Stairs with bowstrings are often installed in multi-level apartments and private houses. This traditional staircase design is different from other options high level reliability, and, in some cases, attractive appearance. For experienced craftsmen installing a ladder on bowstrings does not pose any problem.

But, when independent execution work, you will need photo or video installation instructions to minimize the number of questions that arise during installation. In addition, you should study in advance all the features of fastening and marking, as well as the basic rules for their arrangement. Consider not only the essence of the concept, but also existing species structures, as well as possible technologies their own production.

Types of stairs

Bowstrings are the side elements of a staircase structure that hold the steps and act as limiters. It is worth noting that in in different forms bowstrings are present in almost all designs.

What is a bowstring and how is it different from a stringer?

Variety of models:

1. Attached. The simplest option of all. Most often used on summer cottages. It includes only a few elements: crossbars (steps) and side strings. Anyone can make such a staircase with their own hands. Video instructions recorded by experienced craftsmen can help with this.
2. Folding attic. This model consists of two sections. In this case, the bowstring is folded. As connecting elements hinges, carriages and other fasteners are used.
3. Screw. One of the most complex structures. The bowstring is located on the outside. Such models made of wood look very impressive.
4. Marching. The most common design. The string in this case forms the march and holds the steps.

Step mounting options

From the outside it may seem that ladders on bowstrings look monotonous and uncomplicated. But this is far from true. There are a huge number of options for their design.

In order to pick up best option settings should be studied possible ways installation of steps:

1. Sliding steps are not simply inserted into pre-made grooves, but are carefully pushed into them. The cut-out recess should not only have an entrance for the steps, but also an exit to the outside. In these structures, the treads can be dismantled without dismantling the entire staircase structure.
2. Mortise steps are a standard method of connecting treads and risers. A hole is pre-cut in the bowstring, into which a step is then hammered. In order to make grooves, you should use hand router. If you don’t have a router, you can take a chisel and a hammer. But this method takes a lot of time. After the steps are secured to one string, you should fill the second element from the other edge.
3. Application of corners. This method involves the use of additional elements. In order not to waste time cutting out corners, you can attach metal corners to the sides. Exactly for these additional elements In the future, treads will be attached.

Bowstring for stairs: features of fastening and marking

If you plan to build a staircase with mortise steps, then the grooves are made on the inside. Their depth should be between 1.5 and 2 centimeters. After this, risers and treads are carefully inserted into the grooves. When working on your own, remember that the bowstring must have cutouts with smooth edges and the same depth.

Be careful about marking the relative position of the grooves on the two support beams. If it is uneven, then unexpected distortion of the staircase structure may occur in the future.

In such cases, experts recommend making special templates cut from a thin sheet of plywood. To prevent the string from turning into a stringer, the guides should be attached at a distance of 50 millimeters from a pre-marked line.

The markings for the grooves are as follows. On inside longitudinal lines are drawn on the beams. They should retreat 50 millimeters from the edges of the beam. If such a need arises, this distance can be reduced to 30 millimeters. Next ready-made template moves neatly along the edge using guides. The location of the steps is marked with a pencil.

Remember that when applying markings to the string of one ladder structure, the location of the grooves must be completely mirror-like.

The lower and upper parts of the support beams must completely coincide with the floor levels. But whether this coincidence will be vertical or horizontal depends directly on the type of structure.

Experts who know all the features of fastening and marking do not advise quickly sawing off the excess ends. It is quite possible that they will be needed for insertion into a special support beam during final installation.

In order to get a reliable and very durable ladder on bowstrings, fastening the side elements is best done using rods. This can be a wooden tie on bolts or wedges, as well as a metal tie on nuts. Strands are installed at both edges of the staircase and in its central part. These elements help to avoid unwanted spreading of the sidewalls, which occurs when walking on steps and when high load on them.

