decides to independently install the metal frame of the stairs in the house, he should take a closer look at the structures of prefabricated and prefabricated modules.

They have the appearance of a designer, and are represented by separate parts that are easily assembled into flights of stairs, connecting to each other in accordance with the attached instructions. These modules are manufactured industrial equipment according to the established state standards for wooden and metal structures of stairs. It is important to remember that such ladders require frequent maintenance and special maintenance to eliminate the occurrence of possible backlashes, tightening connections.

All stair structures are subject to periodic inspection and testing to ensure their safe operation.

Fastening wooden steps to a metal frame.

Basic moments:

• In each step of the metal frame, a mark is made for two mounting holes, every 15-20 cm, we retreat from the edge of the tread by no less than 2 cm.
• If the steps are fastened to the frame with ordinary self-tapping screws, then the holes in the metal frame are drilled into the "tip".
• To compensate for stresses when tightening parts, fasteners with washers are used.

Even the highest quality metal frame can have slight height differences between the parts. In order for the wooden linings to adhere qualitatively to the surface, a substrate is laid on it. For fixation, which is used by the usual mounting adhesive with filler effect. It fills the voids and forms durable layer crush resistant.

The use of mounting foam in this option is absolutely excluded, the dried foam is capable of wrinkling, which leads to corrosion, loosening and creaking of the steps. The most reliable and popular material for the substrate is plywood.

Summing up, it is worth saying that a wooden staircase with a metal frame with one's own hands is perfect combination important points: durability metal structure and aesthetics of a wooden staircase. No other material has such warmth and attractiveness as wood. In addition to the aesthetic appeal, a wooden staircase pleasantly surprises with its accessibility. financial side. You will not find materials cheaper and more reliable.

This article will show you how to fasten the steps to the metal frame of your staircase under construction in various combinations of fixing materials and general design, i.e. for stairs on bowstrings or stringers.

To begin with, it is worth deciding which steps will have to be fixed. In most cases, the material for the manufacture of steps is wood and for self-assembly stairs, it is this that is the main one, although companies specializing in stair production and installation make steps from glass, stone, and various polymers.

Technologically, fastening is reduced to the choice of the method of fixing the step plate on a rigid or slightly movable metal frame. If powerful stringers (under flights of stairs) or bowstrings (from the sides of a flight of stairs) are used in the design, then the step is less subject to dynamic loads (except for the bending of the step itself under the weight of a person), and with lighter structures, for example, stairs on welded stringers made of profile pipe, dynamic loads are greater. It is precisely because of the mobility of the ladder elements that glue is not used in these connections, except in cases of mounting on a solid monolithic surface.

Steps can be attached:
1. furniture bolts;
2. self-tapping screws;
3. futorka;
4. Fisher fasteners.

Fastening steps to a metal frame with furniture bolts

Fastening steps with furniture bolts

The simplest and reliable way installation of treads to the base. In this case, the step is drilled through with a drill with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the bolt body and the base (corner shelf or stringer body). The wide head of the furniture bolt (anodized, galvanized or painted) hides minor defects when drilling, and its profiled part under the head fixes it from turning when tightening. During installation, the nut must not be tightened more than allowed, because.

the metal head of the bolt will simply push through the solid wood.

The disadvantages of this method include the presence of a bolt head on the step surface, especially if fastening is carried out according to an asymmetric pattern and the need to access the riser space to tighten the nut, which is not always possible. P.s. Sometimes in these cases, bolts with a conventional head and a wide washer can be used, but when a thread is cut in the base (kosour or corner), a threaded sleeve (nut) is welded in and a threaded sleeve (nut) is welded in and a pot is made in the surface of the step with a diameter sufficient to use the key head right size. For this option, you can pre-select flat plastic furniture plugs of the required diameter and color.

Advantages: convenience, simplicity, reliability and fastening speed; availability of quick disassembly if necessary (restoration, dismantling, replacement of treads).

Fastening steps to a metal frame with self-tapping screws

Fastening steps with self-tapping screws

The installation of steps with self-tapping screws is good because all the fastening elements are located in the riser and the external decorative finish does not suffer.

It is advisable to use powerful self-tapping screws with a deep cross-shaped or hexagonal groove for fasteners in order to prevent the groove from licking when tightened.

Now often used for fastening steps roofing screws, which have a hex head and a drill tip. It is worth paying attention to the fact that such self-tapping screws are produced for wood and metal and differ in the diameter of the drill (thinner for wood).

How to fasten wooden steps to a metal stringer?

If the installation is carried out through the wall of the profile pipe of the metal frame, then there is a natural desire to use roofing screws for metal and immediately pierce the metal and wood of the steps, but it should be understood that for a wood screw, the drill diameter is much smaller than the diameter of the turns, which provides a good screw engagement area in an array of boards, unlike a self-tapping screw for metal.

Self-tapping screws with a countersunk head are convenient to use in the case of a visible lower surface of the stairs. At the same time, in metal structures, sweat is immediately made under a cone-shaped hat. It is worth noting that if the steps are not made of pine (relatively soft wood), but of larch, beech, ash or oak, then in order to screw in a self-tapping screw with a diameter of 5-6 mm, it will be necessary to make preliminary holes in the steps with a diameter of 3-4 mm (according to the diameter of the main body self-tapping screw - where there is no thread), otherwise the self-tapping screw will not be completely screwed in.

