How to fasten the steps of a wooden staircase? Step-by-step instructions for installing wooden stairs How to properly install the string of a wooden staircase.

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

Wooden staircases on bowstrings are durable and are a worthy decoration of the space of the house. They can be done in 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 a ladder on strings. The most popular are free-standing and wall-mounted stair stringers. A wall string for a staircase can only be seen from one side of the staircase, but a free string, otherwise called a light string, is visible from all sides.

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

Assembling a ladder on strings differs from installing a structure on stringers in 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 string is used in a design. In this case, the second side of the steps is installed into the wall.

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

The most convenient and simplest to create are staircases on bowstrings with a straight flight, in which the steps are fastened between two straight beams - bowstrings. Such staircases can be single-flight or 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 shape of the landings (rectangular, square or rounded) directly depends on the chosen structure design.

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

One of the most simple designs Staircases made of wood on bowstrings, as well as stairs on stringers, which are suitable for novice craftsmen, are considered attached (single-flight 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 winder steps or an intermediate platform. Thanks to this you can save usable area floor. In addition, such a ladder is very convenient to use.

You can make your own bowstring stairs 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 less massive.

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

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

Fences play an important role in the design concept of a flight of stairs. They can be made of wood or wood with forged or stainless steel elements. The railings are usually light, so the staircase looks even more “transparent”.

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

Do-it-yourself wooden ladders on bowstrings are reliable and easy to use. They are safe and durable, since, despite their apparent lightness, they are able to withstand significant loads.

The basic principles of constructing a staircase structure on bowstrings do not differ from constructing a staircase 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 is in the way the steps are supported. In staircases on stringers, the steps rest on the boards on top, and in staircases on bowstrings, the steps are located between the boards (strings). When a vertical load is applied to a step, the tread bends down and then straightens. At the same time, a spacer is formed at its ends. To prevent the strings from moving apart, it is recommended to connect them with a metal rod with a diameter of 8-12 mm with threads at the ends and nuts. You can also use cords 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 tight fit of the tread, the grooves of the bowstring must have even planes and the same depth.

Watch the video “String Ladder”, which shows various ways installation of such structures:

How to correctly mark and secure the string of a ladder

To prevent the structure from warping, Special attention Care should be taken to accurately mark the grooves. Before marking the string of the stairs, prepare a template, almost similar to the template for stringers, made from a sheet of plywood. The only difference is that in this case the wooden planks must be nailed down, maintaining a 50 mm offset. Otherwise, the string 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. During the marking process, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the bowstrings are not identical elements, but are mirror images of each other.

Correct marking of treads and risers is carried out by moving the template along the edge of the string. To do this, a reference line is drawn 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 string, use a pencil to mark a line of steps, the vertices of which should lie on the reference line of the string. At the ends of the string, the extended tread marking line will correspond to the floor level, and on the other side, the perpendicular to the top of the riser line will correspond to the floor level of the second floor or interfloor area. It is sometimes advised to saw off these ends immediately, but it is still better to try on the bowstring in place. It is likely that the ends of the strings will be used for cutting into the ceilings. You can make grooves for treads yourself using hand tool, but it is advisable to use manual frezer new car.

Regardless of the material used to make the string (solid board or modified wood), the grooves for the steps must be selected obliquely to the direction of the grain. To make a high-quality groove, it is recommended to use a power tool and mill the strings using a plywood stencil.

How to secure the string of a staircase, which, for example, consists of 18 rises without intermediate platforms for attaching treads? To do this, use 3-4 tension bolts passing through both strings. Their shortened versions are also installed directly into the tread.

Using tension bolts in treads is a task for professionals, but if all the rules are followed, even a beginner can cope with it.

Making a stencil for marking the string of stairs

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

To make a tread, use a drill and jigsaw to make an enlarged hole in the stencil. The bowstring should be placed on the sawhorse and a stencil should be placed 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 string. After this, you should go through the string with a cutter to a depth of 15-20 mm in several passes. When the work is finished, it is recommended to trim the corners of the grooves with a chisel.

