Even if you have at least once held a saw and a hammer in your hands, you are quite capable of making a simple wooden staircase to the second floor. The main thing is to strictly follow the instructions and not make a mistake in size. If you have experience in carpentry, you can cope with more complex structures.
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Basic terminology
There are many terms in carpentry that are rarely used in everyday life. Therefore, before proceeding with the manufacture of stairs, consider the name of each of the elements and understand their purpose.
Its main components include:
- bowstring: an inclined beam that runs along the entire flight of stairs, steps are attached to it from the inside

String for stairs
- stringer: another type of carrier beam, unlike a bowstring, steps are attached to it from above

The difference between a kosour and a bowstring
- filly: when attaching steps to a bowstring beam, the use of grooves or sockets thins the beams; a more reliable method is mounting on special elements of complex shape, called fillies; they are attached to wooden bars - dowels; filly can be replaced with steel corners screwed to the inside of the bowstring

rig-filly
- flight of stairs: an element assembled from several steps (there can be from 3 to 18), located between the platforms, located at an angle

Flight of stairs
- supporting pillars: used to strengthen the structure, wood can be replaced by metal

support poles
- steps for a wooden staircase to the second floor: they are divided into frieze (upper and lower), their design differs significantly from the rest, called ordinary

Steps of a wooden staircase
- tread: part of the step, located horizontally, it is on it that we step when walking

tread
- riser: detail fixed vertically tread; open stairs risers may or may not have

stair riser
- landing: a platform for connecting marches; in combined versions, it may be absent, replaced by winder (unequal in width) steps, that is, one end of it is made wider than the other

Landing
- railing: vertical railings

stair railing
- balusters: railing supports

Stair-balusters
- handrails: parts of the railing connecting the balusters from above

Handrails for stairs
- balustrades: railing from curly posts

wooden balustrade
In addition to fastenings on stringers and bowstrings, structures with bolt decks are used to save space.. Steps with the help of bolts (fasteners connecting the load-bearing wall and the handrail) are attached directly to the railing. To ensure strength, the frame is attached to the load-bearing wall.
Despite the external lightness, the structure is able to withstand the weight of several hundred kilograms. But it requires high accuracy during installation and competent calculation of nodes.

Construction on the rails

Types of stairs. Project selection

Types of stairs
There are a lot of models of wooden stairs. There are three main types:
- marching: consisting of several spans (see.Photo); in turn, they are divided into straight and rotary (with intermediate platforms) models
- screw: the steps in them are attached in a spiral to a vertical support or a curved bowstring; such structures occupy a minimum of space, they can be located even in a small area of 1.5 m in size; plus, thanks to their attractive appearance, they fit perfectly into the interior; but their design is more complex, assembly requires some experience; prices for ready-made wooden stairs to the second floor of a similar form are quite loyal, so they can be purchased ready-made
- combined: a combination of straight, circular, rotary elements; designers are able to turn an ordinary design into a real work of art
Types of stair marching structures
The shape of the stairs can be ordinary straight, rotary, have the form of the letters "G", "P" or "S". Combined structures are rounded, pyramidal, semi-, quarter-turn, in the form of a trapezoid or consist of several sections.

Basic requirements for flights of stairs
If you choose the wrong size of treads, risers, the angle of inclination of the march and the width of the structure, it will be very inconvenient to walk up the stairs and carry bulky objects along it. Therefore, when creating it, one should adhere to generally accepted standards.
According to GOST, the minimum width of the opening should be from 0.6 m. But it is advisable to make even a narrow staircase to the attic floor larger, 0.8-1.0 m wide. This size will be quite enough for one person to pass through, as well as to carry enough overall things.
Wide structures with a step length of 1250-1500 mm look more impressive. Two people can climb on them, as well as carry even bulky furniture.

Ladder width
The most important parameter is also the size of the steps. It will be uncomfortable to walk on steps that are too high, so do not make them higher than 16-19 cm. The width of the tread should be equal to the length of an adult's foot and average 30-32 cm. Slightly smaller steps can only be made for attic or basement spaces.
To maintain the balance of a person when walking, the steps are always made the same. Otherwise, each of the steps will have to grope with your foot.

Optimal step sizes
In order for a person to be able to start climbing stairs with one foot, the number of steps in each of the marches is made odd. The number of steps in one of its march can reach up to 18. More of them should not be done, otherwise the ascent may be difficult.
It is better to provide an intermediate platform for a short respite. The minimum number of steps, according to the rules, in one march is 3.

