OUTDOOR SPIRAL STAIRCASES HOW TO

I built one tread in the workshop in the winter to see what the actual tread dimensions would be. I used two 2X6 planks, but I knew 2X8, 2X10, and 2X12 lumber was available, as well as combinations of those dimensions. The tricky part was what to use for the actual tread to make the last tread arrive on top of the lower deck. With these dimensions I worked through the basic height and came up with what you see in the photos. The 4X6 I used as the tread beam measured about 3 1/2 X 5 1/4 inches - not 5 1/2 inches. 2' lumber resembled 1 3/8 to 1 1/2 inches thick, while 1 inch lumber was about 3/4 inch. I knew that I would be building with treated dimensional lumber - arsenic treated back then. I measured the distance between the top of the upper deck to the top of the lower deck - knowing I would need some sort of 'landing' to connect the stair to the upper deck. someone wondered how I determined the tread height. Thanks for all the warm comments, everybody! I don't check back often, but I do receive every email telling me somebody posted. Thank goodnes for the two helpers! I am sure this would have made a great Laurel and Hardy movie! Just imagine three guys running around trying to keep these seven boards flat, trying to get glue on them and hoist htem all into position, clamp and screw beginning at the top, and working down to the bottom.

OUTDOOR SPIRAL STAIRCASES HOW TO

Curling and moving with the sun's rays beating every ounce of moisture out of them, while I try to figure out how to spread this nasty glue on them, which has a working time of under two hours. Picture this - 24 feet of 3/16 inch CCA treated 2X6 lumber lying in the grass, in the sun, all seven pieces.

Nasty stuff! I do not have pictures of this part of the construction because it was somewhat intense! I chose the Urea formeldahyde glue that was used to construct the World War II Mosquito Bomber. Remember I said this was constructed in the eighties? There were not many glue options back then. The seven best results from the two very long boards were used to laminate the railing. It turns out that was a good move! The spiral railing was constructed from two 24 feet long 2×6 CCA treated deck boards that were resawed to 3/16 inch thick. No small feet in itself! Have you ever lifted an old cast iron Delta bandsaw? I had upgraded the bandsaw over the years to include a 1 1/2 horse, heavy duty, motor. Over the months of construction, I had been asked repeatedly how was I going to build the railing? I would just smile and say, 'wait until spring and I will have you help me.'Īfter erecting the main stairs, I moved my 14 inch bandsaw onto the lower deck. Now comes the fun part - the spiral railing. So, with some extra help from a block and tackle, and some friends, we finally get the stairs into place and secured. I remember sitting there and laughing loudly. Problem was that the thing wouldn't budge! My, my, did the stairs every get heavy! It is truly amazing how fifteen stairs become so heavy after they are screwed together. I can remember standing there admiring our handywork and commenting, 'It should be no problem to swing this into place, because I have the pipe flange in place and ready to go.' So the two of us walk up to the stairs, laying there waiting for us, and grab hold and lift. The next step should bring a smile to everyone. We had no problems screwing all the steps together while the stairs were laying on their side. That following spring I was ready to construct the stairs and enlisted the help of Cathie, my wife, to help put everything together.

In a spiral staircase, with certain restrictions, that value can be accepted.Each tread weighed a few pounds when completed. Applying the Blondel law, we end up with a total of 67, which would slightly exceed a conventional staircase. If we try 15 steps, we will have 27 cm treads and 20 cm risers. Using the useful line, you will see that the calculated length is 4.18 meters where people will step on.

When inserting the values in the previous formula, its total circumference will be 6.28 m. The only difference is that, since there is a greater difficulty in adapting to the Blondel formula, a slightly higher tolerance should be used.įor example, if there is a distance of 3.00 m between slabs and the space for a staircase of 100 cm radius, according to its layout in space, the staircase will start at the same point where it will end, that is, it will have a rotation angle of 360 °. Having determined this, you can adopt the same method as a conventional staircase, as we indicated in this post. It's considered that this 'useful line,' where the user walks, is located 2/3 from the center. However, considering that the steps have irregular shapes as they approach the central mast, it's important to define the point at which you will apply the calculation of the steps of the staircase.

Outdoor spiral staircases