Immediately before assembling the staircase on strings, the end of the step and the groove should be coated with glue. There are a large number of varieties of adhesives for wooden surfaces. In this case, almost any will do; the main thing is to carefully read the instructions before using it.

When installing the connection on wedges, the grooves of the bowstring should be widened with a slope towards the rear so that they acquire a trapezoidal shape.

Installation of stairs: ways to attach steps to a string

The tread, inserted into the grooves, is subject to wedging from below using wooden wedges, which press it to 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 should be recessed into the wood of the bowstring and filled with putty. You can also screw screws deep into the wood, seal the holes with wooden plugs and sand them. There are other ways to attach steps to strings. For example, treads are attached to them using square and triangular bars, using hammers or using steel fasteners. In such cases, the strings of the stairs should be made of planed boards, smooth, without grooves. Short bars or pegs are usually attached to them from the inside with screws, and the steps are mounted directly to them.

Fastening treads and risers to each other in a wooden staircase on strings can be done in several ways, similar to fastening stairs along stringers.

The next section of the article is devoted to how to attach balusters to the string of a staircase.

Correct fastening of balusters to the string of a wooden staircase to the second floor

When arranging stair turns on strings that do not have interfloor platforms, you can use a central support post or connect the strings to the balusters of the fence. Insert swivel fittings are also permitted.

Proper joining of staircase strings on balusters not only provides a strong and reliable connection, but is also a beautiful and elegant construction solution.

When attaching balusters to the string of a staircase, the stresses that usually appear on the load-bearing structural elements (at the bottom of the staircase) are transferred to the railings (at the top of the structure).

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

The articulation of strings on swivel fittings is technically more complex. It allows you not to limit the design of a staircase to one type of fencing. This knot itself is a truncated semblance of a joint on balusters, without an upper power belt. The rotating baluster on which the bowstring was joined was replaced here with short pieces of bowstring. But the requirements for such units are increased: especially for the quality of the inserts and the material of the bowstrings.

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

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

The bowstrings can also be secured with bolts to its side faces. And then the wall strings must be fastened with nails to the wall.

The second option involves attaching two racks of reduced cross-section to a platform beam. In one of them you need to insert a bowstring of an ascending march with a spike, and into the other - a bowstring of a descending march.

Most often, modified wood (laminated boards) is used to create bowstrings, and all inserts are made using glue.

It must be taken into account that staircase nodes on wooden joints can lead to creaking and gradual loosening of the nodes. Therefore, if the craftsman does not have sufficient experience in carpentry, it is recommended to use metal fastening products to connect the bowstrings, which are capable of fixing the joints for the entire life of the structure.

A staircase with strings is a type of construction that involves installing treads into the grooves of the string to a depth of 20-25 mm. The cutting of these grooves is usually done by gouging, notching, or using a router bit.

The following types of steps are distinguished:

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

The connection between the string and the steps occurs using tension bolts. Threaded rods 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, directly below the tread.

When installing a curved staircase, 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 located perpendicular to the string of the ladder. As a result, the nut will cut into the ladder string, and the hole on the other string can be masked using a decorative insert.

The video “Making stairs on bowstrings” will help you better cope with this task:

Stairs with bowstrings are often installed in multi-level apartments and private houses. This traditional staircase design is different from other options high level reliability, and, in some cases, attractive appearance. For experienced craftsmen installing a ladder on bowstrings does not pose any problem.

But, if you do the work yourself, you will need photo or video installation instructions to minimize the number of questions that arise during installation. In addition, you should study in advance all the features of fastening and marking, as well as the basic rules for their arrangement. Consider not only the essence of the concept, but also existing species structures, as well as possible technologies for their independent production.

Types of stairs

Bowstrings are the side elements of a staircase structure that hold the steps and act as limiters. It is worth noting that in in different forms bowstrings are present in almost all designs.