Fastening steps to a metal frame with a futorka

Futorka for fixing steps

Let's make it clear right away that a futorka is a metal sleeve with internal and external threads. This method of fastening the steps can be attributed to the optimal in terms of stealth of mounting elements and ease of installation, dismantling of treads, but at the same time it can only be used for dense wood species, it is rather laborious, it requires stationary preparation and strict compliance with the drawings, because You can't fix anything on the spot. In addition, the steps can be fastened with a futor to the metal frame both from below (on the corner shelf or kosour), and from the side to the end (string). It is this method or its analogue that is used in modern staircase construction by large firms, for example, the German company KENNGOT. They have construction ladders with wood, acrylic, stone treads and threaded bushings for field assembly.

Technologically, at the same time, a futorka is taken with an external thread diameter of about 20-22 mm and an internal thread of 8-10 mm (on the forums they write about using a conventional stud with an M20 thread in which a hole is drilled and threaded), in a step with a cutter (the cutter does not have a large cone-shaped part ) a hole of the required depth is made and a thread is cut. Such a large diameter is justified by the need for a sufficient depth of thread grooves in wood for a reliable connection of parts. Using glue (for example, Kleiberit Supratac), the futorka is screwed into solid wood. Now the steps can simply be screwed (more than once) to them with an ordinary bolt or a stud with a decorative cap nut.

Fastening steps to a metal frame with Fisher fasteners

Fixing a step to a corrugated pipe (Fisher)

Enough new way fasteners based on the use of a Fisher polymer fastener, on one side of which there is a large-diameter bushing with a hole in the center and conical notches that work like a herringbone (it easily clogs into the hole, but resists exit), and on the other hand, a bushing that opens when screwing into the screw.

Before installation, cores from the kit are placed in the holes on the metal frame, the steps fall into place and the marks are pressed through. The steps are rolling. Then the Fisher mounts are installed in their nests, unfastened with self-tapping screws and a step is placed on them. Unfortunately, personal experience there was no use of such fasteners for stairs, so it is still difficult to say how this fastening behaves, but it is obvious that the dismantling of the step in this case will most likely smooth out the polymer slots and they will need to be replaced. In addition, it is hard to believe that a plastic sleeve will stay in a wooden nest for the entire life of the ladder. Most likely, under the influence of vibrations and distorting loads, the steps will loosen these fasteners. Perhaps they can be strengthened using glue.

What should I pay attention to when choosing a step mounting option?

The choice of mounting option should be made at the stage of development of the stairs.

When designing a metal frame, it is determined whether it will be open Bottom part stairs, whether there will be access from the bottom of the steps, whether the mounting elements will be painted and what, whether the absence of any elements (bolt heads or furniture plugs) on the surface of the step is important.

When building a staircase with your own hands, a structure of channels (stringers) and a corner (steps, bundles) is often welded. This option is easier to sew from below decorative material. Drill the corners under the steps from above, and then twist from below with roofing screws.

For the variant of modern stairs on stringers made of a profile pipe, repeating the shape of the stairs, long M8-10 furniture bolts can be used, stitching through the step and stringer, with a decorative galvanized nut from below. It is possible to order steps with footings, but must be 100% sure of the dimensions. Also, for the option with self-tapping screws, you can drill a kosour profile pipe from above a little more than the diameter of the self-tapping screw, and from below with a diameter of 12-13, where furniture plugs can then be installed. A self-tapping screw (with a body with a diameter of 5-6 mm) is screwed in from below with a magnetized screwdriver or a screwdriver with a flexible nozzle. A screwdriver, as a rule, stretches screws better.

In any case, you need to try to design the stairs so that the step lies on the shelf of the corner, channel or professional pipe and is attracted to them by the mount, and does not hang on the point fasteners. Over time, any fastening weakens, especially in a tree, and therefore, after the construction of a staircase, many serious companies recommend re-stretching the entire structure after a year or two.

Staircase on a metal frame. Soundproofing experience

22/06/2009 22:19:58

The designs of stairs are different and, depending on the materials used, they are most often divided into wooden, metal and concrete (stone). Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. When designing a staircase, it is necessary, first of all, to consider such properties as price, aesthetic side (beauty), load on structures, practicality (wear resistance, noise generated when walking, etc.). In this article, I will not consider the structural design features of stairs, such as the angle of inclination, riser height and tread width, etc. There are many books and materials on the Internet on this topic. Suppose the conditions allow us to mount comfortable stairs, which meets all the requirements of "formulas of convenience and safety". What material to choose?

Traditionally, wood is used for the construction of stairs. Wood is a warm material, has a beautiful appearance, it is pleasant to walk on it. A ladder made of wood is quite light, which means it does not create an excessive load on the supporting structures. However, the tree also has disadvantages. First of all, it is a creak and noise when walking. Of course, a staircase made of precious wood, made according to all standards, as a rule, does not dry out and does not creak, but it is very expensive. Inexpensive stairs are most often made of pine and spruce (often not dried enough), which means that over time such a staircase will lose its initial geometric parameters and begin to creak. In addition, pine and spruce are soft rocks and are subject to mechanical damage. birch, oak, beech and more expensive breeds trees are much more resistant to mechanical stress, but two, three or more times more expensive than conifers.

