How to calculate the staircase rise

Although many people believe that building stairs is a job that only specialized people can do, this is wrong. Building stairs with your own hands can be quite funny and exciting if you have a detailed plan and some correct instructions you can follow.  This way you can add a personalized touch to your house.

Read further on to find out how you can build stairs for your house with your own hands.

Base

A staircase is usually made of three elements that are the riser, the thread and the stringer. The riser is the height of each stair, the thread represents the width of the stair and the stringer is the support of the staircase. It is to be noticed that each staircase presents two stringers placed on both sides of the staircase.

Measure

Before you start building your stairs, you need to make a detailed plan, which must include some precise measurements. Taking measurements is a job that requires a lot of attention and care. Any mistake can lead to an improper result. The first thing you need to do is to determine the vertical height of your staircase, meaning the distance between the bottom and the top floor. Then, measure the horizontal length of the stairway, meaning the distance from the edge of the top floor to the end of the staircase.

Calculate

After you finish with the measurements, you need to calculate the entire rise. You can do this by putting a 2×4 plank on the edge of the top corner. Measure the distance between the bottom part of the plank to the ground level.

To find out the number of stairs you have to build, divide the total rise with a riser height you have established in advance. Standard risers measure seven inches in height. Round up the result to see how many stairs you have to build.

In addition, you have to calculate the total run of the staircase. Because usually the first step is represented by the ground and the floor, take it in account when calculating the total treads you need. Divide the total riser height with the number of risers to find out the precise height of the risers. Usually, the width of a tread measures about eleven inches.

Put the stairs in place:

Put the stairs on the stringers with the help of a framing square. Make a mark every eleven inches on the longer arm and every ten inches on the shorter one to see the rise and run calculations. After you put the run and the riser in place, cut on the length side of the marked spots with the help of a circular saw. Finnish the cutting with a hand saw. Build the other stringers following the same steps. Put the first stringer in place and fix it by lag screwing throughout the brace into the rim of the structural support. Do the same for all the other stringers. You can also make holes for each screw in advance.

After you have put the stringers in place, you have to cut the treads following the calculations you have made before. Use screws or nails to fix the treads down into the stringer. Do not forget to leave a distance measuring three quarter of a inch as a drip-edge for the treads. This way the rain will not fall on the stringers. That was all!

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