Tips for Building Stairs - Learn From My Mistakes
Monday, December 31st, 2007 by Subscribe To Our Feed
I have a cousin who’s supposedly a real whiz when it comes to carpentry, so I had him build some stairs for me. Unfortunately, there were some hang ups. I really had no desire to humiliate him or make him feel bad, but after he was done I had to take matters into my own hands and learn the art of building stairs on my own.
I didn’t have the means to hire a professional, since I’d already paid my cousin. So here’s my advice based on a hard lesson.
- Always check with local codes and requirements before building stairs or anything else in your home. I was lucky enough; my cousin didn’t do this, but I haven’t had any problems here.
It was probably the only area, but that could be because the code inspector didn’t see the stairs. Had he seen them, a whole new section may have been written!
- I may not be the world’s expert on stairs, but I firmly believe in using quality materials. My cousin used the cheapest material he could find. Since the stairs were going to be covered with carpet anyway, he figured he didn’t have to go the whole nine yards.
Since then, I’ve learned that using cheap wood in your stairs is a safety hazard. Wood that has knots and imperfections in it has a higher chance of cracking sooner. I have kids, and that’s a risk I can’t afford to take.
- One of the most helpful things I learned with building stairs is that drawing up a blue print can really help you get organized and focused. Making sure you know how everything adds up, and how you want the finished product to look.
I hope you find my tips helpful when you build your stairs the right way– without any setbacks! You won’t need to spend more money than necessary this way. By the way, don’t hire family to build them for you!
Working on a new stair project? Visit Build Stairs and discover How To Build Stairs quickly and easily without the headaches. We even cover Folding Attic Stairs!
- Christine Julianne
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