Variety of models:

1. Attached. The simplest option of all. Most often used on summer cottages. It includes only a few elements: crossbars (steps) and side strings. Anyone can make such a staircase with their own hands. Video instructions recorded by experienced craftsmen can help with this.
2. Folding attic. This model consists of two sections. In this case, the bowstring is folded. Hinges, carriages and other fasteners are used as connecting elements.
3. Screw. One of the most complex structures. The bowstring is located on the outside. Such models made of wood look very impressive.
4. Marching. The most common design. The string in this case forms the march and holds the steps.

Step mounting options

From the outside it may seem that ladders on bowstrings look monotonous and uncomplicated. But this is far from true. There are a huge number of options for their design.

In order to pick up best option settings should be studied possible ways installation of steps:

1. Sliding steps are not simply inserted into pre-made grooves, but are carefully pushed into them. The cut-out recess should not only have an entrance for the steps, but also an exit to the outside. In these structures, the treads can be dismantled without dismantling the entire staircase structure.
2. Mortise steps are a standard method of connecting treads and risers. A hole is pre-cut in the bowstring, into which a step is then hammered. To make the grooves, you should use a hand router. If you don’t have a router, you can take a chisel and a hammer. But this method takes a lot of time. After the steps are secured to one string, you should fill the second element from the other edge.
3. Application of corners. This method involves the use of additional elements. In order not to waste time cutting out corners, you can attach metal corners to the sides. Exactly for these additional elements in the future the treads will be attached.

Bowstring for stairs: features of fastening and marking

If you plan to build a staircase with mortise steps, then the grooves are made from the inside. Their depth should be between 1.5 and 2 centimeters. After this, risers and treads are carefully inserted into the grooves. When working on your own, remember that the bowstring must have cutouts with smooth edges and the same depth.

Pay careful attention to the markings relative position grooves on two support beams. If it is uneven, then unexpected distortion of the staircase structure may occur in the future.

In such cases, experts recommend making special templates cut from a thin sheet of plywood. To prevent the string from turning into a stringer, the guides should be attached at a distance of 50 millimeters from a pre-marked line.

The markings for the grooves are as follows. On inside longitudinal lines are drawn on the beams. They should retreat 50 millimeters from the edges of the beam. If such a need arises, then given distance can be reduced to 30 millimeters. Further ready-made template moves neatly along the edge using guides. The location of the steps is marked with a pencil.

Remember that when applying markings to the string of one ladder structure, the location of the grooves must be completely mirror-like.

The lower and upper parts of the support beams must completely coincide with the floor levels. But whether this coincidence will be vertical or horizontal depends directly on the type of structure.

Experts who know all the features of fastening and marking do not advise quickly sawing off the excess ends. It is quite possible that they will be needed for insertion into a special support beam during final installation.

In order to get a reliable and very durable ladder on bowstrings, fastening the side elements is best done using rods. This can be a wooden tie on bolts or wedges, or a metal tie on nuts. Strands are installed at both edges of the staircase and in its central part. These elements allow you to avoid unwanted spreading of the sidewalls, which occurs when walking on steps and with a high load on them.

DIY installation instructions

Determine the height of the structure, its dimensions and the number of steps. To make a bowstring, take a wooden stick of the required thickness. As noted above, cutting grooves should be done using templates.

When cutting grooves yourself, you should copy the marks from the template onto the workpiece. The wood is processed with a special milling cutter with a nozzle of the required diameter.

After this, fix the internal string at the construction site and connect all the elements of the steps. When the work is finished, press the elements of the steps on the other side with another string and carefully tamp them down. With the help of glue and nails you can make the structure more durable and reliable in use.

By installing tie rods, you can prevent unwanted loosening of the staircase structure. The rods are installed at the rate of one per 5 steps.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that constructing a string for a ladder with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Before using the staircase structure for its intended purpose, you should ensure the strength of the fastenings.

If necessary, additional vertical support elements can be installed. Metal tubes or wooden beams are suitable for this purpose. The models of stairs that are mounted to the ceilings with the help of hangers look interesting.

As for the fences, they can be installed both on the string and on the steps themselves. It all depends on your aesthetic preferences. If you are not sure that you can handle the work yourself, even with the help of video instructions, then it is better to contact a specialist. The Ladder Master company employs craftsmen who will complete all tasks assigned to them not only quickly, but also efficiently. Such a string for stairs is guaranteed to be reliable, durable and aesthetically attractive.

The fastening of stair steps depends on the design of the staircase and the materials used, the covering of the steps and load-bearing elements, and the planned external finishing. Let's consider possible options fastenings wooden steps in wooden stairs.

There are two main designs of wooden stairs: on stringers and with bowstrings. For quick understanding: stringers- these are the load-bearing elements on which steps are attached on top, A bowstrings mounted on the sides of the stairs and steps are attached between them or between the bowstring and the wall.

Attaching the steps of a wooden staircase to a stringer

In stringer stairs, the stringer absorbs the entire load-bearing load, so fastening the feet solves two problems - fixing the steps from displacement and vibration, as well as hiding the fact of fastening in open, visible structures.

The most simple option installation involves drilling the steps and fastening them through with powerful self-tapping screws to the stringer. Self-tapping screws are used with decorative heads, screwed in, or the surface of the step is drilled to a shallow depth with a large drill and a decorative polymer plug is installed. This type of fastening is often used in DIY stairs. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the steps should be drilled only with feather drills at high drill speeds, which will prevent chipping at the mouth of the hole.

In open staircases without casing, the steps can be installed in a hidden way using cotter pins. In this case, the tread and stringer are drilled exactly to fit the diameter of the cotter pins and installed with glue. This option is not suitable for dynamically moving stairs with a stringer of small cross-section or steps that are too wide, which will sag under load and destroy the adhesive joint.

In staircases under the cladding, the step can be secured through a block or corner made of metal, fixed in the right places on the inside of the stringer. The photo shows a fastening option using a tie rod with a threaded tread and a sheet (for example, plywood) hemmed underneath.

Attaching the steps of a wooden staircase to a bowstring

The main methods of attaching steps to strings:

1. a support block for the step, secured to a string;
2. a metal bracket for the step, screwed through with self-tapping screws or bolts to the string;
3. pad or bump on inner part bowstrings, according to the principle of a zigzag stringer;
4. selection of grooves for steps in the string (exactly in size or for the option of wedging the tread and riser during assembly).

The first two options for attaching steps to a ladder on bowstrings can be considered the most cost-effective and often used in self-production stairs However, for greater security, the third and fourth options are preferable.

Bars, brackets or overlays can only be used in the construction of staircases for sheathing. In transparent, unlined stairs, you need to hide the fact of the fasteners and the grooves do an excellent job of this task, in addition, transferring the entire load from the steps directly to the string.

Attaching the steps of a wooden staircase to the wall

In some cases, it may be more practical to secure one side of the tread to a stringer or bowstring, and fasten the other side directly to the wall. This is the most popular fastening method for staircases on rails, which have become fashionable today, when the steps on one side are pulled together with metal pins, bushings (bolts) and a handrail with posts into a single whole, and the other side is mounted on the wall.

Attaching wooden steps to the wall can be done by embedding them into the wall (this is labor-intensive and depends on the thickness of the supporting wall + if the depth of embedding is shallow, the niche will gradually break when walking up the stairs) or by laying it on a supporting element (block, corner, decorative turned element) , directly attached to the wall. Typically, anchors, embedded studs or powerful self-tapping screws are used for fastening if the wall is wooden.

In bolted staircases, an option is used when a corner of the shelf at the bottom with the dimensions of the end of the step is attached to the wall with anchors. In the steps, the bottom plane is milled to the depth and width of the corner flange + holes are drilled from the end using a feather drill to hide the anchor nuts.

Still, the most beautiful stairs are obtained from specialists in their field who have gained experience on real objects and who understand how many little things arise during installation and operation of them during life. Excellent examples of wooden staircases can be viewed on the website http://lestnichnik.com.ua/, and if someone wishes, they can order such a staircase for their home. These are high-quality works of art, combining graceful chiseled balusters, carved decorative ornaments support pillars and finishing of handrails, high-quality monolithic tinting with a soft coating of varnish, conveying all the delights of the natural structure of wood.

Wooden steps should be attached to a concrete staircase in such a way that the created structure ensures safe movement along it. At the same time, the structure itself should not be knocked out of existing interior, but fit harmoniously into it. Let's figure out how to achieve this.

Wooden steps - we will improve the concrete staircase>

Concrete staircase structures are rightfully considered to be the most durable and reliable. Such structures last for many decades and can withstand heavy loads without problems. You can build them yourself by building them using publicly available and inexpensive Construction Materials– sand, cement, crushed stone. The disadvantage of any concrete staircase is that it does not look the best from the outside. This problem can be easily solved. You can decorate the building with any decorative material, starting from natural stone and tiles, and ending with fibreboards or natural wood.

Wooden staircase

Owners of private houses most often use solid wood for cladding staircase structures made of concrete. It's not cheap. But also the results finishing works, made using this material, turn out amazing without the slightest exaggeration. The use of wood allows you to create a special atmosphere of luxury and chic in your home. Finishing the stairs with solid wood also has a number of important advantages. Natural material:

• perfectly protects the structure from operational damage (concrete spalling):
• makes it possible to mask base defects;
• accumulates heat;
• causes pleasant tactile sensations (wood is very pleasant to the touch).

Caring for wooden steps is quite simple. Moreover, their service life is estimated at many years. True, for this you will have to take care of the material in advance - treat it with special impregnations that protect the products from the sun and moisture.

Choosing the type of wood for finishing - what are the options?

You can decorate a concrete staircase with different types of wood. The cheapest option is solid pine. Such products are easy to process with your own hands, they have light weight, which facilitates the process of installing steps. But you need to understand that pine boards in terms of strength properties they are not ideal in operation. With intensive use of stairs, they quickly fail and lose their attractive appearance. The durability of pine structures is also negatively affected by the variable indoor microclimate. Boards dry out and become loose with temperature changes, and also lose their initial properties under the influence of moisture.

Wood for arranging steps

For these reasons, steps are often made from walnut, oak, maple, larch, beech and birch. If your budget for finishing the stairs is unlimited, you can choose more expensive types of wood - iroko, lapacha, merbau, wenge, teak. Their exotic appearance complemented by excellent performance characteristics.The most durable products are made from beech. Steps made from this wood are built to last for centuries.. But processing beech wood is very difficult. It is almost impossible to cope with this material on your own. You may have a lot of problems when installing steps from it.

Easier to work with oak boards. In terms of strength, they are not much inferior to beech wood, but they are much easier to process.

There is also a problem here - the high cost of solid oak. Not everyone can afford to purchase such material for finishing concrete stairs. There is an exit! Instead of oak products, you can use those made from larch. They are cheaper in price, and in most respects they are identical to solid oak. Choose the material for cladding structures taking into account your financial capabilities and personal preferences, and then you can get a staircase in your home that is impeccable in all respects. It will decorate the interior of your home and give you a feeling of comfort.

Installation of steps - start with a concrete base and substrate

The first step is preparing the concrete base. If the staircase was built by professionals, there will, of course, be no significant defects on its surface. In this case, you just need to level the base using easy-to-use. If there are noticeable differences in height on the surface of the structure, you will have to do additional work on the stairs. You will have to install a special underlay under each step. It is made from plywood. Such a substrate and concrete base will be able to properly level and, in addition, will protect the structure from mechanical loads, acting as a shock absorber.