Often used in homes concrete stairs. Sometimes they buy factory flights of stairs, but more often they make a metal frame, arrange formwork and pour concrete right on the spot. Structurally, concrete stairs can be anything, if you correctly calculate the load, reinforcement and grade of concrete. Concrete stairs are the quietest when walking, but very heavy. It is impossible to rely on massive concrete stairs simply on floor slabs. The support of concrete stairs must be provided by load-bearing structures. In addition, concrete stairs require additional cladding. Most often used as cladding ceramic tiles, porcelain stoneware, but also a natural stone and tree.

Another type of stairs - metal. More precisely, purely metal stairs in houses are rarely used. Most often we are talking about stairs on a metal frame. Stringers or bowstrings are made from channels (12-18), and the bases for steps are made from a corner (most often the 40th), which is welded to the channels. Steps for such stairs are made of wood or metal. Benefits metal stairs many. First, it's fairly light weight. Such stairs can be supported on floor slabs. Secondly, metal stairs are strong enough and can withstand heavy loads. Thirdly, they do not lose their properties over time. The disadvantages are rather inherent not in the metal frame itself, but in the lining. The steps made of their pines on a metal frame also begin to creak over time. To minimize this process, the steps to the metal frame are not attached directly, but through plywood. Plywood 10-12 mm thick is attached to the metal frame on bolts with a countersunk head, and wooden steps with a thickness of at least 40 mm are glued to the plywood with liquid nails. Thus, plywood performs several functions at once - it acts as a reinforcement that takes on the load, distributes the load, and also hides the load-bearing fasteners. The metal frame is also good because the steps can be replaced over time (for example, pine with African mahogany) without any difficulties. However, it is worth mentioning the most important disadvantages of stairs on a metal frame - noise. Steps on such a ladder will be heard by all households, even if a cat is walking up the stairs.

The higher the weight wooden cladding, the less the metal frame knocks. Thus, in order to soundproof a metal structure, it must be loaded with something. Steps, risers, balusters, poles, railings. All this is understandable. Can anything else be done? I also asked the same question. The name of the car soundproofing experience, I decided to apply my knowledge in the field of construction. When it comes to soundproofing a metal structure, metal vibration isolation technology is usually used, damping vibrations created in the metal. After all, any sound is a process of vibrations and friction. In order to isolate the stairs from vibration, I decided to use the materials I tested from the StandardPlast company. Before that, I worked with such materials as Vibroplast, Vizomat, Vizomat MP. But the company introduced new material under the brand name Bimast. I decided to use the most expensive material, Bimast Bomb, 4 mm thick, which, according to the manufacturer, fights vibroacoustic noise better than other materials. But I actually chose this material only for the simple reason that it is the heaviest in the StandardPlast line of materials. In addition, Bimast does not require additional heating and cuts well.

Bimast Bomb consists of two layers - elastic bituminous mastic and heavy bituminous material. This is clearly visible in the photograph. Considering the material, I got the impression that Bimast Bomb is Vibroplast and Vizomat MP glued together, which is probably not entirely true.

To begin with, I decided to paste over the kosour - channel from the inside. To do this, I carefully washed the channel from rust and degreased it with white spirit. The material cuts really well. For order, I warmed the mastic a little with an ordinary household hair dryer and began to glue it. When I pasted over almost the entire channel, I began to compare (by tapping) the sound of the processed channel and the unprocessed one.

The result, of course, was, but minimal. The Bimast Bomb didn't noticeably reduce footstep noise, although there was a slight reduction in vibration levels with light tapping. The thing is that the weight of the material in relation to the eighteenth channel was insignificant. Only one sheet of Bimast Bomb weighing a couple of kilograms left for a 3.5-meter long channel. This amount was not enough to effectively dampen a thick channel. In addition, the lion's share of the noise was created by the corners, and not by the channel bar itself.

Or maybe the material is bad? When I had a roll of Uniflex material left from the waterproofing of the foundation, I put it on the soundproofing of metal window sills. Ebb tides pounded during the rain like empty cans, and when I pasted over the ebbs on the inside with Uniflex heavy bituminous material, and also planted the ebbs on mounting foam, I understood what silence is in the house. Even during a heavy downpour, I saw only water on the glass, but did not hear the noise of falling drops. The Uniflex material also had a thickness of 4 mm, but its weight was slightly larger.

In principle, it is not necessary to buy expensive branded materials for soundproofing. Any heavy bituminous materials are suitable for vibration isolation, because vibrations are damped mainly by weight. So, Uniflex is in no way inferior to Bimast Bomb in terms of efficiency, however, it is worth noting that the waterproofing material does not have an adhesive layer. It won't just stick to metal. It needs to be melted down! It is desirable to prime the surface with a bituminous primer. I welded the material of the usual gas burner Kovea.

In all photographs, the staircase is without cladding, with temporary steps.

From experience I can say that on horizontal and vertical surfaces such vibration isolation keeps more or less, but when the material is glued to the metal from below, it usually falls off within six months or a year. 😉

Bimast Bomb or Vizomat MP?

