Installation of a finished staircase

If you need to replace an old main staircase, or need a new staircase to a newly refurbished basement or attic floor, you might want to install something prettier than the simplest homemade staircase covered in the previous pages. The best solution in this case would be to install a beautiful and economical finished staircase. You can assemble a beautiful balustrade for her from a set of parts.

A ladder company will make a ladder from your drawings in two to six weeks and deliver it to your home. You need to prepare the staircase on the upper floor and then, with helpers, install the railing posts and attach the stairs to the opening beams and to the wall. Of course, the first and very important step is to order the stairs correctly. Some manufacturers can send a representative to help you choose the design of the staircase and place the order correctly. If you are presenting your own staircase specifications to the firm, you must indicate the overall height, position and width of the run. It is important to remember that all of your decisions must comply with building codes and regulations..

The manufacturer must also provide information on whether the staircase will be partially or completely open, since the open side of the staircase must be fenced and, in addition, the staircase must be fenced. The manufacturer supplies not only a staircase, but also a frieze riser or roller, which is installed at the transition from the staircase to the floor of the upper floor. For finishing the staircase, you can use plywood or finishing boards. If you wish to sheathe the bottom of the ladder, ask the manufacturer to fold the bottom edge of both bowstrings. Despite the fact that the flight of stairs is assembled at the factory, there are a few things that need to be done before installing it. It is necessary to make grooves in the landing pillar for proper installation and attachment to the cross-beam of the opening. The bowstring, which will be located next to the wall, must be carefully measured and sawed off from above, where it will rest on the cross-beam of the opening, and from below, where it should lie flat on the floor.

While the march is on its side, it is also necessary to install support posts and handrails on it. The compliance of the dimensions of these parts with the flight of stairs was checked at the factory, but it will not hurt to pre-assemble the flight without glue in order to make sure that all the details of the spike joints match. The flight of stairs is held in place partially by its own weight. The fascia step rests firmly on the crossbeam of the staircase. To increase stability, the march is attached with screws to this beam through the platform support post and to the wall through the string. The bottom support leg is traditionally attached in one of two ways: either it is installed in the hole in the screed, or it is anchored in the screed with a steel anchor, as described below. Intermediate support posts, both simple bars and turned wooden posts, give the stairs their own unique look. The rails are assembled as described on the previous pages after all other installation work has been completed..

Ladder installation

1. Preparation of the upper part of the wall string. Place the march on the trestle with the wall string down. Insert the top riser and frieze tread into the slots. Then, starting at the bottom edge of the wall string, draw a pencil line along the inner sides of the riser and frieze step. From the trailing edge of the frieze tread, draw a line up to the height of the skirting board (usually about 75 mm), and then draw another line at right angles to it, which should be parallel to the plane of the floor (inset). Remove the top riser and frieze tread and saw off the string along the lines with a hacksaw. The bowstring now matches the crossbeam and baseboard.

2. Preparation of the lower part of the wall string. The floor line may already have been drawn on the wall string by the manufacturer. If not, draw this line yourself parallel to the bottom tread. If you intend to lay the floor after installing the ladder, lower the floor line down by the thickness of the floor. Saw off the bottom of the string along the floor line. Then set the combination square to the height of the skirting board and move it along the sawn-off edge until the edge of the combination square’s measuring line crosses the upper edge of the bowstring. Draw at this point a line perpendicular to the sawn-off edge and saw off the edge of the string along it. Thus, the height of the bowstring edge will correspond to the height of the baseboard of the lower floor..

3. Marking and cutting of the upper support leg. Place the top support leg on the workbench with the groove up. Using the combination square, draw a line from the edge of the groove around the post perpendicular to its length. Measure from this line downward the distance between the surface of the covered floor in the stairwell and the ceiling, then from this mark draw a second line around the post parallel to the first. Now set the top riser into the grooves, draw a line along the edge of its trailing edge between the two lines you drew earlier. Draw a matching line on the opposite side of the rack. The part of the pillar formed by these four showers is shown in dark in the sidebar. Remove this part with a saw and chisel.

4. Installation of support posts and handrails. Flip the march so that the outer string is on the trestle. Apply PVA glue to the two thorns at the top of the bowstring and install the upper support leg so that the thorns go into its groove. Glue the top end of the handrail to the support post. Then, asking the assistant to hold the handrail, glue the bottom support post to the handrail and then to the string.

5. Completion of assembly. Hammer wooden spikes with a mallet into the holes provided for them in the support posts; as a rule, two thorns in the bowstring and one in the handrail. If the lower support leg is not cut to size, saw it off to the floor. Then glue the top riser and frieze tread into the grooves of the bowstrings. Wipe off excess glue with a damp cloth. Wait a few hours for the glue to dry and continue working.

6. Installation of stairs. Together with two assistants, one of whom is on the top floor, temporarily set the ladder to the desired position. Place the fascia tread and support leg against the crossbeam in the stairwell. Using a spirit level, check that the tread is horizontal in length and width, and if necessary, adjust by placing thin strips of hardwood or plywood under the bowstring or support post. Mark the position of the support leg on the floor. Lower the march and put it back on the trestle. Drill a 12mm diameter hole 50mm deep in the center of the base of the lower support leg. At the center of the floor stand position marked on the floor, drill a second similar hole 50 mm deep for the concrete floor or through the planks for planks. Insert a 12mm diameter steel anchor rod into the base of the post. Raise the march again and put it in place by inserting the truss rod into the hole prepared for it (inset).

7. Securing the ladder. After leveling the march and setting it in the desired position, drive two nails 50 mm long with a cylindrical head into the crossbeam through the frieze tread. Then attach the wall string to the wall with three # 10 screws, 63 mm long, evenly spaced along the length of the string. If the ceiling is not hemmed, attach the landing post to the crossbeam with two 12mm screws. If access to the rear edge of the rack is obstructed by the ceiling, install two # 10 screws 87 mm long into the crossbeam through the holes drilled in the rack from the step side.

Final touches

Staircase finishing. Close the edge of the floor boards with a 75 x 22 mm roller from the ladder kit so that it overlaps the boards and partially covers the opening beams. Nail the rollers to the opening beams. Cover the rest of the beams with sheets cut from 12mm plywood and nail them in with 37mm oval nails. If part of the ceiling was removed, hem to the bottom surface of the transverse and longitudinal beams 9 mm thick dry plaster sheets. Close the joint between the plywood sheet and the ceiling with a 12 mm platband.

Bottom hemming stairs. Place 50 x 25 mm bars in the center of the ladder and fasten them along their entire length to the treads with No. 8 screws 37 mm long. Cut the drywall sheets to the width of the ladder so that they fit into the fold on the lower edges of the bowstrings. Attach the sheets to the center bar and to the bowstrings with thin nails every 150 mm. Close the joints between drywall sheets and stringers with thin strips.