Cantilever stairs are probably the most spectacular of all. They float in the air and look attractive in any interior style. In fact, cantilever stairs are quite complex structure because they have to be reliable.
An ordinary staircase, which stands on stringers, looks solid, solid, but takes up a lot of space, blocks the flow of light, looks too massive, limiting the field of view. For modern interiors, this is not a suitable option, you see, because you want to make all designs light, simple, as compact as possible. In such cases, cantilever stairs come to the rescue, which simply do not have stringers - the steps are attached directly to the wall.
You can fix the steps of the cantilever ladder to the wall in various ways:
- Direct cut into the wall. On average, the steps cut into the walls by 20-40 centimeters, depending on the strength of the supporting wall itself.
- On special brackets, metal plates, bolts, channels, anchor bolts, decorative supports.
- Frame. If the bearing capacity of the wall itself is minimal, a metal frame is required, which is located close to it in order to be as inconspicuous as possible. The frame from the profile or channel is fixed to the floors, and already to it - the cantilever steps.
Ceiling rods are often used as an additional fastening in cantilever stairs. They also serve as a fence and make the stairs safer. The handrail usually goes along the wall itself, to which the steps are attached. In radical cases, when there are no small children and elderly people in the house, and for the owners the design comes first, they do without handrails, railings and ceiling cords at all, leaving only steps that seem to be literally recessed into the wall.
Regarding the material for the steps of the cantilever staircase, everything here is limited by the imagination of the owners. The most common option is a metal frame attached to the wall and topped with wood or MDF. You can also find cast concrete cantilever steps. In the case of the construction of such a staircase, glass will look very impressive, which will make the structure even less noticeable and weightless.
The advantages of cantilever stairs include:
- Visually much more lightweight construction, which does not block the air and light flows in the room.
- Spectacular appearance, which helps the staircase to become a highlight of the interior.
- The consumption of materials for the main structural elements is significantly less.
- You can save usable space.
However, cantilever stairs have their drawbacks:
- If it is decided to abandon the fences, the ascent to the upper floor is less safe than in the case of using a traditional staircase.
- A cantilevered staircase may end up not being very comfortable.
- The design is complex, as is the installation itself, which leads to a high cost of work. Yes, you can try to make a cantilever staircase yourself, but you should carefully calculate the load and usually homeowners turn to specialists.
- Requires a strong load-bearing wall or reliable fasteners.
It is clear that the cantilever staircase, however, like the rest, should be planned at the stage of drafting a house project. It is required to choose which wall the structure will be attached to, and partitions made of not too strong materials are not categorically suitable, additional reinforcement will be required. If the steps are concrete, reinforcement is necessary, which will make the entire structure heavier.
It is important not to use any elements at the free end of the cantilever steps, because they will increase the load on the entire structure. In general, the main mistakes in the construction of a cantilever staircase are the wrong choice of fasteners, the use of unreliable elements and improper load distribution. All this can make the design simply dangerous to use.
It is difficult to find ready-made cantilever stairs. Typically, such structures are created to order, taking into account the characteristics of the premises and the wishes of the owners. Components can be factory, and the model is from the catalog, but still the design will require changes for a specific room. Most often, cantilever stairs are piece, individual products.
Note that spiral staircases are also often built on the principle of cantilevers, when all steps are mounted on one support, and the other end remains free, floating. A pillar, the basis of a spiral staircase, in this case, a more massive and reliable one is required.
Ecology of consumption. Homestead: There are no stairs more spectacular than cantilevered ones. Their main difference from all other types of stairs is a special attraction in any interior style.
There are no stairs more spectacular than cantilever ones. Their main difference from all other types of stairs is a special attraction in any interior style. The airiness and soaring of cantilever stairs is just an illusion: these systems are strong and reliable, and therefore their designs are very complex - all fasteners and load-bearing elements are skillfully hidden in the structures of walls, ceilings and in the details of the stairs themselves.
Classic stairs, having as load-bearing element kosour or bowstring, have the advantage of safe operation, in addition, these stairs are presentable, solid and solid. But modern interiors tend to lightness and minimalism, as much air and space as possible - this is somewhat contrary to the idea of a correct massive staircase that limits the field of view and “eats up” the volume of the room. Cantilever staircase for small lobbies becomes good decision Thanks to the compact design and special fasteners - directly into the wall.
Types of fastening of cantilever stairs to walls:
- The steps cut into the load-bearing wall to a depth of 200 - 400 mm. The depth of the tie-in depends on the width of the cantilever march and on the material and strength properties of the wall.
- The steps are supported by special brackets, steel plates, channel or angle parts, bolts, anchor bolts or decorative supports.
- In cases where the wall cannot provide bearing capacity, cantilever steps rest on a nearby frame, located as close to the wall as possible and as less noticeable as possible. Fix the frame supports from a channel or corner profile to the floors.
- As additional fasteners, systems of ceiling strands are used, which simultaneously perform a second function - enclosing. Handrails in such systems usually go along the wall on which the steps are fixed.
- "Hanging" steps recessed into the wall, the absence of a handrail, railings and balusters of any kind, as well as ceiling ties and mesh fences- exclusively interesting solution and radical design. But this option is exclusive not only in the context of interior design, but also part heightened danger, and it is possible to use such extreme stunt simulators in an ordinary home under special conditions - as a second decorative staircase. If there are small children and people of the age in the house, this version of the stairs is categorically unacceptable.
Stairs with steps of one fastening system and one design can be made of various materials, and this radically changes the appearance of the stairs. There are a lot of options, and the main thing in choosing is the preferences of the owners and their imagination. A very common option is a metal frame fixed to the wall, decorated with MDF panels or wood. Spectacular and durable steps made of cast concrete or polymer concrete. Special place occupied by glass stairs - weightless and transparent, but distinguished by enviable strength.
Advantages of cantilever stairs:
- Lightweight and compact designs that do not create obstacles for air circulation and light fluxes in the premises
- Spectacular externally, a real highlight of the interior
- Lightweight construction results in savings on the consumption of basic materials
- