—____________/FOR PROS BY PROS|- sya 1@ SINS Scott SchuttnerContents Introduction ie Chapter 41 Basic Stair Design 4 Chapter 2 The Stairwell 20 Chapter 3 A Simple, Straight-Run Stair 30 Chapter 4 An L-Shaped Stair: Skirts, Treads and Risers 56 Chapter 5 An L-Shaped Stair: Newels, Rails and Balusters 90 Chapter 6 An Open-Riser Ladder Stair 106 Further Reading 120 Index 124Introduction hy should anyone want to leam how to build a set of stairs? If you're a carpenter the answer is ‘obvious, Although there's plenty of specializa- tion in construction, stairbuilding stil falls squarely into the carpenter's bag of tricks. Most houses have at least ‘one stair and many have two or more, $0 sooner or later, every carpenter has to build one. If you're an owner-builder, tackling a set of stairs might be a matter of saving money, a concern for first-rate quality or the simple satisfaction of building one of the most complex parts of a house. Stairbuilding is often thought of as being beyond the ability of the average person, but | don't believe this is true. If you've managed to build the house in the first place or complete an extensive remodel, then the stair- way will be just one more detail requiring a little extra study and planning. But where should you go for that in- formation? When [became a carpenter in the early 1970s, there were only one or two decent manuals on stairbuild- ing, and because these lumped simple stairs with more advanced work, they sacrificed depth for breadth, The crafts revival of the mid-1970s gave us many good books ‘on rediscovered trades, but somehow no good text on ba- sic staitbuilding found its way into print. | hope that this book—and the video that accompanies it—will fill the need for information on basic stairwork. About this book Having leamed the stair trade largely from research and experience, I have concluded that the best way to teach stairbuilding is to explain the prin- ciples, rather than attempting to offer an example for every situation you might encounter. In both the book and the video, | show how to build two kinds of stairs, a straight case and an L-shaped case for tight quarters, Two construction methods are ilustrated: carpeted treads and hardwood treads. In my opinion, carpeted stairs have great appeal. They're quiet and padded enough for kids to play on safely, Because the woodwork will be covered, 2 2 Introduction carpeted stair is a good choice for the first-time stair builder. More ambitious readers may want to attempt an elaborate oak staircase, whose beauty may become the centerpiece of the house. ‘The tape is complete enough to stand on its own, but the book offers valuable detail on both types of staits, and also includes a short chapter on an opensiser ladder stair. | picked these three stairs because they illustrate ‘enough stairbuilding fundamentals to allow you to apply ‘what you've leamed to your particular job. This is not to say that you won't have to seek additional information on different styles or details, but I hope you won't continual- ly be searching the book for "your stairs." The book and tape are meant to be complementary. Because it proved impractical to discuss some details on camera, the tape displays specific page references where additional infor mation can be found in the book, Tools materials and costs Building a staircase can be simple or complicated, depending on its size, the design ‘and the materials you pick. In any case, no special tools, are required beyond a good complement of hand wood- ‘working tools, plus a citcular saw, a router and a drill. A table saw will prove valuable too, although it isn't abso- lutely necessary. You'll need a good assortment of bit fasteners and clamps as well. As is evident from the tape, the work is best done on site, right in the house, so be prepared to put up with the mess for a while. As construction work goes, staits are relatively material intensive and labor intensive, which is why they are so expensive. Here in Fairbanks, where oak is $4.00 per board foot, materials alone for a simple oak stair cost about $1,000, Labor might run $2,000 to $3,000. By tack- ling the job yourself, you can save a lot of money. In ‘many cases, the money you save will allow you to build an elegant hardwood staircase with a nice balustrade for the price of a carpeted stairway built by @ contractor.