Production of a single-flight staircase
Let's start the description of the process of manufacturing a wooden staircase to the second floor with our own hands from the simplest marching structure. For most parts, a board 50-60 mm thick is sufficient, from which the required blanks are cut. Stringers or bowstrings, which will bear the main load, are made of lumber with a thickness of 60-80 mm.

wooden stairs
So that the tree does not lead over time, it is well dried. It is desirable that the humidity is up to 6%. To avoid injury, lumber should not have a large number of knots and cracks. The most wear-resistant wood species that can last for decades include oak, beech, and pine. Lumber from larch, ash, alder is considered strong enough. For the manufacture of balusters and railings, less wear-resistant linden or aspen can be used.
The wood used for the manufacture of stairs must be treated with a special impregnation, and then painted or varnished. This must be done once every few years during the entire operation.
Making a drawing
The wooden staircase to the second floor (see photo) has a lot of details, and in case of an error in the calculations, it will be simply dangerous to use it. Therefore, even experienced carpenters will never start work without preliminary calculations. You can use ready-made drawings only if the height of your ceilings and the size of the area allotted for the stairs completely match the indicated data. When designing, it is also necessary to take into account the configuration of the room, the location of doors and windows.

Staircase drawing
The simplest drawing of a marching structure is easier to make yourself. After all, it looks like a regular triangle. The most comfortable building is considered to be with tilt angle 40-45° (triangle aspect ratio should be 1:1.5). However, this option is only suitable for very large rooms. After all, it will occupy a significant area.
When designing, it must be taken into account that the distance from the last step to the ceiling is 1.85-2 m.
It is not worth making the design even flatter, otherwise it will take up more space. Going down a steep descent with an angle of more than 50-60 ° C will simply be dangerous. Therefore, if the ceilings are too high, to save space, it is better to stop on a turning staircase, for example, “G” or “P”-shaped with small, 10-12 steps long, marches.
To ensure safety, a strong railing should be provided. It is allowed to make steeper stairs only to the attic.
Basic calculations
There are special programs on the network that allow you to do all the necessary calculations automatically. However, it is better to play it safe and do it manually.

Ladder drawing
For example, the height of our ceiling is 250 cm. To this parameter it is necessary to add the thickness of the floor plus the thickness of the ceiling between 1-2 floors. We get 285 cm. We draw a triangle on a piece of paper, one of the sides of which will be 285 cm (on a scale on an expanded notebook sheet 28.5 cm).
We draw an inclined line from it at an angle of 45 ° (as we already know, this is the standard angle of inclination of the stairs). We measure the side of the triangle. It will be equal to 4.03 m.
We check our data based on the Pythagorean theorem. Determine the length of the march:
c = sin 45°/b,
According to the table of sines, sin 45 ° is 0.7071; b in our case will be equal to the height of the ceiling. Let's do the calculations:
285 / 0.7071 \u003d 403.05 cm or 4.03 m.
But in a small room, a 4.03 m long staircase will look too cumbersome. It is better to make it two-flight with a rotation angle of 180 °. The calculations will be similar. Do not forget to take into account the height of the intermediate platform.

Elements of a wooden staircase
To determine the length of the kosour (string), that is, the longest side of our triangle, we use the Pythagorean formula:
h2 +l2 = k2,
where for l the length of the march is taken (403.05 cm), and h equals the height of the stairs (250 cm). When a fractional result is obtained, the figure is rounded up to the full number. We get the length of the kosour, equal to 474.29 cm.
The width of the kosour (string) is equal to twice the height of the riser (multiply its height by 2).
Number of steps will be equal to 285/17 = 16.77 pcs. The number 17 is the height of the risers we have chosen (their height can be 16-19 cm). Since experts recommend choosing an odd number of steps, no recalculations are required in our case.
If we get an even number, we can change the calculations and make the bottom and top steps smaller in size.
Marking stringers
Assembling a ladder with stringers is much easier than with a bowstring. After all, you do not have to prepare grooves for steps. But there are subtleties in working with a kosour - after all, for each of the steps in an inclined beam, you will have to make cuts in the form of a comb of equal size.

Marking the stringer with a template
To do this, it is easier to use a template (see photo). The letter "a" in the figure means the height of the step, the letter "c" - the length of the tread. The already finished first stringer can be used as a template for cutting the second stringer. Be sure to attach both stringers to each other - they must match exactly.
At the bottom of the stringer with an indent of 7 cm from the edge, a slot is made to install it on a support.
At the top of the stairs, it will also rest on a beam. For this, a groove is also made in it. The width of the cut should be equal to the width of the stringer itself.

Stringer mount

Fastening risers to three stringers
Making bowstrings
Bowstring designs are considered more reliable. After all, if with errors in the design of the stringer, the collapse of the entire staircase is possible, then if the steps are incorrectly attached to the bowstring, only one step will collapse. Plus, the ladder on the bowstrings looks more compact. One of them can be wall-mounted and attached to a load-bearing wall. You can not do without them in the manufacture of a spiral staircase.

