Building stairs

[nvrenuf]

I'm planning a shop build and want a loft. I'm trying to figure out where to put the stairs but I'm unsure how long an area they will cover, is there a standard formula for building stairs? The loft will be 8' above the slab, how far/long should the stairs extend?

 

[rburke65]

Well there is a standard for the "rise", or the height of the step, and the "run", or the lenght or the tread. Risers are -+ 7", and treads are usually 10". Goolle and a carpenters square are your friend. Lots of info there.

 

[stafford]

Divide your height from floor to floor by the number 7. What ever the answer is, say 13.73, You can't have 13.73 risers, so, take that number, 13, because that is the number of risers you will have and then divide your height by 13. it'll come out something like 7.25 or whatever it works out to be. this will be your riser height. I personally like an 11" tread, it walks nicely with a riser in the 7" range or there abouts. If you've got 13 risers you'll also have 13 treads. 13" x 11" = 143. You're answer wiill be different but you can use this example to figure out what you'll have. If you're tight on space you may have to build a landing and turn the steps another direction. build your landing on some multiple of the riser height that you've figured out beforehand. sounds complicated but it's really not.

 

[wuboring]

i framed up a 14x14 room in my shop, the downstairs is a tool room and houses my geothermal infloor heat and the upstairs is a bathroom and office. I put said room in a corner so I only had to build two walls, and I put the staircase going up the side of one of the outside walls, and where the stairs dump out on the ground is right by the door to enter the downstairs part of the room.

My loft height is also 8' .. i just took 2 2x12"x12' boards and then spaced 11 precut stair treds 7" apart to make the staircase. worked great if you want I can get some photos

 

[atch]

take the above information as a starting point.

make your tread width plus riser height equal to 17" (or close to it).

below is a copy from a spreadsheet i just created (formatting totally screwed the column widths):

total rise = 96 inches

[# steps ] [rise (in inches)] [run (in inches)] [total run (in inches ) =]

7 13.71 3.29 23

8 12.00 5.00 40

9 10.67 6.33 57

10 9.60 7.40 74

11 8.73 8.27 91

12 8.00 9.00 108

13 7.38 9.62 125

14 6.86 10.14 142

15 6.40 10.60 159

16 6.00 11.00 176

17 5.65 11.35 193

18 5.33 11.67 210

e-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy of the XL file. you input the total rise and it figures out the rest. the 17" is a number that somehow makes stairs comfortable to walk on for the "average" person. if you're taller you can increase it or if you're shorter you might want to decrease it a bit. however, for general use you probably should stay with 17.

 

[Morrisman]

The above is for general use, but you can make stairs any size you are comfortable with. If you are a shorty, like my wife, just 5' tall, you may want smaller risers, or if you are a giant you might feel better with taller steps. If you are athletic a short tread can work, but if you are 'in the autumn of your years' you might feel better with a longer more stable tread that comfortably takes your whole foot.

 

[jdub63]

Just find a 8ft set of roll around stairs and use them. I found mine on CL for $100, but they're 12ft. No math required. I also have them on a pivot so I can raise them out of the way...

 

[rburke65]

A great idea, and it takes up no floor space when not in use.

 

[incurablescrounge]

Stafford has the correct formula. General guide is the tread width (flat part you step on) plus riser heighth (vertical) should add up to 17-19". E.X. 10" + 7", not 11" + 9". The closer to 18" the most comfortable to climb. Steep stairs with tall riser like a ladder or short rise like a ramp.

 

[John in OH]

Divide your height from floor to floor by the number 7. What ever the answer is, say 13.73, You can't have 13.73 risers, so, take that number, 13, because that is the number of risers you will have and then divide your height by 13. it'll come out something like 7.25 or whatever it works out to be. this will be your riser height. I personally like an 11" tread, it walks nicely with a riser in the 7" range or there abouts. If you've got 13 risers you'll also have 13 treads. 13" x 11" = 143. You're answer wiill be different but you can use this example to figure out what you'll have. If you're tight on space you may have to build a landing and turn the steps another direction. build your landing on some multiple of the riser height that you've figured out beforehand. sounds complicated but it's really not.

+1 for what Stafford says above. He's also correct, it isn't too complicated ... but from experience I know it sure is easy to screw up!! Definitely measure twice and don't do any fast thinkin' !

 

[NUTTSGT]

Do you have a good framing square? If not, now is the time to buy one.

 

[ddawg16]

If your worried about getting it right....and how much space it takes up....here is an option....

