Another article for your persusal and infinite praise....



Open riser stairs


[[Image:Stair_620-9.jpg|233px]]


Open riser stairs are popular for garden and decking use. They're easy
and low cost to construct.


==Safety==
Stair falls are a significant cause of injury, disability and death.
Several points will be considered to ensure the stair design doesn't
make this problem any worse.


==Indoor use==
For use in habitable spaces an extra piece of wood needs to be added
to reduce the maximum size of gap between neighbouring treads to under
100mm. This can be a horizontal strip of wood halfway up each gap, or
the whole gap can be closed with some sheet material.

These stairs are fairly unpopular for indoor use. Their open nature
doesn't give a sense of security, and some people are phobic about
open stairs. On the other hand they're cheap and easy to make, and
provide plenty of character.


==Finish==
When stairs are not carpeted the right finish should be chosen to
minimise slip. Non-slip floor varnishes are available. Stick-on grip
strips are not recommended, and can actually cause falls.

Outdoor steps may be grooved to improve grip. However this does make
the wood rot quicker. Another option is to incorporate very fine sand
in the varnish. One way to do this is to sprinkle a little sand onto
the first wet coat, and when dry apply a 2nd coat of varnish to bond
the sand more firmly. Very little sand is needed.


==Fixings==
There are various ways to fix the triangular step support pieces in
place. If a single nail or other fixing were used with each triangular
support piece, a single failure could cause a nasty accident. 2
fixings per triangle is safer. Don't be tempted to nail these in from
underneath, as they could then work out unnoticed.


==Dimensions==
A single storey 3' wide pine stair using 2x6 rails and 8x1 treads can
support several times the weight of people on every step, or obese
people standing on every other step.

Calculations will be needed for other stair sizes and timber
dimensions. For any application the stair should have a good margin of
safety, and be able to support triple the maximum human weight that
could possibly be placed on it.


==Handrails==
Wherever the location, any stairs with more than one step should
always have a handrail. A second handrail on the other side is an
optional extra that reduces the risk of falls.


==See Also==
* [[Cut String Stairs]]
* [[Special:Allpages|Wiki Contents]]
* [[Special:Categories|Wiki Subject Categories]]



[[Category:Wood]]
[[Category:Projects]]
[[Category:Safety]]


NT

wrote:
Another article for your persusal and infinite praise....



Open riser stairs


[[Image:Stair_620-9.jpg|233px]]


Open riser stairs are popular for garden and decking use. They're easy
and low cost to construct.

Whilst pre made Decking Stair Stringers are available its much cheaper to
build your own.



==Safety==
Stair falls are a significant cause of injury, disability and death.
Several points will be considered to ensure the stair design doesn't
make this problem any worse.


==Indoor use==
For use in habitable spaces an extra piece of wood needs to be added
to reduce the maximum size of gap between neighbouring treads to under
100mm. This can be a horizontal strip of wood halfway up each gap, or
the whole gap can be closed with some sheet material.

These stairs are fairly unpopular for indoor use. Their open nature
doesn't give a sense of security, and some people are phobic about
open stairs. On the other hand they're cheap and easy to make, and
provide plenty of character.


==Finish==
When stairs are not carpeted the right finish should be chosen to
minimise slip. Non-slip floor varnishes are available. Stick-on grip
strips are not recommended, and can actually cause falls.

Outdoor steps may be grooved to improve grip. However this does make
the wood rot quicker. Another option is to incorporate very fine sand
in the varnish. One way to do this is to sprinkle a little sand onto
the first wet coat, and when dry apply a 2nd coat of varnish to bond
the sand more firmly. Very little sand is needed.

Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is 'across'
the board rather than along its length. Instead of grooves machined into
the surface, deck boards should have the surface machined away leaving a
series of ribs proud of the surface.

==Fixings==
There are various ways to fix the triangular step support pieces in
place. If a single nail or other fixing were used with each triangular
support piece, a single failure could cause a nasty accident. 2
fixings per triangle is safer. Don't be tempted to nail these in from
underneath, as they could then work out unnoticed.


==Dimensions==
A single storey 3' wide pine stair using 2x6 rails and 8x1 treads can
support several times the weight of people on every step, or obese
people standing on every other step.

Calculations will be needed for other stair sizes and timber
dimensions. For any application the stair should have a good margin of
safety, and be able to support triple the maximum human weight that
could possibly be placed on it.


==Handrails==
Wherever the location, any stairs with more than one step should
always have a handrail. A second handrail on the other side is an
optional extra that reduces the risk of falls.


==See Also==
* [[Cut String Stairs]]
* [[Special:Allpages|Wiki Contents]]
* [[Special:Categories|Wiki Subject Categories]]

How about alternate tread staircases? I built one once & my head still
hurts from working it out :-)


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sep 25, 8:10*am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
wrote:

Another article for your persusal and infinite praise....

Open riser stairs

[[Image:Stair_620-9.jpg|233px]]

Open riser stairs are popular for garden and decking use. They're easy
and low cost to construct.

Whilst pre made Decking Stair Stringers are available its much cheaper to
build your own.

Those are a different (but related) type of stair though. I think
John's stair article was about those.
http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index...._String_Stairs
I guess the picture will make it clearer.


Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is 'across'
the board rather than along its length. *Instead of grooves machined into
the surface, deck boards should have the surface machined away leaving a
series of ribs proud of the surface.

Maybe you could explain the difference?


How about alternate tread staircases? *I built one once & my head still
hurts from working it out :-)

Yes, an article on those would be good too. You fancy saying something
about them?


NT

wrote:

Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is 'across'
the board rather than along its length. Instead of grooves machined into
the surface, deck boards should have the surface machined away leaving a
series of ribs proud of the surface.

Maybe you could explain the difference?

Mark space ratio ;-)

How about alternate tread staircases? I built one once & my head still
hurts from working it out :-)

Yes, an article on those would be good too. You fancy saying something
about them?

same as cut string at a much steeper pitch really...

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Sep 25, 6:46*pm, John Rumm wrote:
wrote:

Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is 'across'
the board rather than along its length. *Instead of grooves machined into
the surface, deck boards should have the surface machined away leaving a
series of ribs proud of the surface.

Maybe you could explain the difference?

Mark space ratio ;-)

right


How about alternate tread staircases? *I built one once & my head still
hurts from working it out :-)

Yes, an article on those would be good too. You fancy saying something
about them?

same as cut string at a much steeper pitch really...

Yes, plus there must be various rules for them that are different, and
different pros/cons etc.


NT

wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:10 am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
wrote:

Another article for your persusal and infinite praise....

Open riser stairs

[[Image:Stair_620-9.jpg|233px]]

Open riser stairs are popular for garden and decking use. They're
easy and low cost to construct.

Whilst pre made Decking Stair Stringers are available its much
cheaper to build your own.

Those are a different (but related) type of stair though. I think
John's stair article was about those.
http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index...._String_Stairs
I guess the picture will make it clearer.


Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is
'across' the board rather than along its length. Instead of grooves
machined into the surface, deck boards should have the surface
machined away leaving a series of ribs proud of the surface.

Maybe you could explain the difference?

OK. The deck boards have (square) grooves machined into their surface,
rather like the crennels & merlins on a castle wall. All this does is
reduce the surface area available to contact the shoe sole.

Proper deck boards have the surface machined away leaving a series of
trianguar ribs proud of the surface which increases grip.

How about alternate tread staircases? I built one once & my head
still hurts from working it out :-)

Yes, an article on those would be good too. You fancy saying something
about them?

Yes. Working out how to make them causes your head to hurt :-)

I think just mentioning they exist would be fine.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On Sep 25, 8:59*pm, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:10 am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
wrote:

Another article for your persusal and infinite praise....

Open riser stairs

[[Image:Stair_620-9.jpg|233px]]

Open riser stairs are popular for garden and decking use. They're
easy and low cost to construct.

Whilst pre made Decking Stair Stringers are available its much
cheaper to build your own.

Those are a different (but related) type of stair though. *I think
John's stair article was about those.
http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index...._String_Stairs
I guess the picture will make it clearer.

Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is
'across' the board rather than along its length. Instead of grooves
machined into the surface, deck boards should have the surface
machined away leaving a series of ribs proud of the surface.

Maybe you could explain the difference?

OK. *The deck boards have (square) grooves machined into their surface,
rather like the crennels & merlins on a castle wall. *All this does is
reduce the surface area available to contact the shoe sole.

Proper deck boards have the surface machined away leaving a series of
trianguar ribs proud of the surface which increases grip.

right, ta


How about alternate tread staircases? I built one once & my head
still hurts from working it out :-)

Yes, an article on those would be good too. You fancy saying something
about them?

Yes. *Working out how to make them causes your head to hurt :-)

I think just mentioning they exist would be fine.

I think there may be a misunderstanding here. Maybe it'll be clearer
once the diagram's up.

cheers,
NT

wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:59 pm, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
wrote:
On Sep 25, 8:10 am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
wrote:

Another article for your persusal and infinite praise....

Open riser stairs

[[Image:Stair_620-9.jpg|233px]]

Open riser stairs are popular for garden and decking use. They're
easy and low cost to construct.

Whilst pre made Decking Stair Stringers are available its much
cheaper to build your own.

Those are a different (but related) type of stair though. I think
John's stair article was about those.
http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index...._String_Stairs
I guess the picture will make it clearer.

Proper deck boards are slip resistant especially when traffic is
'across' the board rather than along its length. Instead of grooves
machined into the surface, deck boards should have the surface
machined away leaving a series of ribs proud of the surface.

Maybe you could explain the difference?

OK. The deck boards have (square) grooves machined into their
surface, rather like the crennels & merlins on a castle wall. All
this does is reduce the surface area available to contact the shoe
sole.

Proper deck boards have the surface machined away leaving a series of
trianguar ribs proud of the surface which increases grip.

right, ta


How about alternate tread staircases? I built one once & my head
still hurts from working it out :-)

Yes, an article on those would be good too. You fancy saying
something about them?

Yes. Working out how to make them causes your head to hurt :-)

I think just mentioning they exist would be fine.

I think there may be a misunderstanding here. Maybe it'll be clearer
once the diagram's up.

Good picture here
http://www.loftshop.co.uk/products_d...eID=27&pID=156


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk