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A Guide To Building Stairs With Landings

28 . 09 . 2012

If you would like to break up your staircase a little bit – perhaps the distance between the first and second storeys of your home is a little bigger than normal or perhaps a long flight will look out of place – you might be interested in building stairs with a landing in between. Not only will this be an attractive addition to your home, it can be as simple as building full-length stairs.

The main difference between the two is that building stairs with a landing will actually require you to measure and construct two completely different flights, which is why it can become confusing. Begin by measuring from the floor of the first storey to the floor of the second storey. Divide this number of 7 to get the number of risers you will need, then divide it by the number of risers to get their exact height.

You can then decide at what height you would like a landing and work out how many steps you would like before you reach it. Generally, landings are placed at a height of either 21 or 28 inches, allowing for three and four steps accordingly. It is now time to measure and cut the two different staircases. It is believed that installing the landing and bottom stairs first is the easiest way to complete the project.

Once you have finished installing the treads for the upper staircase, you will be ready to easily move between the two levels of your home. If you would like to add a second landing when building stairs – perhaps you’re after more of a grand design or you are working within a tight space – you will need to measure and build three flights plus the two landings.