 

[richtersrodz]

I had to totally tear out the previous stairs in my home due to a "contractor" and his
sloppy work. Every step was a different size and height. If you came down the stairs
too fast, you would lose your footing and fall. I did a lot of internet searching, but
finally built these. I had to go off of what was started, so I made all of my cuts, with a
saw, while the 2x12's were still in place. Mine came out to be right at 10" steps with
about 9" risers. I wouldn't push it any further than that. That is pushing the limit of
what is comfortable. The only thing that I wish I would have done was to add another
2x12 in the middle for support. They do give just a bit, when you walk up and down them
due to no center support.

 

[richtersrodz]

Oops.. forgot to attach my picture..

 

[ishiboo]

The above is for general use, but you can make stairs any size you are comfortable with. If you are a shorty, like my wife, just 5' tall, you may want smaller risers, or if you are a giant you might feel better with taller steps. If you are athletic a short tread can work, but if you are 'in the autumn of your years' you might feel better with a longer more stable tread that comfortably takes your whole foot.

I'd go with a formula.

I've built stairs by eye which looked right, but the "feel" was just not there going up/down. It was for a small storage mezzane, and even with infrequent use it seemed to be a pain - of course when you're moving boxes, having to think about navigating stairs is the last thing.

 

[rburke65]

I have bought a short, 3 step stringer a H Depot and used that as a pattern!

 

[327-365hp]

I'm planning a shop build and want a loft. I'm trying to figure out where to put the stairs but I'm unsure how long an area they will cover, is there a standard formula for building stairs? The loft will be 8' above the slab, how far/long should the stairs extend?

Always measure finished floor to finished floor. So if your loft floor is 96" from your concrete garage floor. It will be either 13 drops (12 steps) at a 7.38" rise. The run would be 12 steps times an 11" tread =132" Or if you went 14 drops (13 steps) at 6.85" rise you would need 12 feet of run. Check with the building inspector. You might need a landing for anything over 13 steps and thats another can of worms

 

[Justanoldguy]

My formula for stair is 2 x riser + 1 tread = 24"
eg. 7" + 7" + 10" = 24"
24" is the average step when walking.

 

[Morrisman]

If your worried about getting it right....and how much space it takes up....here is an option....

Cool design.

I've planned these out roughly on Sketchup for the house we are building, as they have to go in a limited space:

Designing straight stairs can't be hard, surely, as you could do this sort of thing to scale on a piece of paper and a wooden rule. Carry a tape measure with you when you are out, measure some stairs you are comfortable walking up, copy the sizes as closely as you can.

This one is trying to squeeze everything into a certain sized package. The lower stairs are 10" tread, 8" rise.

This is a swing-up stair I made in my old shop, where room was really limited:

Down:

Up:
The treads were routered into the side rails.

 

[formek]

I like that! are you going to Finnish with sheet rock or something or leave it.

 

[Zeke]

You can cut 10" treads and install 2) 2x6's (a 2x12 will cup or split) and have a comfortable overhang at each step. This will shorten your run by almost 2 feet. Shorter the run the steeper the stair angle. Anything up to an 8" rise is allowable, but it's a tougher climb and when going down, less tread shows to the person on the stairs. That's the other rule: the less treads, the steeper the climb angle.

Don't forget to subtract the thickness of your tread material on the first tread cut or your first step will be taller than the rest. I've seen that mistake too often.

 

[slimpickins]

You need a set of square gauge clamps like this. They make ALL the difference in making a decent set of stairs.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=41714&cat=1,42936,42944&ap=1

Here's another site with some good pics:
http://jself.com/stair/straight/Stringer.htm

 

[texmln]

I put a set of stairs in my metal building that reached the 10' deck of the room I built. I looked everywhere for quick, easy and inexpensive prefab stringers and finally found them at fast-stairs.com. I've been really happy with them and think they are worth considering since they are so simple to set up and easily adjustable. You absolutely don't have to get them perfect like you do when you cut wood stringers.

 

[deathbound]

There should not be more than 3/8" (correct me if I'm wrong) variance between the shortest/tallest riser & depth of each tread. Handrails should be 34"-37" measured vertically from the nosing to the center of the handrail with 1-1/2" clearance between the wall & handrail. Guardrails 42" vertically to center.

 

[blue dog]

Stafford has the correct formula. General guide is the tread width (flat part you step on) plus riser heighth (vertical) should add up to 17-19". E.X. 10" + 7", not 11" + 9". The closer to 18" the most comfortable to climb. Steep stairs with tall riser like a ladder or short rise like a ramp.

spot on

 

[blue dog]

There should not be more than 3/8" (correct me if I'm wrong) variance between the shortest/tallest riser & depth of each tread. Handrails should be 34"-37" measured vertically from the nosing to the center of the handrail with 1-1/2" clearance between the wall & handrail. Guardrails 42" vertically to center.

This is spot on as well.