I did another experiment. The second channel of the flight of stairs was processed with the familiar material Vizomat MP 2.7 mm thick. Vizomat MP without measurements is visually really thinner than Bimast "a, lighter and more rigid. It is more difficult to cut Vizomat MP with scissors. Vizomat MP must be warmed up well with a hair dryer. Vizomat MP is glued to metal worse. And the result turned out to be worse. The sound from hitting metal of different intensity is muffled on the channel treated with Bimast Bomb.As a result, Bimast Bomb is really best material in the product line from the StandardPlast company, although it is 25% more expensive in retail.

Thus, I would like to conclude my research. The cost of soundproofing channels acting as stringers is not comparable with the result.

However, the work is not finished yet. You need to find out if it makes sense to paste over the corners that act as a frame for steps and risers. After all, it is they who create the lion's share of the noise.

And some more theory

Just in case, for those who are interested, I will indicate several parameters for the competent calculation of the stairs.

• Riser - step height
• Tread - step width
• The optimal slope of the stairs is 30-35 degrees
• The slope of the stairs should not exceed 45 degrees
• Double riser height + step width must be between 57-65 cm
• The sum of the width and height in the optimal staircase should be 45-46 cm (ladder safety formula)
• The optimal step width is 28-30 cm (at least 25 cm)
• Riser height 14-17 cm (no more than 20 cm)
• The difference between the width and height of the step should be about 12 cm (ladder convenience formula)
• The height from the plane of the stairs to the ceiling must be at least 2 m.
• The number of steps in the staircase should be odd (from which foot we enter the stairs, we exit with this)

Add a comment:

2016-03-15 14:23:05 | Tatiana Borzova
Andrew, can I ask you a question? House blocks yutong 375, I already wrote that I confirm all your comments about this material, in an article about the shortcomings of this material and what the sellers are silent about. Metal frame ladder, how did you attach it? I have wood joist floors. I want to put it on the main foundation, the design of the house allows me to make a wall in the wall and support 4 racks, a reversal landing, on the foundation.

2016-03-05 23:00:06 | Alexander
Ringing means playing. Additional boil some kerchief from the inside for rigidity. I have a similar design, well, a slightly different weld, but the idea is the same. If you remove the turning part of the stairs, the straight part Channel 12 wall 1 cm. Length 4.5 M. Step corner 5 wall thickness 5 mm. At the top, the ladder is welded to an I-beam. So despite the fact that there is only one metal around, nothing rattles. Achieve rigidity and there will be happiness.

2016-01-06 07:17:07 | SAU
I have a design of steps from corners like Andrei's, but there is no ringing or vibration when walking. A five is screwed on top of the corners with self-tapping screws from below, and on top of the five there is a carpet.

Most likely there is no ringing and vibration due to the fact that additional supports from a square profile are welded in the middle under the channels.

2014-06-01 15:23:23 | Andrey_K
Agree with Paladin! Such a design really contributes to good acoustics) However, as I think, a heavy channel contributes to it even more. I have been racking my brains over the stairs for a long time - to put them up soon. But I will make stringers from a thin metal profile, from the same one from which the frame is made - it will be much easier. True, there are some nuances - I will also fasten them rigidly - to the frame. but I think to use rubber gaskets in the attachment points. Much will depend on the material of the steps - its acoustic properties, but I really want to make the steps and the span platform transparent. As for bitumen and bituminous materials - so much of this goodness surrounds us in real life that I tried to avoid using them inside the house. As vibro- and hydraulic decouplings (1 to 2), I used (as far as I know the only ones in Russia) materials from a plant in Nizhny (like) Novgorod (Abris). Their feature and advantage is that synthetic rubber is used as the main material. The materials are not cheap - the toad didn't just choke ...) But, in my humble opinion, and, as the British testify, "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things" (Russian v-t "A miser pays twice"). So I had to be patient :)

2013-09-23 23:05:01 | Andrey_B
Eugene, do you always take everything literally or sometimes you try to understand?
1. The formula of convenience and 12 cm - this is not about the stairs as a whole, but about the steps.
2. You can call anything you like a riser. I personally don't mind. But take my word for it, not all stairs are made of wood. In simple words, the most common concrete staircase, as in the entrances. Where did the thickness of the material go, huh? And where is her riser?
3. The optimal slope is a subjective concept. I have 4 stairs at home. In my life I have no difficulties with either 20 degrees or 45 degrees. But from my point of view (supported, by the way, by theory), 30-35 degrees is the most convenient angle. If it seems to you that this is not so and your opinion is the only correct one, I see no reason to discuss it.

2013-09-23 18:53:21 | Eugene
"The difference between the width and height of the stairs should be about 12 cm (ladder convenience formula)" - how is it, I have a ladder 295 cm high and what should be its width according to your calculation ??? even scary to imagine!

To understand what stairs are, just look at the end of the product. The bowstring is support beam, on which the steps of the future stairs are mounted. The strength and quality of the entire march depends on how accurately this part is designed. as a stair base is very popular, because. has a long service life. Consider the main characteristics of the product in more detail.

Wooden ladder on bowstrings

The difference between a bowstring and a kosour

Most wooden stairs are mounted on either. - a curved beam that supports the steps only from below. To fix the treads in the stringer, cuts are made under them. This design has a large bearing capacity and saves space.

The ladder is a more massive product. To install the treads, two beams and special bars are used. To increase the strength of the structure, strands are installed under the steps.

