Things You'll Need:
- Tools- Framing square, square nuts, saw, tape measure, string, hammer
- sawhorses
- Glue
- 3- 2x12x14 (14' will work for 9' walls or less)
- 2- 2x4s
- 1- 3/4 OSB
- 16-D nails
- screws (for treads)
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Step 1
Stairs can get very tricky if having different turns in the stair case on your way down and or different levels. what I will teach you is how to build a basic set of stairs. Just like with any home building project planning goes a long way, you need to work smarter not harder. A big mistake a lot of people and or even contractors make is not having all the needed materials on site, then they find themselves running back to there local lumber store to get the project started and or finished causing a lot of unnecessary time wasted. Making a material list pre construction can cut project time in half if accurately put together. Sometimes It can be worth the little bit of money you would send having a material list made for you and these days it couldn't get more simple. If having a project material list made for your project is something you think would be best for you. A simple to use solution would be go to FreelanceConstructionEstimator.net you would get to sign up for free as a project manager then post your project online then within hrs start getting free quotes for the cost for making your design and or material list from construction pros worldwide.
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Step 2
Understanding your rise and run, when figuring out what size stair treads and risers to use you will need two measurements, 1st this one is almost optional depending how much room you have from where your stair hole starts to where you want your stairs to end, Lets say space is a factor and your stair hole doesn't start at a wall. Get yourself a string and tie a little nut or bolt to it then drop it down from the stair hole where the stairs need to start and get yourself a mark made on the floor. For this example we will say that your measurement from where your stairs start to where they need to end is 10'10" 2nd we will need the rise that is the measurement from the top of your floor to your basement floor and our example measurement will be 9'. Now that you got your two measurements the easy way to figure out your numbers that you will need for your risers is, By default your 8' rise should have 13 risers, 9' rise should have 14 risers and 10' rise should have 16 risers. Now the example has 9' rise convert that into inches 108" and divide it by 14, 108/14= 7-5/8. Now lets figure out your run (standard tread run is 10") since we know that we have 14 risers we now know that we have 13 runs or stair treads. (you always have one less tread then you do rise) Take your measurement ours is 10'10" convert that into inches 130" and divide it by 13, 130/13= 10" now that you know your rise and run numbers your all set to start your layout
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Step 3
Layout, one of the two biggest mistakes people make when building stairs is not taking the time needed for this part. You will need a framing square and square nuts that are sold for this reason only, (square nuts cost about $5.00 and screw onto your framing square) Lay your 2x12 (stair stringer) out on a set of sawhorses figure out the crown of your board, (no boards you buy will be perfectly straight the crown is the curve in the board) Make sure that the crow is facing you, set your framing square on the 2x12 then put your square nuts on it and adjust the framing square and square nuts till you can see your measurements for the rise and run right at the end of your board. Tips, put the square nuts on the outside of the framing square and use the inside to adjust to your rise and run measurements, Make sure that your rise and run numbers end right at the end of your board, and when starting to layout all your stairs do it slowly, do it so that very line touches the other perfectly, also your 1st rise isn't on your 2x12 it is that 1st step you take walking down to your basement, that rise will be made out of 3/4" OSB and nailed to the 2x12 (stair stringer) to the main floor that we want the stairs to be installed on. Now you have 14 stair layout marks on your 2x12, go to the 1st stair on the board take your rise line and run it straight back to what would be the bottom side of the stairs. After you get that line in we need to come in 3/4" for the 3/4 OSB that we use to install the stairs, make a new line that will be your cut line. Then you would count down your number of treads or runs we have 13, starting off of the 1st stair we just set up we would count down 13 treads then use the line that's there that would be your next rise and make a line straight Back, Off that line you want to come in 1-1/2 and make a cut mark. The 1-1/2 is the thickness of the treads we are using, (Standard is 1-1/2) Follow them tips above and your chance for success will be very high.
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Step 4
Cutting your stairs out, this is the 2nd big mistake people make when building there own stair case, when you cut your layout lines touch the line don't cut the line! Cutting out the 3/4" you need for your 1st riser you would follow these steps, 1st get the width we will say ours is 3', then you want to add up your 7-5/8"(or your rise)+1-1/2+15=24-1/8", so we would cut a 3'x24-1/8" riser out of 3/4" OSB. Now that your 3/4" OSB is cut there is a little trick that will help the hole job finish off right. Whatever your rise is add a 1-1/2" to it and our number then is 9-1/8, then have the 3' part of the 3/4" facing you pull out away from yourself and make the 9-1/8 mark on both sides then get a line going across on the side of the line that is still in front of you write on it rise, and on the other side stringer, use that line as the marks for where your stair stringers start.
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Step 5
Building your stair case tips, before cutting your stair risers and treads measure the width of the opening and take off 3" from your measurement then cut your risers and treads to that number. To make up for the 3" we just took off the stair case, we will run a 2x4 down the bottom side of our stairs this 1-1/2 will make your life a lot easier when starting the finish work in the hall going down your stairs case, after drywall, base board, and carpet you have a perfect fit and you shouldn't run into any finish problems. When framing the stair case start with nailing in your risers one at the top and one at the bottom then repeat till all are in. Don't nail your stair treads on till after the stair stringers are installed unless you want to make them 3x heavier then what they could be.
