Stairs down to the Lake

[wallter]

I'm not a carpenter but want to try this. So please give advise as if I can't get a carpenter to help.

I want to lay out and cut a stair stringer from the top of my hill down to the beach. It's about 7-9 feet high (haven't measured yet).

My primary concern is getting the angle correct. Meaning that I don't want to make my cuts and then realize that my angle was off and now have to build a platform.

Best Advise???

[LightningBG]

what are your beginning and ending points?

(ie. going from ground on top and a dock below?)

Maybe nevermind. I see your going to the beach.

[LightningBG]

If you were going to a dock. This is what I would do, but I'm no professional, just a guy that sits around thinking stuff up.

Step 1: pound stakes into the ground on top of the hill. Attach a straight edge to the stakes and level it (2x4 would do, as long as its straight.)

Step 2: postion your stringer (2x12) where you want it and tack it to the 2x4 on top and the side of your dock on bottom. (red box)

Step 3: Draw the lines where the stinger intersects the 2x4 and dock. (purple lines)

Step 4: Take the whole contraption down and figure out your rise and runs, with the traced lines as your beginning and end points.

Step 5: Trace your cut stringer on the rest of the boards.

[LightningBG]

For going to the beach, I'd do the same process, but I'd dig down into the beach and give myself a "false bottom", so I could trace a level line on the bottom, or maybe even to anchor it to the beach when its installed.

Overall, I think the key to your project is going to be getting a board into place in the location and at the angle you want it, then marking level lines on the top and bottom. Then fitting your stairs between them.

[BoxMN]

To add to Lightnings post, if you are going the beech area, make sure that you are not into the ice heave area. I.e. if you have ice heaves on the lake, make sure your bottom step of the stringer is ABOVE the heave area, or you will have a mess.

Good luck. We have about 35 steps down to ours, and we have a mid platform mid way, part to keep angle correct, but also in case you fall, you only will fall half way, haha!

[lutzy]

I was a carpenter for many years and the one thing I was responsible for in my crew was installing all the stairs. This would often include 2 or 3 sets per house in buildings that had 20 or more townhome units. I may not be good at a lot of things but stairs I know. Get the distance between your top point and your bottom point. Divide that by the height (rise) you want each step to be. Remember code is 7 3/4. That will tell you how many rises you need. Once you get the number of rises you need you will know how many treds (run) you need. That will tell you how long of a 2X12 (yes use 2x12 not 2x10) you need. I could go into a lot more detail. Email me if you need more, happy to walk you through it. [email protected]

[wallter]

Now I know why I post questions here. Great info.

Could I position my 2x12 in place at the correct angle and then draw a straight horizontal line. That being my starting point. Then repeat the process all the way down my 2x12?

What am I missing?

[crothmeier]

Get a Carpenters Square, and a pair of the stair guage stops. Like lutzy said, do the math, take your overall vertical height, divide it out, figure out you're rise height is(shoot for between 7 and 8 inches) and how many rises you will have.For the tread I usually use 10" for my tread dimension, (two 5.5" wide eithe decking or 2x6) which leaves me a 1" nosing on the treads. You can set the stair guage stops on your square, trace all your lines on your stringer, cut them all out and you should be good.

If you do a google of "carpenters square" and "carpenter square stair stops" if will give you images of both.

This way will be a quicker method than laying it at the right angle and measuring each rise, and leveling a line. You can do it all on the sawhorse.

[LightningBG]

Carpenter square is the way to go.

They are about $7 at the home store and stair stops are about $3.

This will ensure that you have 90 degree cuts all the way down. a level isn't accurate enough.

[wallter]

Lightning,

Nice diagrams! I am going down to sand not to a dock but I do want to build a 4' wide seasonal dock like section that I could attach/remove (ice heave). The section (or 2) would cross 10-12' of sandy beach and then connect to my main dock. Allowing people to avoid the sand.

Any ideas?

[LightningBG]

For that you'll probably want at least 2, maybe 3 sections, so they are light enough to carry back up the stairs during the winter.

The tricky part is going to be getting a good solid base for the walkway sections to sit on during the summer, but that wont be affected by the ice.

I'll get thinking. (between work tasks of course)

[LightningBG]

It's getting good.

OH WAIT, We're working on stairs and a walkway, that's right.

Details shortly.

[BoxMN]

Haha! Looking good!

For the dock sections to be solid during summer, how about just using real short dock posts and the post "feet"? It will be just like setting dock section but not in water. Not much pipe, so not real heavy. I do that with one angled section to connect some permanent shoreline dock section to my roll in dock. I just lift it out in fall and set it on the hill.

[BartmanMN]

can you put some lady's on the dock now.

[mnguy152]

forgot the geese on the grass [PoorWordUsage] lol

[LightningBG]

can you put some lady's on the dock now.

Ask and ye shall receive.

[TooTallTom]

Ask and ye shall receive.

I could use a couple cold beers (Please, only licensed brands though. I don't want anyone getting in trouble with the State.) and a big, juicy, steak, please. Charred outside, cool inside, done over coals. Thanks man!

[crothmeier]

awesome.

[BartmanMN]

Looks like my place now. HAHA. Nice work.

[TooTallTom]

Looks like my place now. HAHA. Nice work.

You mean all the virtual women?

[CigarGuy]

Was doing some googling on this subject and wouldn't ya know, HSO came up with some info-I could use some additional help please. My hill is over 100' from lake to cabin. It has varying degrees of slope, I was thinking of using 16' stringers. Do I measure the slope in 16' increments to figure my rise?

[lutzy]

16’ sections would be a good idea, a little landing at each section would be a good idea also. The thing to think about is if you don’t use a landing at each section then your rise and run need to stay the same all the way, by code. If there is no landing the difference between the largest rise and the smallest rise can only vary 3/8”. Same goes for run. The landings would have to be at least 3’, again by code.

[CigarGuy]

Thank you......This might be a dumb question, but I have to ask. How do you get the proper angle on the stringers to match with the slope, so the step angle is correct? If that makes sense. Is that what measuring the run and rise does?

[lutzy]

Yep. Measure the height from landing to landing and you get the rise for that section. Divide that by say 7 1/4 and see how many rises you have. Take that number and multiply that by say 10” or 11” whatever tread depth you want. Then see if that gives you the horizontal distance you need. If it doesn’t, change the rise to either 7 1/8 or 7 or 7 3/8 or 7 1/2. Put that to it and it will change the number of rises you get which in turn will change the number of treads you get. Which in turn will change the total horizontal distance it will cover, which hopefully will match the distance you need to cover. It is all a trial and error thing. Keep changing the rise number till you get what you need to make both rise and run work. As I said above it is hard to explain in writing but if you need more help email me, the other guy did and I think it help him out.

[PETERSONRJ]

Just place them on the ground and anchor them in and put your treds on. building code does not apply to landscaping.