The advantages of stairs include:

• relative ease of installation and restoration (if necessary, the master can dismantle part of the span, or the entire march);
• long service life;
• structural strength;
• hidden steps;
• protection of the wall from dust;
• free arrangement of balusters;
• a variety of projects (the bowstring allows you to design spiral, rotary, rounded and straight stairs).

Depending on the performance characteristics the future march is selected the appropriate type for the stairs.

Bowstring classification

It can be the main part of a self-supporting wooden staircase, or an element of a metal welded frame. In any case, the blanks are divided into several varieties. Depending on the shape of the bowstring, there are:

• straight;
• curved;
• spiral.

In the manufacture of the main fastener element, use various materials. On the modern market more and more often there are bent glued blanks for spiral staircases. They are made of high-strength wooden plates glued together to increase bearing capacity. Others most popular materials in the manufacture of bowstrings are:

• wood;
• metal;
• plastic;
• composite.

Wooden models are made from dense species: pine, cedar, oak, larch, mahogany, Oregon and Brazilian pine. In the manufacture of steps, coniferous wood is not used due to their low wear resistance.

They also differ in the fastening system of the steps:

• mortise steps (such a string of stairs has grooves for attacks);
• sliding (differ from mortise groove depth);
• using a corner (wooden bars are attached to the sidewalls of the bowstring, or metal corner, on which the stage is subsequently mounted).

Making a ladder on a bowstring with your own hands

Single-flight wooden staircase

The best material for making stairs is wood. This is the most environmentally friendly, cheap and easy-to-use material. Even a novice carpenter can build a wooden staircase on bowstrings. Before proceeding with the manufacture of the structure, it is necessary to choose the most suitable option for your premises. There are several models of stairs on a bowstring:

• attached with wall mount(for a country house and a summer residence);
• folding model (attic), where as connecting elements carriages, hinges and other fasteners are used;
• spiral, where the string of the stairs is mounted on the outside;
• marching.

A single-flight staircase is considered the simplest design. It is built both on and on the bowstring. For the manufacture of a single-march model, it is necessary to carefully select lumber. The length and width of the bars should be such that splicing is not required in the manufacture of the bowstring. It weakens the strength of the structure and the ladder can collapse under its own weight.

After choosing a staircase model, builders calculate required amount steps, their size and frequency. This can be done using the online construction calculator. At the preparation stage, the useful width of the march is also determined. It is calculated "in the gap", that is, between the handrail and the wall.

Having decided on the design parameters, the installers proceed to marking. On the prepared bars, the lines of future grooves are mirrored. The points on must match as closely as possible. Otherwise, the steps will not fit into the grooves smoothly. Grooves are cut on the inside of the bowstring using a milling cutter. The depth of each should not exceed 2 cm.

Staged assembly of stairs on bowstrings.

A tread is driven into each recess - the horizontal part of the step. Depending on the step width of 80, 100, 120 cm, boards with a thickness of 4, 5, 6 cm are selected. Depending on the design plan, a riser (step height) can be attached to the tread. Step parts can be connected using a groove, screws, fasteners, or a triangular rail and glue.

Examples of joining parts of a step

After all the steps are installed on one of the bowstrings, the second one is pressed on the other side. The builders knock it out with a wooden mallet to drive all the protruding into the grooves.

They can be interconnected by additional fastening structures - strands. Depending on the expected load on the stairs, builders choose steel, wood or screw strands. metal mount prevents the sidewalls from moving apart, therefore it is installed at the beginning, middle and end of the march. Wooden strands are driven in every 5 steps.

Installation of strands in the flight of stairs.

The finished product is raised to the ceiling and attached to the support and carrier beams. At the final stage, railings and balusters are attached to the stairs.

Good to know

When installing the ladder for the first time, the builder may make a mistake in the calculations. To avoid problems with the manufacture and installation of spans, it is useful to know a few building tricks:

1. When marking the support beams, make sure that the dots relative position future grooves match exactly. To do this, you can use a pre-prepared plywood template.
2. The string should be slightly larger than the estimated height of the stairs. The remaining piece of the workpiece is useful for tapping into ceiling beam during final assembly.
3. The grooves for the steps are cut across the direction of the wood fibers.
4. Before mounting the structure, the grooves are treated with glue. This will help with fixing the steps and prevent the wood from drying out.
5. Additionally, the steps and the bowstring can be connected with nails.

Video tutorials on making stairs on bowstrings

Scheme of the finished staircase on bowstrings

Video tutorials will help you build a single-flight staircase on a bowstring with your own hands. They describe in detail phased construction wooden structure.

1 step. markup

2 step. Sorting blanks

3 step. Marking grooves on steps

4 step. Slot milling

5 step. Material selection

6 step. Rough assembly of stairs

Today finished stairs on bowstrings can be purchased at most hardware stores. However, making a structure with your own hands will not only save money, but it will also not be difficult. One person can handle the project of a wooden single-flight staircase.

Many private houses have stairs leading to the second floor. As a rule, it is designed at the stage of developing the layout of the entire structure. In principle, during construction there is various works, which it is quite possible to do on your own, for example, mount the same steps if they are made of wood. However, many masters cannot understand how to fix the steps of a wooden staircase. From this article, you will learn about the main method of assembling such a structure and make sure that such a procedure can be easily done with your own hands.

