# Forum Home Renovation Stairs, Steps and Ramps  Want to design and build these stairs

## sabre

This is the style of stairs I want to build. Because the treads I estimate are about 80mm thick, what timber should I use with the least chance of splitting or cupping. I was thinking Merbau or Spotted Gum. Is this possible or not worth the risk. Thanks

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## Godzilla73

Worked on a job last year that had a similar set up, the treads were made from 20mm flooring mitered on the edges for a seamless look and dropped over the top of steel treads welded to the risers. Wasn't a bad set up, the timber was put on last but you could still use the stairs. The builder stuck non slip tape on the treads during construction as well.

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## Bloss

> This is the style of stairs I want to build. Because the treads I estimate are about 80mm thick, what timber should I use with the least chance of splitting or cupping. I was thinking Merbau or Spotted Gum. Is this possible or not worth the risk. Thanks

  Nowadays laminated/ engineered steps would be chosen to ensure stability eg: Big River Timbers - a bit hard to tell, but I think that's what has been used in the example pic you provided. That also opens up your timber choices considerably. Other ideas Stairs - Spiral, Traditional, Contemporary, Curved, Modern, Internal and External.

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## sabre

Thanks for the advise, talked to big-river today and the thickest they go is 42 mm rough really wanted 70-80mm thick .Could use 2 but at $67+x2 each  and 1200x1200 $290x2  +freight its getting out of my price range. The floors in the house will be all vinyl planks except wet areas ,would there be any way of covering ply or particle board with the vinyl planks .Also I cant find a stair calculator that will do a quarter turn stairs ,my opening is 2700x2500 floor to floor 2930.

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## paddyjoy

> Thanks for the advise, talked to big-river today and the thickest they go is 42 mm rough really wanted 70-80mm thick .Could use 2 but at $67+x2 each  and 1200x1200 $290x2  +freight its getting out of my price range. The floors in the house will be all vinyl planks except wet areas ,would there be any way of covering ply or particle board with the vinyl planks .Also I cant find a stair calculator that will do a quarter turn stairs ,my opening is 2700x2500 floor to floor 2930.

  If you make a u shape stairs then you can do it without quarter steps, 17 threads, riser height of 174.2mm, thread depth of 279.4mm. Or did you want it specifically like theirs with a landing on the right?

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## danielhobby

did a stairs with 68mm thick treads recently in red ironbark,only viable way(imo) is to laminate timbers together.(centre corner treads weighed 60kg)it took a few days to get over that install!!!!

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## sabre

> If you make a u shape stairs then you can do it without quarter steps, 17 threads, riser height of 174.2mm, thread depth of 279.4mm. Or did you want it specifically like theirs with a landing on the right?

  Thanks paddyjoy I was hoping to be able to do a quater turn with a landing the turn is to the right ,starting at the bottom the wall in front and opening  is 2700 up to a landing turn to the right wall behind 2500 , does this make sense.

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## paddyjoy

Like this?

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## sabre

Plasters just finished will site measure now

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## sabre

paddyjoy the measurements are 2700 should be 2930 and 3000 is 2500 and height is 2930 Cheers

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## paddyjoy

Is it like one of these options that you are after?

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## sabre

A ,but quarter turn with landing .

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## paddyjoy

Can you do a rough sketch and take a photo of it?

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## sabre



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## shauck

You don't really need the stair calculator to include a landing. Your landing is really just the same as all the other steps. Work it out as a single flight and set the height of your landing where appropriate. I'm guessing (as I haven't done one before) you would measure your run from top floor out to far edge of last step down to landing (wher you think ti will need to be) then turn and measure the second run from there to end of last ground floor step. Add these together for total run. Then total rise from top to lower floor. Calculate to get rise and run then set landing at height of step closest to where you previously determined. It will probably take some tweaking. The determining of the landing for first calculation doesn't seem to be halfway so I suppose a little guess work and variations till you get it. I may be totally wrong here and missing something crucial. There's probably an easier way??? Someone with experience? 
EDIT: Having said all that, your plan may be to scale and possibly you can work from that, checking as if it was a single rise and run use a stair calculator to make sure that it all works out.