DIY installation instructions

Determine the height of the structure, its dimensions and the number of steps. To make a bowstring, take a wooden stick of the required thickness. As noted above, cutting grooves should be done using templates.

When cutting grooves yourself, you should copy the marks from the template onto the workpiece. The wood is processed with a special milling cutter with a nozzle of the required diameter.

After this, fix the internal string at the construction site and connect all the elements of the steps. When the work is finished, press the elements of the steps on the other side with another bowstring and carefully tamp them down. With the help of glue and nails you can make the structure more durable and reliable in use.

By installing tie rods, you can prevent unwanted loosening of the staircase structure. The rods are installed at the rate of one per 5 steps.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that constructing a string for a ladder with your own hands is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. Before you use staircase structure intended for use, you should ensure the strength of the fastenings.

If necessary, additional vertical support elements can be installed. Metal tubes or wooden beams are suitable for this purpose. The models of stairs that are mounted to the ceilings with the help of hangers look interesting.

As for the fences, they can be installed both on the string and on the steps themselves. It all depends on your aesthetic preferences. If you are not sure that you can handle the work yourself, even with the help of video instructions, then it is better to contact a specialist. The Ladder Master company employs craftsmen who will complete all tasks assigned to them not only quickly, but also efficiently. Such a string for stairs is guaranteed to be reliable, durable and aesthetically attractive.

Fastening stair steps depends on the design of the staircase and the materials used, the covering of steps and load-bearing elements, the planned exterior finishing. Let's consider possible options fastenings wooden steps in wooden stairs.

There are two main designs of wooden stairs: on stringers and with bowstrings. For quick understanding: stringers- these are the load-bearing elements on which steps are attached on top, A bowstrings mounted on the sides of the stairs and steps are attached between them or between the bowstring and the wall.

Attaching the steps of a wooden staircase to a stringer

In stringer stairs, the stringer absorbs the entire load-bearing load, so fastening the feet solves two problems - fixing the steps from displacement and vibration, as well as hiding the fact of fastening in open, visible structures.

The most simple option installation consists of drilling the steps and fastening them through with powerful self-tapping screws to the stringer. Self-tapping screws are used with decorative heads, screwed in, or the surface of the step is drilled to a shallow depth with a large drill and a decorative polymer plug is installed. This type of fastening is often used in DIY stairs. It is worth paying attention to the fact that steps should only be drilled feather drills at high drill speeds, which will prevent chipping at the mouth of the hole.

IN open stairs Without covering, the steps can be installed in a hidden way using cotter pins. In this case, the tread and stringer are drilled exactly to fit the diameter of the cotter pins and installed with glue. This option is not suitable for dynamically moving stairs with a stringer of small cross-section or steps that are too wide, which will sag under load and destroy the adhesive joint.

In staircases under the cladding, the step can be secured through a block or corner made of metal, fixed in in the right places the inner part of the stringer. The photo shows a fastening option using a tie rod with a threaded tread and a sheet (for example, plywood) hemmed underneath.

Attaching the steps of a wooden staircase to a bowstring

The main methods of attaching steps to strings:

1. a support block for the step, secured to a string;
2. a metal bracket for the step, screwed through with self-tapping screws or bolts to the string;
3. an overlay or bump on the inside of the bowstring, according to the principle of a zigzag stringer;
4. selection of grooves for steps in the string (exactly in size or for the option of wedging the tread and riser during assembly).

The first two options for attaching steps to a ladder on bowstrings can be considered the most cost-effective and often used in self-production stairs However, for greater security, the third and fourth options are preferable.

Bars, brackets or overlays can only be used in the construction of staircases for sheathing. In transparent, unlined stairs, you need to hide the fact of the fasteners and the grooves do an excellent job of this task, in addition, transferring the entire load from the steps directly to the string.

Attaching the steps of a wooden staircase to the wall

In some cases, it may be more practical to secure one side of the tread to a stringer or bowstring, and fasten the other side directly to the wall. This is the most popular fastening method for staircases on rails, which have become fashionable today, when the steps are pulled together on one side metal studs, bushings (bolts) and a handrail with racks into a single whole, and the second side is mounted on the wall.

Attaching wooden steps to the wall can be done by embedding them into the wall (this is labor-intensive and depends on the thickness of the supporting wall + if the depth of embedding is shallow, the niche will gradually break when walking up the stairs) or by laying it on a supporting element (block, corner, decorative turned element) , directly fixed to the wall. Typically, anchors, embedded studs or powerful self-tapping screws are used for fastening if the wall is wooden.

In bolted staircases, an option is used when a corner of the shelf at the bottom with the dimensions of the end of the step is attached to the wall with anchors. In the steps, the bottom plane is milled to the depth and width of the corner flange + holes are drilled from the end using a feather drill to hide the anchor nuts.

Still, the most beautiful staircases are obtained by specialists in their field who have gained experience on real objects and who understand how many little things arise during their installation and operation during life. Excellent examples of wooden stairs can be viewed on the website http://lestnichnik.com.ua/, and if someone wishes, they can order such a staircase for their home. These are high-quality works of art, combining graceful chiseled balusters, carved decorative ornaments support pillars and handrail finishing, high-quality monolithic tinting with a soft coating of varnish, conveying all the delights of the natural structure of wood.

Every house has stairs. You can build them yourself. You just need to know well how to attach the steps wooden stairs to the stringer and to the bowstring. There are several assembly methods. Some of them require the actions of a master, others are done with your own hands.

Figure 1. Bowstring and riser markings.

Ladder on bowstrings

Most of the stairs in houses are assembled on bowstrings. This supporting structure flight of stairs. It is a beam with cutouts made on its inner side. Steps are inserted into these cutouts. This method is considered to be classic. Bowstrings can be made from different materials. Most often, wood, metal, and reinforced concrete are used to make them. The types of wood used are coniferous and deciduous:

• pine;
• cedar;
• fir;
• larch;
• cherry;
• maple;

Conifers are very good, but they produce resin. It prevents the paint from adhering properly. It is preferable to use hardwoods wood.

The dimensions of the finished bowstring always depend on how long the flight of stairs is planned to be. For a staircase 90 cm wide, it is recommended to make a string from a board 40-50 mm thick and 30 cm wide. The cutouts for the nests are made approximately 20 mm deep. A minimum string width of 275 mm is allowed. The blank for the bowstring needs to be marked (Fig. No. 1). There are 2 main methods for marking:

• using a ruler and square (Fig. No. 2);
• using a special template.

Figure 2. The principle of marking steps with a square.

When marking, consider the following:

• the slope of the march should be 30-40°;
• depth of steps - at least 30 cm;
• the height of each step is 15-20 cm.

To make bowstrings and steps you need to prepare the following:

• roulette;
• square;
• ruler;
• level;
• electric jigsaw;
• drill;
• milling machine (manual);
• hammer;
• bit;
• screwdriver;
• wooden slats or metal corners.

Figure 3. Options for fastening steps.

After marking the steps of the stairs using milling machine grooves are cut. Next, the structure is attached to the location of the stairs. This can be done in the following ways:

• install the racks in the holes made in the floor;
• attach the posts with anchor bolts.

Next comes the process of attaching the steps to the string. The steps and risers, cut to size and processed, are inserted into grooves or screwed to wooden blocks or to metal corners (Fig. No. 3). These parts must be made with great precision, otherwise the finished structure will become loose and creak. The strings themselves are fastened to each other with ties in 4-5 steps.

Fastening the steps

You can attach wooden steps to metal or to wooden stringer. This is a sawtooth-shaped support beam. The wooden parts are attached to its protrusions. Stringers are installed 1 or more. The steps are attached to them using screws, the caps of which are closed on top with small wooden plugs. It is better to cut the steps from oak or pine. There are usually no risers, which gives the structure a lighter appearance. To assemble a ladder, you need to have skills in working with a welding machine.