Staircase on bowstrings

The vast majority of stairs in the premises are assembled on bowstrings. This is the name of the supporting structure of the flight of the stairs itself. It looks like a beam with cutouts, which, in turn, are made on its inside - it is in these cutouts that the steps are placed. This method fastenings of the master are called classic.

materials

Most often, bowstrings are made from:

• Wood. Used exclusively coniferous and hardwoods. conifers are considered very good, but they have one drawback - they are able to release resin. For this reason, it is better to choose hardwoods.
• Metal.
• Reinforced concrete.

Parameters

The dimensions of the finished bowstring directly depend on the length of the flight of stairs. Before fixing the steps of a wooden staircase, it is worth considering the following parameters:

• For a staircase with a width of 90 cm, it is better to make a bowstring from a board with a thickness of about 0.5 cm and a width of 30 cm.
• Nest cuts are made at a depth of 2 cm.
• The minimum width of the string itself is 27.5 cm.

In order to correctly mark the bowstring, two main methods are used:

1. Using a ruler and square.
2. By resorting to the help of a special template.

Important! For each method, you need to draw a line of support. It must be marked 4-5 cm from the edge of the workpiece. Before you begin to perform all operations for the manufacture of a bowstring, it is necessary to without fail impregnate the wood blank with a primer.

When marking the bowstring, you need to consider the following points:

• It is necessary that the march slope is 30-40 degrees.
• The depth of the steps must be at least 30 cm.
• Each one is approximately 20cm high.

Instruments

In order to make steps and a bowstring, you need to stock up on the following items:

• Roulette, square and ruler.
• Electric jigsaw.
• Level.
• Drill.
• Manual milling machine.
• Hammer.
• Screwdriwer set.
• Bit.
• Wooden slats (can be replaced with metal corners).

Installation

Before proceeding with fastening the steps of a wooden staircase, you need to cut the grooves using a manual milling machine. After that, the structure must be attached to the location of the wooden stairs. This procedure can be done in two ways:

1. By installing the racks in the allocated holes in the floor.
2. By attaching these racks with anchor bolts.

The next step is to attach the steps to the bowstring. Steps you've already cut down suitable sizes and processed, and the risers are attached to the grooves or screwed to the bars of wood, to the corners of the metal.

Important! These details are very important to do with extreme precision, otherwise, the whole structure will stagger more and more over time and emit an unpleasant creak.

The bowstrings must be fastened to each other with ties after 3-4 steps.

We attach the steps with a kosour

You can fix the steps on a wooden staircase to a stringer made of metal or wood. This is the name of the support beam, which has a sawtooth shape. Attached to her protrusions wooden details. You can install one stringer or several. The steps are attached to them with screws, and their caps on top must be closed with small wooden plugs.

Important! The best option there will be sawing steps from oak or pine. As a rule, riser masters do not install - this makes the structure lighter and soft look. It is also worth noting that even to assemble a ladder made of wood, it is simply necessary to have a welding skill.

Finishing

After you have fixed the steps of a wooden staircase, it needs to be done good fencing consisting of railings with balusters. For this purpose, you need to follow a few rules:

• It is necessary that the gap between them be at least 15 cm and not more than 20 cm.
• They are attached from the outside of the bowstring using screws, dowels, studs or spikes.
• For the studs, you need to drill a hole with a diameter of 12 mm to a depth of 80 mm. They are put on glue, while leaving 5-7 mm outside.

Further work is as follows:

1. A hole must be drilled in the bowstring, the depth of which is 10 cm.
2. Next comes the installation of the extreme columns. Between them you need to pull the twine and put the rest of the balusters.
3. Attach the railing, which is made of a bar, 80-100 mm wide.
4. Cover the entire structure with varnish or paint to give a protective layer.

Security

Finally, materials that resist slipping can be laid on the steps.

Installing stairs to the second floor is a long and costly process. To make it as easy as possible, you need to properly prepare. For greater convenience, the preparatory work can be divided into 3 stages:

1. design (creation of a drawing);
2. selection of necessary materials;
3. preparation of tools.

Installation of a spiral staircase: a brief description

Since the shape of the screw structure is different from the marching varieties, the installation principle is different here. It is recommended to install such a staircase to the next floor in the following order:

1. a drawing is made;
2. based on the calculations, structural elements are made;
3. in the selected place, the lower support assembly is installed and attached to the floor;
4. a vertical stand is inserted into the node;
5. steps are pinched (or put on it) in a tripod;
6. a platform is installed at the floor level of the second floor and a support rod is fixed;
7. balusters are inserted into the holes on the steps, on which the railings are put on.

Finished installation spiral staircase

It requires a careful approach and attentiveness from the master. Incorrect calculation or poor-quality fixation of elements can adversely affect the strength and durability of the structure. For this reason, assembly ladder construction must be carried out with special care.

Making bowstrings for stairs is a complex process, because with large sizes design requires high precision. Often, these load-bearing elements, which are the basis for fastening steps, have a complex configuration, therefore, in carpentry workshops for cutting parts, they most often work on modern CNC machines.

Wooden stairs on bowstrings are durable and are a worthy decoration of the space of the house. They can be made in a classic style and become a good addition to a loft interior.

How to make a staircase on bowstrings, how to attach steps and balusters to it, is described in detail in this article.