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## Bloss

> You don't really need the stair calculator to include a landing. Your landing is really just the same as all the other steps. Work it out as a single flight and set the height of your landing where appropriate. I'm guessing (as I haven't done one before) you would measure your run from top floor out to far edge of last step down to landing (wher you think ti will need to be) then turn and measure the second run from there to end of last ground floor step. Add these together for total run. Then total rise from top to lower floor. Calculate to get rise and run then set landing at height of step closest to where you previously determined. It will probably take some tweaking. The determining of the landing for first calculation doesn't seem to be halfway so I suppose a little guess work and variations till you get it. I may be totally wrong here and missing something crucial. There's probably an easier way??? Someone with experience? 
> EDIT: Having said all that, your plan may be to scale and possibly you can work from that, checking as if it was a single rise and run use a stair calculator to make sure that it all works out.

   :What she said:  you beat me to it!  :Smilie:  Blocklayer's stair calculator Stair Calculator - Layout Stair Stringer, Headroom Rise Run - Metric takes all the hard work out of stairs - you simply need to break your stairs into suitable runs ie: top to first landing then to next and so on. He has spiral calculators too which can be tweaked to do quite a variety of shapes and his calculators are free. Of course they are not CAD programs - if you have really complex needs that can't be broken into segments of standard runs then you'll need to get work professionally done. 
Most stair work is now done by specialised stair manufacturers who are well set up to design and manufacture in a factory setting, either as components for in-site assembly and installation or as ready built for delivery and installation. They also will have great software and much experience so are the place to go for complex work - but yours seems not so difficult. Of course once you determine your landing heights and structural dimensions and then design stairs to suit, you will have to construct to the same dimensions.

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## shauck

> you beat me to it!

  Must have gotten up slightly earlier than you today.

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## paddyjoy

As Bloss said, if you are paying someone to put the stairs in for you then they will whip you up a design in the blink of an eye as part of the package. 
However if you are going to design it yourself based on the drawing you have then there are a couple of things I can point yout for you. Also note I am partially drunk  :Drinks Wine: and you should be carefull listening to advice from people on forums, especially when they are drunk and irish. 
So basically you have 16 risers in your drawing, you want to have a quarter step in the landing which gives you a total of 17. You already know the height difference between the floors (2930) so the riser height is already determined for you as 2930/17= 172.4mm 
Next you need the thread depth and decide on the width of the stairs. Because you have an L shaped stairs the width and the thread depth are related, so as you increase the width of the stairs the thread depth will decrease. If this isn't immediately obvious take a look at the diagram below. As the width of the stairs "A" increases, "B" decreases which decreases your thread depth. It's not a big thing but something you need to consider. In turn as your thread depth increases/decreases distance "C" changes and the base or foot of the stairs will move in/out.   
Ideally I assume you would want the foot of the stairs to be at the base of the wall so you have to juggle the width and thread depth to get it to all fit in perfectly. I had a play around with a couple of different widths, 900, 950 and 1000. A width of 1000 gives you a thread depth of 235mm and makes everything fit in nicely, however a thread depth of 235 is technically below what is recommended in the BCA and the stairs my feel a bit steep.    
If you bring the width down to 900(which is too narrow in my opinion) it will increase your thread depth up an extra cm but will push the base of the stairs out past the wall on the left. 
So it's all about balancing the different elements. Here are some good sites on design  Stair safety -rise and going  Design Guide

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## sabre

Have just finished hanging lower level doors started on building  wardrobes  so now back to the stairs. I asked a local stair builder for a quote but he will not entertain doing the stairs out of steel and timber all timber or not at all .On his quote he has written (1200 wide open treads ,from the bottom 5 open treads ,3 + 1/3 winders + 7 open treads at the top ) What is meant by 3 + 1/3 winders? The stair treads I have decided to make myself by making them out of chipboard or ply and covering with the vinyl planks that I am using throughout the rest of the house, will make about 90mm thick just unsure what to do on the ends where the stringer does not cover . Thanks for the help  Cheers Shaun

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## shauck

Here's a pic of stairs with winders. Instead of landing you have stairs that are wedge shaped to turn the corner.

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