Final finishing of the stairs

The fencing makes the stairs reliable. It consists of balusters and railings. The gap between them should not exceed 15-20 cm. They can be secured with outside bowstrings using screws. Dowels, tenons, and pins can be used to fasten balusters. For studs, a hole with a diameter of 12 mm is drilled at the end of the product to a depth of 80 mm. The studs are placed on glue, leaving approximately 7 cm outside. You need to drill holes in the bowstring to a depth of approximately 100 mm. First, install the outer columns. The twine is pulled between them and the remaining balusters are placed. All that remains is to attach the railing, made from a block 8-10 cm wide.

The entire structure is covered protective layer varnish or paint. Anti-slip materials can be laid on the steps. They may be the following:

• carpet;
• linoleum;
• animal skins;
• plywood;
• cork mats;
• polyurethane;
• rubber;
• rubber;
• other materials.

Conclusion on the topic

It is simply impossible to live without stairs in a private house.

Wooden structures have become especially popular.

This video shows one of the methods for installing steps.

Wood is environmentally friendly clean materials. Its service life is measured in several decades. Finished product easy to repair. You can also make it yourself. You just need to strictly adhere to all sizes. All parts must be well dried and soaked in antiseptics. The finished product is coated with varnish or paint. To prevent your feet from slipping on the steps, you can cover them with anti-slip materials.

Wooden stairs in the house are a very attractive element that can decorate or, conversely, spoil the appearance of any room. Beautiful carved stairs, like the one shown in the title photo, are the prerogative of professional assemblers and carvers, but this does not mean that simple designs, assembled with your own hands cannot look impressive.

In today's article we will look at the installation of wooden stairs step by step. This material will allow you to assemble a high-quality structure with your own hands, without spending a lot of money on hiring specialists and materials.

The first thing any builder faces is the design of future work. In the case of building a staircase, you will need to create an actual drawing to scale.

It is a drawing, not sketches on a piece of cardboard or a pack of cigarettes. This approach will allow you to avoid common errors in the manufacture and assembly of parts.

Terminological dictionary

Before starting the story about installing a wooden staircase with your own hands, let's plunge a little into the world of terms and concepts.

Our task is to study the main parts that make up a wooden staircase:

• Bowstring– a support beam that stands at a slope and holds the steps. A special feature of the bowstrings is that the steps are inserted into grooves sawn into the body of the board. In the diagram, this detail is shown on the left side of the viewer.
• Kosour– the purpose is similar to a bowstring, but there is a difference in the structure of the part. If in the first case the steps were installed in grooves, then here the support is cut right on the top edge of the board, and the steps are laid on top. In the diagram it is located on the right.
• Tread or step- This is the part of the structure that a moving person steps on. You can also hear the name – step cover.
• Riser– this is the side decorative part of the step, installed vertically. It is not a load-bearing element, so some designs do not provide for its presence at all.
• Support pillars– there are starting, finishing and turning posts. They are the main load-bearing element for stair railing. Rotary ones are installed if the structure has more than one flight.
• Handrails- This is a holder on which a person leans when ascending or descending.
• Balusters– vertical elements that form the filling of the railing. Unlike pillars, they are not supports; however, when firmly fixed, they significantly enhance the strength of the entire fence structure.
• Ordinary stage– a standard flight step with fixed dimensions.
• Frieze steps– the first and last stages of the flight. They may differ from ordinary ones in size and shape, compensating for the remainder of the distance when dividing the span height by the number of steps.

Explanation! This means that the distance between the floors of the first and second floors is rarely a multiple of the height of the steps. Because of this, the lower step has different dimensions. And the upper frieze step extends into the same plane as the upper platform, and depending on the fastening of the stringer, it can be completely retracted or protruding, with a larger tread.