Ways to make a ladder on bowstrings with your own hands

There are several ways to install stairs on bowstrings. The most popular are free and wall-mounted stair bowstrings. The wall bowstring for the stairs can be seen only from one side of the stairs, and the free bowstring, otherwise called the light string, can be seen from all sides.

It is these properties that must be taken into account before making a ladder on a bowstring with your own hands and opting for any particular type of wood, as well as when processing the surface of wooden blanks.

The assembly of stairs on bowstrings differs from the assembly of the structure on stringers by the method of fastening. The steps of such stairs are inserted into the grooves of the supporting beams, which are called bowstrings. Sometimes only one bowstring is used in the design. In this case, the installation of the second side of the steps is carried out in the wall.

Ladders on bowstrings can be open and closed. Open type stairs look lighter, and when created closed structures risers are used, thanks to which the staircase visually seems massive.

The most convenient and simple to create are stairs on bowstrings with a straight march, in which the steps are fastened between two straight beams - bowstrings. Such stairs can be single-flight and double-flight - depending on the size and design of the room. In addition, bowstring structures can be designed with an intermediate platform or winder steps. The form landings(rectangular, square or rounded) directly depends on the chosen design of the structure.

One of the requirements for mounting a ladder on a bowstring is the availability of free space. This factor, as well as the distance between the floors, determines the design. Depending on this, the type of fences will be selected.

One of the simplest designs of stairs made of wood on bowstrings, as well as stairs on stringers, which is suitable for beginners, is considered to be attached (one-march straight). The angle of inclination of the flight of stairs will depend on the amount of free space for the structure and on the height of the floor.

If there is not enough space, then it is recommended to build a two-flight straight staircase with winders or an intermediate platform. Thanks to this, you can save useful floor space. In addition, this ladder is very convenient to use.

Do-it-yourself ladders on bowstrings can be made with risers, although the latter are rarely used in this type of structure. Due to the absence of these elements, the stairs look lighter and not as massive.

As for the decor, in the stairs to the second floor, mounted on bowstrings, the supporting beams, as well as the stringers, may well act as decorative elements.

If desired, they can be decorated, for example, using artistic wood carving. good decoration is forging metal, which is attached to a bowstring made of wood.

Railings play an important role in the design concept of the flight of stairs. They can be made of wood or wood with forging elements, of stainless steel. Railings are usually light, so the stairs look even more "transparent".

One more hallmark The design of stairs on bowstrings is the ability to place balusters in any order and at any frequency, which is problematic to do in stairs on stringers, in which the order is more limited.

Handmade wooden stairs with bowstrings are distinguished by reliability and ease of use. They are safe and durable, because, despite the apparent lightness, they are able to withstand significant loads.

The basic principles of building a ladder structure on bowstrings do not differ from building a ladder on stringers. Openings, supporting bowstrings on the lower and upper beams are built according to the same principles as when installing stairs on stringers.

The main difference lies in the way the steps are supported. In the stairs on the stringers, the steps rest on the boards from above, and in the stairs on the bowstrings, the steps are located between the boards (strings). When the impact occurs vertical load on a step, the tread bends down, and then straightens. At the same time, a thrust is formed at its ends. To prevent the bowstrings from spreading to the sides, it is recommended to connect them with a metal bar with a diameter of 8-12 mm with threads at the ends and nuts. You can also use strands of other designs.

One of the common designs is a staircase with mortise steps. When erecting it, cutouts are made in the bowstring - grooves 15-20 mm deep, into which treads and risers will be inserted. For a snug fit, the tread grooves of the bowstring should be with even planes and the same depth.

Watch the video "Ladder on bowstrings", which shows the various ways to install such structures:

How to properly mark and secure the bowstring of the stairs

In order to prevent distortion of the structure, special attention should be paid to the accuracy of marking the grooves. Before marking the string of the stairs, prepare a template that is almost the same as the template for stringers made from a sheet of plywood. The only difference is that the wooden planks in this case must be nailed, keeping an indent of 50 mm. Otherwise, the bowstring will be cut to the very edge of the board, and it will thus become a stringer. The offset can be 40, 30 or 20 mm. In the process of marking, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the bowstrings are not the same elements, but are a mirror image of each other.

The correct marking of treads and risers is carried out by moving the template along the edge of the bowstring. To do this, a reference line is applied along the long edge of the bowstring at a distance of 50 mm from the edge of the board (or at a selected distance). When moving the template along the bowstring, a line of steps is marked with a pencil, the tops of which should lie on the reference line of the bowstring. At the ends of the bowstring, the extended tread marking line will correspond to the floor level, and on the other hand, the perpendicular to the top of the riser line will correspond to the floor level of the second floor or intermediate floor. These ends are sometimes advised to cut off immediately, but still it is better to try on the bowstring in place. It is likely that the ends of the bowstrings will be used for tapping into the ceiling. Grooves for treads can be made independently using hand tool, but it is advisable to use a manual milling machine.

Regardless of the material of manufacture of the bowstring (solid board or modified wood), the grooves for the steps must be selected obliquely to the direction of the fibers. To perform a high-quality groove, it is recommended to use a power tool and mill the bowstrings using a plywood stencil.

And how to fix the bowstring of the stairs, which, for example, consists of 18 lifts without intermediate platforms for attaching treads? To do this, use 3-4 tension bolts passing through both bowstrings. Directly into the tread, the installation of their shortened versions takes place.

The use of tension bolts in the tread is a task for professionals, but if all the rules are observed, even a beginner can handle it.

Making a stencil for marking the bowstring of the stairs

When making a stencil for marking the bowstring of a ladder, two bars should be nailed to a rectangular piece of plywood parallel to the edges of the bowstring so that the distance between them is equal to the width of the bowstring. Next, the stencil must be placed on the bowstring and draw a reference line on it. Then you should remove the slats from the step template and place it on the stencil for the grooves so that the reference lines coincide. It is necessary to draw lines that will correspond to the sides of the step. The tread should be placed on the stencil to the tread line and circled around it. If necessary, you can expand the hole by a distance equal to the gap between the cutter and the round flange of the milling machine.

To tread with a drill and a jigsaw, you need to make an enlarged hole in the stencil. The bowstring should be put on the goats and a stencil should be installed on it. Then the line of the first tread must be aligned with the tread line of the stencil and temporarily nail the stencil to the bowstring. After that, you should go through the bowstring with a cutter to a depth of 15-20 mm in several passes. When the work is finished, it is recommended to process the corners of the grooves with a chisel.

Immediately before assembling the stairs on the bowstrings, the end of the step and the groove should be smeared with glue. Exists a large number of types of adhesives for wooden surfaces. In this case, almost anyone will do, the main thing is to carefully read the instructions before using it.

When mounting the connection on wedges, the grooves of the bowstring should be expanded with a slope towards the back so that they acquire a trapezoidal shape.

Installation of stairs: ways to fasten the steps to the bowstring

The tread, inserted into the grooves, is to be wedged from below with wooden wedges, which press it against the upper side of the recess. To increase the strength of the connection, the tread must be additionally attached to the bowstring with screws that are attached from the outside.

The heads of the screws must be sunk into the wood of the bowstring and puttied. You can also screw the screws deep into the wood, seal the holes with wooden plugs and grind. There are other ways of attaching steps to bowstrings. So, for example, treads are attached to them using bars of square and triangular cross-section, using surfboards, or using steel fasteners. In such cases, the bowstrings of the stairs must be made of planed boards, be smooth, without grooves. Short bars or surfs are usually attached to them from the inside with screws, and the steps are mounted directly to them.

Fastening in a wooden staircase on the bowstrings of the tread and riser between themselves can be done in several ways, similar to the fastening of stairs along stringers.

The next section of the article is devoted to how to attach balusters to the bowstring of the stairs.

Proper fastening of balusters to the bowstring of a wooden staircase to the second floor

When arranging stair turns on bowstrings that do not have interfloor platforms, you can use the central support post or to dock the bowstring on the balusters of the fence. Plug-in swivel fittings are also permitted.

Proper joining of the stair bowstrings on the balusters not only provides a strong and reliable connection, but is also a beautiful and elegant building solution.

When attaching the balusters to the bowstring of the stairs, the stresses that usually appear on the load-bearing structural elements (at the bottom of the stairs) are transferred to the railings (in upper part structures).

Thus, the whole structure works on the load when using the stairs; bowstrings, balusters and fencing. A single rigid spatial system is formed.

The articulation of bowstrings on swivel fittings is technically more complex. It allows you not to limit the design of stairs to one type of railing. By itself, this knot is a truncated likeness of a joint on balusters, without an upper power belt. The swivel baluster, on which the bowstring was joined, is here replaced with short pieces of bowstrings. But the requirements for such nodes are increased: especially for the quality of the tie-ins and bowstring material.

Double-flight staircase on bowstrings: assembly and installation of the structure

Strengthening the bowstrings of two-flight stairs can be done in a similar way. It is necessary to fix the central support baluster on the landing beam, into which the internal bowstrings of the ascending and descending marches will be inserted.

Also, bowstrings can be bolted to its side faces. And the wall bowstrings should then be nailed to the wall.

The second option is the fastening of two racks of reduced section to the platform beam. In one of them you need to cut the bowstring of the ascending march with a spike, and in the other - the bowstring of the descending march.

Most often, modified wood (glued boards) is used to create bowstrings, and all tie-ins are made using glue.

It must be taken into account that the nodes of the ladder on wooden joints can lead to creaking and gradual loosening of the nodes. Therefore, if the master does not have sufficient experience in joinery work, it is recommended to use metal tie products to connect the bowstrings, which are able to fix the joints for the entire life of the structure.

A ladder on bowstrings is a type of construction that involves the installation of treads into the grooves of the bowstring to a depth of 20-25 mm. The cutting of these grooves is usually done by gouging, cutting or using a milling cutter.

There are the following types of steps:

• mortise,
• inserted into grooves;
• inserted into through grooves, pre-hollowed out in a bowstring. They can be with or without risers.

The connection of the bowstring and steps occurs with the help of tension bolts. Threaded studs with a diameter of 10-14 mm can also be used. As a general rule, the tension screws should be located in the middle of the string, just below the tread.

When installing a curved ladder, the tension bolts, which are located on the line of its bend, should also be bent. Thus, they will be parallel to the front edge of the tread. In this case, the bolt nut will be perpendicular to the bowstring of the ladder. As a result, the nut will cut into the stair string, and the hole on the other string can be masked with a decorative insert.

The video "Making ladders on bowstrings" will help you better cope with this task: