Hello All!
This is my first time posting a message to this forum, and hopefully someone can help me out! I have been a Fine Homebuilding subscriber for about the last 4 years…
We own a craftsman style bungalow built on a decent sized river in south central Wisconsin, circa 1908. I have been rehabbing the house room by room for the last 5 years. I am ready to do some work outside so that we can finally take advantage of the river that we live on.
The house sits on a ridge line about 20 foot above the river. To access the shoreline, I want to build a treated wood stairway, which will run down a fairly steep slope. I am looking for some pointers for the stairway construction, such as post location (4 x 4, every 8 feet??), stringer size requirements (maybe 2 x 10??), and fastener ideas (lag bolts for stringers to posts??).
My next question, and probably the mostly important, is how the heck do you calculate the angle of a slope of a hill? I am not geometrically ignorant, but I can’t think of a good way to do this.
I would consider myself a person with intermediate carpentry skills, certainly not an expert. Any suggestions would be must appreciated!
Thanks!!!!
Replies
Jon: Sounds like a fun project! If you want to know the angle from your top step to the water.....measure the horizontal run from the top to the bootom step. Take a transit and measure your vertical distance from the bottom to the top.
Get a cheap $10 scientific calculator...and divide the horizontal distance by the vertical distance. Hit your tangent button and this will be your degree of incline. I would guess you may want to break this stairway up with a landing or two.
Stan
Either lag screws or carriage bolts. Beware that the new pressure treated lumber is much more corrosive to metal fasteners. You have to buy fasteners rated for the new lumber. If you don't, they'll corrode quickly and unsafely.
For a staircase that long a landing half way up would be good.
You actually don't need to know the angle. You design stairs from the rise and run. A transit is the easiest method if you can borrow one somewhere.