Materials

Important Tip

These are only general specifications that can be applied to lightweight construction projects and it wouldn't be a bad idea to check with a structural engineer, if you are building a heavy-duty stairway. Stairways that are built with the wrong materials will create a safety hazard and serious injuries.

You can use a wide variety of different types of lumber, plywood and even other types of engineered building materials, to build your stairs.

However, we're trying to keep things simple and you should plan on using construction standard lumber. Most of the building materials, you will need to build your stairway can be purchased at a local lumber yard or home improvement center.

You can either use plywood, oriented strand board, hardwoods or construction standard building materials for your stair treads, stringers, walls, landings, platforms and risers.

Lumber Selection Tip

Again, this is very important and if you're skipping through the free stair building instruction guide, you could end up missing tips like these. Every page in this," How to Build Stairs" section, of the website, needs to be examined thoroughly.

You should only use number 2 or better construction standard building materials, for your stairs. This wood should also be hand selected, to avoid ending up with too many knots, cracks or other lumber defects that will weaken your stairway.

Large knots and cracks positioned in the wrong spots of your stair building project will eventually create a safety hazard.


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