Preparation of grooves in bowstrings
Steps are attached to the bowstring in several ways: with the help of grooves or fillies. The fastening is reinforced with glue. Treads are attached only with glue and self-tapping screws. The grooves cut through are very convenient in operation. In this case, to replace the damaged stage, it will not be difficult to pull it out.

Fastening bars to bowstrings
Groove marking is carried out using a plywood template. First, longitudinal lines are drawn at a distance of 30-50 mm from the edge. Then the template is gradually moved along the edge of the bowstring along the guides, marking the places where the steps are attached with a pencil. The bowstrings are connected to each other by means of strands with steel or wooden wedges or screw strands.
Railing installation
The fence consists of 3 main elements:
- railing: parts designed to be gripped by hand
- balusters: vertically arranged supports connecting steps and railings
- pedestals (pillars): racks located at both ends of the railing
For ease of use, the railing is made 90-95 cm high. The railing frame is raised to a height of 10 cm. It is also necessary to take into account the height of the handrails - it is 5 cm. Thus, the height of the balusters should be 95 - (10 + 5) = 80 cm. frame.

Baluster fastening scheme
If there are small children in the house, it makes sense to install additional handrails of a small height. This is especially true when installing too high or steep stairs.
Distance between balusters 15-20 cm. You should not make a greater distance, otherwise the child may crawl through the opening and get stuck in it.
- First, cabinets are mounted on the upper and lower steps. Their diameter is always larger than the diameter of the balusters, because they have the highest load. They are made with a section of 100x100 mm
- Balusters and pedestals are mounted on wooden dowels or metal bolts with a washer. To insert dowels, holes of the desired diameter are prepared in advance. You can also use nut ties for cabinet furniture or anchor bolts for fastening
- If necessary, the parts are trimmed with a saw with fine teeth. For the installation of pillars, one 20-30 mm or several small dowels are used. You can hide the seam with a plinth
- Hollow pillars are mounted using a boss - a 15-20 cm barinserted into the cavity. It is installed on a stud screwed into a step, with additional smearing with thick glue.
- Further on the steps, the locations of the balusters are marked.
- The shape of the balusters can be any - round, square, rectangular. These decorative elements can also be combined with each other - for example, alternate square and round details.
- After attaching the balusters, they are cut down at an angle. parallel to the bowstring or stringer
- At corners and turns between marches, small handrail inserts are made. They are cut in the form of segments or radius segments. Such parts are connected in advance with the help of hidden spikes or dowels and additionally glued

Making a spiral staircase
This design is not only more compact, but also very decorative. However, its assembly is quite complicated and requires some experience. It is much easier to buy a wooden spiral staircase to the second floor.
There are several modifications of spiral staircases. They can be curvilinear, curved, located in a quarter or half a turn. But regardless of their type, the manufacturing principle is similar.

Types of spiral staircases
For their assembly, spiral bowstrings or stringers are used.. Designs on stringers look more aesthetically pleasing. To give them a curved shape, the wood fibers are pre-softened in boiling water. You can also glue together 5-7 mm blanks, which are much easier to bend.
Such designs can have a central support post or be made without it. To strengthen the stairs are often attached to the walls around the perimeter. For this, special grooves are made in the walls. Types of steps - cross-country (in the form of triangles) or run-up ("goose step"). It is better to fasten the steps on the bolts - this will help get rid of the creak. After all, a direct connection between the wooden parts in this case will be absent.
Risers in such structures are rarely used. The width of the tread in the center is 20 cm. To calculate the number of steps, the height of the structure is divided by the height of the step. Passage height - 2 m.

Drawing of a spiral staircase
The central support post is best made of metal. The diameter of such a pipe is at least 50 mm. Steps to it are mounted by welding or by means of couplings and bolts. The pipe is bolted to the floor. To concrete - with the help of concreted stretch marks. You can also make a rack to which steps are attached from concrete or brick.

Fastening steps to a support post
Calculations for a spiral staircase are quite complex, so it is much easier to use an online calculator..
All you need to do is enter the following information: the height of the structure, the required angle of rotation, the diameter of the wooden staircase to the second floor and the approximate number of steps. You can change their number by choosing the angle of rotation.
Detailed instructions for assembling the simplest spiral staircase can be obtained by watching the following video:
VIDEO: Installation of the UTAH spiral staircase
Wooden staircase to the second floor: types, device, step-by-step instructions for making your own hands (100+ Photos & Videos) + Reviews
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