Installation of steps

You need to purchase plywood sheets 1–1.5 cm thick and cut out the backings from them, focusing on the size of the steps. Then prime the surface of the stairs well, apply wood glue to the pieces of plywood (on the back side) and install them in the intended place. Be sure to check the correct position of the substrates on the staircase structure building level. The plywood should be additionally secured. Adhesive for reliable fixation of substrates to concrete steps won't be enough. Fastening plywood products is usually done with dowels. They are installed on both sides of the steps. Decide for yourself the number of hardware required, remembering that the plywood must adhere firmly to the base.

Installation and fastening of “clothing” for the stairs - we do it together

Now cut the treads and risers from your chosen wood, focusing on the dimensions of the staircase. Installation wooden products always starts from the bottom of the structure according to the following scheme:

1. Drill three holes at the bottom of the riser (at the end). Their depth is taken to be about 1.5 cm, their cross-section is no more than 0.5 cm. The holes should be located in the middle of the riser and on both sides.
2. Screw 6mm diameter bolts into the holes made. They will play the role of anchors. Their ends must protrude above the structure by about 7–8 mm.
3. Bite off (cut off with a grinder) the bolt heads.
4. Place the riser to the first step (to its end), mark on the floor the places where the anchors fall, and drill holes in the marked areas. Then you need to fill the resulting “holes” with resin (epoxy).
5. Mount the riser in the designated place. This element should be secured to the plywood substrate using liquid nails. Coat a piece of plywood with this adhesive, and then carefully place the riser on it (the screwed-in anchor bolts must be inserted into the holes that were made on the floor).

Arrangement of wooden steps

Some craftsmen fasten risers and plywood with universal self-tapping screws or suitable sized nails. This option can also be used. But such work should be carried out as carefully as possible so as not to damage the wood and fairly thin plywood products. The next step is installing the tread. To do this, you need to cut a special groove in it. It will be located at the joining point of the end (upper) of the already mounted riser and the installed tread.

Now everything is easier. Attach the next riser to the second end of the mounted tread (it must be secured with self-tapping screws). Then coat the groove and plywood backing with adhesive and install the first stage. To ensure that it grips well, it is advisable to place something heavy on it. The remaining steps are installed in a similar manner. After installing the wooden steps, be sure to fill any gaps and sand them. After sanding, you can treat the wood with stain. When it dries, apply varnish to the steps. The latter is usually used three times. Varnish the steps once, wait for the composition to dry, then repeat the procedure twice.

As you can see, there are no serious difficulties with the process of finishing a concrete staircase with wood. The main thing is to adhere to the described recommendations and correctly fasten the steps using liquid nails and other hardware (nails, screws, dowels). The result of your work will be a chicly designed concrete staircase.

Any staircase rests on a supporting beam, which can be made like a stringer or bowstring.

Bowstrings allow you to maximally adapt the staircase to the characteristics of a particular interior, thus making it elegant and modern.

When supported on strings, the steps are placed between adjacent boards, attached to them at their ends.

It turns out that if you attach the steps to the strings, then their ends, unlike installation on stringers, will be hidden, and the profile view of the stairs will be inclined and even. If you use only one string, then the second end of the step can be mounted into the wall. Stair steps can be with risers (closed) or without them (open), then either the horizontal part of the step or only the horizontal part is attached to the string.

The fencing of the staircase, which makes it reliable and convenient, is formed using balusters (vertical support posts), attached at the top to the railing, and at the bottom attached to the beam, with such frequency that the gap between adjacent posts does not exceed 15 cm. This ensures a safety margin. To protect it from cracking due to deformation under the influence of the environment, a wooden staircase should be made from the same types of wood with fencing and fastenings. Flights of stairs, landings, and railings are connected together by balusters, so they must be especially reliable.