The designs that we will look at today are called marching ones. They are characterized by the presence of straight, level sections of ascent. Depending on the height of the span, the space for the stairs and the number of floors, single-flight and multi-flight structures are arranged.

Multi-flight stairs must have a rotation: 90, 180 or 270 degrees. The degree of rotation, again, depends on the space in which the staircase is located. In the first two options the number of marches is two, and in the last – three.

The more turns, the more compact the staircase can be made. To connect the marches, intermediate platforms and winder steps are used.

The turntable is a horizontal plane. It is usually located in the middle of the span, dividing the climb into two equal sections.

Winder steps, as if part spiral staircase, provide a smooth rise during a turn. They can be located either in the middle of the span or closer to the level of the first floor, reducing the first flight, down to several steps. In this case, the spread is most often placed in the corner of the room.

The step itself is an irregularly shaped trapezoid and is mounted around a rotary support pillar in compliance with total height risers and a certain degree of displacement.

Drawing up a drawing

So, we have become aware of the main elements that make up a wooden flight of stairs. As you already understand, this is what we will be collecting in this article. Now you can safely move on to creating a drawing.

First of all, we advise you to seek help from a professional designer who will correctly calculate the amount of material, dimensions of the structure, optimal shape and others design features. Naturally, you will have to spend money, but sometimes saving can become even more expensive.

If you don’t have the opportunity to spend additional money, you can use free online staircase designers.

To work with these tools, you do not need any specific computer knowledge. Everything is extremely simple and intuitive. All you need to do is accurately carry out all measurements in place and indicate them on the calculation page.

|| Simple stairs || Stairs with bowstrings || Stairs with stringers ||Spiral staircases || Side-less (hanging) stairs ||External stairs ||Railing for stairs ||Finishing stairs || Staircase lighting ||Staircase repair ||Use of the under-staircase space

Opening in the interfloor ceiling	Making a one-flight staircase on bowstrings	Methods for attaching steps to a string	Making a flight of stairs
Installation of a flight of stairs	Rotary staircase with intermediate platform	Stairs with bowstrings and winder steps

There are several ways to attach your feet to the bowstring. The most in a simple way the steps can be secured using support bars or corners (see Fig. 66, c, e). To do this, nail or screw along the tread line to the bowstring wooden blocks or metal corners with holes for screws. The steps are attached to support bars or corners using screws. Despite the fact that this method is the simplest, it is rarely used in practice. A flight of stairs made using this method looks rough and can be placed in utility rooms or other places where high aesthetic requirements are not imposed on the stairs. In our opinion, the implementation of this method is accessible to a home craftsman without high qualifications, so we will not dwell on it in detail. Sometimes the steps are simply attached to the bowstring and secured with screws screwed with front side(Fig. 66, d). This method is called end-mounting. But in this case, the fastening strength is low, since the steps are held in place only by screws. Therefore, this method can only be used in exceptional cases when other fastening is impossible. The loads on such steps should be minimal. The fastening method using a secret groove made in the bowstring helps to avoid this drawback (Fig. 66, b). In this case, the step receives additional emphasis on the edges of the groove and the possible load on such a step increases.

Fastening in groove with remainder(Fig. 66, a) is quite reliable. To do this, two counter grooves are cut out in the string and the steps, with the help of which fastening is performed. The advantages of this method include its greater reliability. In addition, the strings of such a ladder will never come apart during operation. Essentially, this method is a transitional option from a ladder with bowstrings to a ladder with stringers. Appearance such a staircase will look more like a staircase with stringers. The disadvantages of this method include the artificial lowering of the load-bearing capacity of the step and string due to counter-grooves. When loads are applied to the step from the groove side, the wood fibers may peel off, and half of the step may break off. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to additionally secure the front edges of the steps. Therefore, despite the apparent advantages of the method of fastening into a groove with a remainder, it is not used very often. The installation of railings in such a staircase is carried out according to the methods of fastening to stairs with stringers (that is, not to a bowstring, but to a stringer, which will be discussed later).

