When planning the house that consists of two or more floors, you should calculate and design the location of the staircase in advance. This structure is not only a necessity. It can be either a decoration of the building or its problem. You should consider carefully how you will fasten the steps: to the closed or open string.

Fastening to the stringers

Strings are inclined beams considered bearing. The fastening of steps to the string can be realized between two beams or between the string and the wall. The treads of such staircases are always hidden between the bearing elements, and their ends are not visible.

When designing the structure of an angular or U-shaped type, laying the steps on the beams becomes a very problematic task. This is because in danced (without landing) stairs, every stringer can have its own size and be calculated separately for every step. This complicates the task of fastening. Angular flight with landing has the boards of the same length, which simplifies the work during installation.

Fastening of tread to the bowstring

It can be made in two ways:

  1. The first way is the mortise steps. To build them, you should cut the even grooves in the beams (on a lathe or by hand) insert the treads into them. For the object without risers, you can cut the groves only for the step. When mounting the staircase with risers, you should cut separate vertical grooves for them. To install the structure with inserted steps, you should assemble separate flights and then install them one after another.
  2. Another way is realized with the help of sliding steps, inserted into the groove of the stringer with open ends. At that, a small part of thread protrudes beyond the stringer. You can make such a structure as follows: 1) install the stringer; 2) insert the steps into the slots.

Installation of mortise steps requires certain skills and accuracy. If the groove hasn’t been cut precisely and doesn’t correspond to the required size, you will have to insert the wedges into it (under the tread). The objects with mortise steps are less strong than the sliding models. Therefore, it is better to strengthen the stringer with additional threaded steel rods. These rods can be hidden by placing their bolts inside the step. You can also mount the treads on wooden bars or metal squares.

You should pay attention to details at the design stage to avoid potential problems during installation.

 

Fastening of tread to the stringer

Before deciding how to fasten the steps to the stringer, you need to choose the manufacturing material (wood or metal). But the main thing is that the staircase fits into the interior of the building. The fastening of the steps to the stringer is carried out by laying them on the bearing blocks. At that, the edge of the tread is completely open. The structures mounted in this way are more common.

Pine is suitable for the saddled stairs, as it has the best price and weight. You can choose an oak board for its strength, but it is more expensive. The main thing is that all parts of the wooden staircase are made of one sort of wood. It is desirable to carefully calculate the number of steps, their weight, the width of every flight, and the general staircase lift.

Metal saddled stairs are more popular due to their diversity. Such elements make the whole structure easier and help to save space. They are stronger and more durable than their wooden analogs. Another advantage is that they can be “broken” and straight. Their lightness is often achieved by the absence of risers.

When deciding to fasten the steps to the metal stringer with your own hands, you need to have some skills of welding.

 

Mounting of wooden steps to such structure obliges the installation of metal frames, attached to the bar, in which every step is laid.


Fastening the balusters 

Balusters are vertical bars, standing in the fence of the staircase at a small distance from each other. Figured and carved types of these elements are used in architectural design. They are the decoration of the whole object and increase its durability.

Fastening to the steps can be realized in a number of ways.

Balusters of the saddled stairs are installed on the beams. You can fasten them either to the external lateral side (but in this case, the bolts will be visible) or to the upper edge. To make the staircase look aesthetic and hide the fasteners, you should drill the holes in the beams, insert the rod, and close it with a spine key.

Fastening to the upper edge can be made in two ways:

  1. Cut the uniform holes in the beam and bar. Then insert the dowel into these holes. After gluing the dowel, you should wedge it tightly into the column, and then into the beam. This method requires preliminary preparation of balusters and bars but guarantees a beautiful and neat appearance of the whole structure.
  2. Fastening of columns to the stringer with the use of the board under the balusters. This board is a bit larger than the basis and has a hole.
  3. Cut the baluster at an angle corresponding to the slope of construction, and screw it to the board under the baluster using tapping screw. The latter must be twisted from the inside of the flush so that the cap is drowned in wood. The whole structure is assembled separately and then fixed to the carrying base with glue.

Milling works are required for the installation of balusters on the bowstring, as manual cutting takes long.

 

Fastening of columns to the steps

Fastening directly to the steps is possible if you install the treads on the stringers. This is very easy to make- for both wood and metal. You can see the process of fastening the balusters to the steps on the video. First of all, you need to decide how many columns will be and at what distance from each other. Lower and upper slats must be of larger size to increase the strength of the whole staircase.

To make the fastening safe, they should be set on the rods, screwed with a glue into holes in the tread and bar. As fixing the baluster to the metal step is very simple, this type of staircase construction is the most common.

 

For better clarity, you should watch a thematic video about the construction of wooden stairs. If this article was useful, please leave your comments or give us a grade.