For stairs supported by bowstrings, you can place balusters relative to the steps in any place, since they are mainly attached to the beams, and not to the steps. The easiest way is to attach the posts to the outside of the bowstring. Then it is enough to screw them on the side with screws, having previously drilled recesses for them, and covered them with wooden dowels on top for masking. You can put a beam on top of the edge using a baluster (a board slightly wider than the bowstring), which has a groove at the bottom the size of the width of the bowstring, onto which it fits on top. The racks are placed on the baluster from above, screwed from below with self-tapping screws. Then the structure is coated with wood glue and placed on the bowstring, fastened with clamps. Balusters can be placed on a beam using dowels and fastening spikes round section, drilling holes half their length in the posts and bowstring so that there is no play. All dowels are tightly inserted into the holes of the posts, fixed with glue, then the railings are fastened to the bowstring with the lower halves of the dowels.

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We fix the racks

Attaching the stands to the bowstring is possible using pins. Take tools:

• miter saw;
• drill.

Materials:

• bowstring;
• railing posts;
• standard galvanized studs (M6 thread);
• PVA glue).

Perform in stages:

1. Mark the places for installing railing posts.
2. The racks from below are cut with a saw at an angle (the angle of inclination of the beam).
3. From below, at the ends of the racks, holes are drilled (80 mm deep, drill with a diameter of 12 mm).
4. The pins are placed on glue and inserted into the holes, leaving the ends about 7 cm.
5. Holes are made in the bowstring with a drill with a diameter of 14 mm to a depth of 100 mm.
6. Balusters are inserted with pins into these holes, securing first the outer posts, then the rest.

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How to install steps

The steps themselves are attached to the strings by cutting them into a beam or mounting them on supporting elements. These are corners or bars that are screwed to the beam with screws along the line of the tread, the horizontal parts of the steps. The treads are similarly attached to the supports with screws. You can make a staircase with steps cut into a string, in which grooves of the same (2 cm) depth are made with some indentation from the top edge, then treads with risers are inserted into them. Sometimes using the simplest way, the steps are secured by screwing them into the end from the outside of the board.

A staircase will be reliable and stable if its strings are connected to the balusters. Then the beam consists of sections that are attached to the grooves of the balusters using protrusions. In this case, the loads from the upper parts of the strings are redistributed to the fencing posts, and when used, the entire staircase, including strings, steps and balusters, turns into a single, interconnected system.

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Mortise mount

To make a mortise mount to a bowstring, the following tools are used:

• manual milling machine;
• drill;
• jigsaw;
• bit;
• screwdriver.

Materials:

• screws;
• wooden slats;
• plywood sheet;
• treads and risers;
• bowstrings.

Perform actions:

1. The string is marked using a plywood tread template (or a tread with a riser), cut taking into account calculations for a march with the required slope and number of steps.
2. We draw a reference line on the bowstring, retreating 50 mm from its edge.
3. We will nail guide rails to the template, which will “slide” along the top edge of the board. Moving the template, we mark the zigzag markings of the steps so that its vertices lie on the reference line. At the top, the marking line ends at the level of the second floor landing, and at the bottom, the end of the tread corresponds to the floor.
4. Grooves are made in the bowstring (chosen at an angle to the grain line). In order to make the grooves efficiently, it is better to cut them using a stencil from plywood, making a hole in it using a drill and jigsaw, slightly larger than the width of the tread and riser and located at the same angle of inclination with the lines on the markings.
5. We place the beam on the trestle, and place the stencil on it, aligning it with the image of the first tread, and nail it.
6. Using a milling machine, moving clockwise, we select a groove to a depth of 20 mm, then working with a chisel in the corners.
7. Having completed the required number of holes, we assemble the structure by coating the ends of the steps and grooves with glue.
8. Treads with risers are fastened with screws; the steps can also be additionally attached with screws from the outside of the bowstring, deepening them and covering them with wooden plugs.

The grooves for the steps must be made with high accuracy so that the stairs do not wobble or creak. In the strings of stairs with embedded steps, under them, for strength, place (every 4-5 steps) tightening metal rods or bolts at the ends of the treads, if there are no risers, i.e. viewable stairs.