Fastening steps using various tenon joints are shown in Fig. 74. Such connections are called middle knitting. Despite the complexity of manufacturing, these connections are durable and have improved aesthetic qualities compared to the methods described above. Let's look at them in more detail.

Rice. 74. :
a - in a wide groove; b - in a narrow groove with one shoulder; c - into a narrow groove with two shoulder pads; g - reward with one shoulder pad;
d - reward with two shoulder pads; e - reward with flat spikes; g - using dowels

Connecting steps using dowels(Fig. 74, g) is considered the least labor-intensive. But in this case, the load-bearing capacity of the steps will be determined only by the strength of the dowels and walls of the sockets in the steps. Therefore, this method can only be used when large loads will not be applied to the steps of the stairs. The diameter of the dowels in this case should be maximum (8-10 mm), and their number on one side of the step should be at least three. Dowels should extend into solid wood at a distance of at least 20 mm.

Connecting steps using spikes(Fig. 74, e) more durable. But difficulties in accurately marking spikes and sockets impose certain restrictions on its use. The strength of the steps in this case will be determined by the strength of the spikes made in their sides and must comply with regulatory requirements.

Connected to the award with one or two shoulder pads(Fig. 74, d, e), made in the form of a beveled solid spike (type dovetail), holds the bowstrings so that they do not diverge different sides. With this method, there is no need to perform additional fastening of the flight of stairs to prevent possible divergence of the bowstrings. However, the use of the award fastening method is limited by the fact that the step tenon can only be inserted into the bowstring groove from the side position. Therefore, this method can only be used in flights of stairs made without a reference line of bowstrings.

Narrow groove joints with one or two shoulders(Fig. 74, b, c) are quite effective. But they are used less often due to the fact that they have to perform additional work for the manufacture of shoulder pads, which also weaken the strength of the steps.

Wide groove connection(Fig. 74, a) is devoid of all the previously mentioned disadvantages and therefore is used most often. Therefore, in the future we will talk about this connection, calling it simply a groove connection. With this method, the end of the step fits into a groove made in the string, providing a sufficiently large load-bearing capacity of the flight of stairs.

So, if you decide to attach the steps to the groove, then you should make precise markings. The boundary of the groove should be taken as the line of the tread made when marking the bowstring. A piece of board with a width and thickness equal to the corresponding dimensions of the steps can serve as a template for marking. For it, you can use the segment obtained during the manufacture of steps. To mark, the template is applied to the line of the bowstring obtained during preliminary marking, and traced with a pencil, obtaining the contours of the groove.

A flight of stairs can be made with or without risers. IN in this case the riser is not a mandatory part of the flight of stairs and its production is dictated the following conditions. If children use the stairs, then between the elements of the flight of stairs there should be no gaps exceeding 10-15 cm. Therefore, in order to prevent the child from sticking his head between two steps, the space between them is completely or partially covered with a riser (Fig. 75) (called sometimes muted).

Rice. 75. :
1 - riser; 2 - tread; 3 - bowstring (kosour); 4 - railing post; 5 - connection of the riser with the tread (in a narrow groove)

In addition, a solid riser can serve as an additional reinforcement of the step against sagging if the thickness of the board from which the step is made is insufficient. The presence of a solid riser makes the flight of stairs closed, so accidentally fallen objects and debris cannot fall through the gaps in the flight. But most often the installation of risers is dictated by purely aesthetic considerations. If you decide to make a staircase with risers, then their marking and fastening can be done using all the methods we have listed for steps. If the strength of the steps is sufficient, then to simplify the design of the staircase, you can omit the grooves for the risers, limiting yourself to attaching them to the step and to the “end” with a bowstring. The length of the riser in this case will be less than the length of the step by twice the distance at which the step enters the groove of the bowstring. Such a riser should be placed symmetrically relative to the step.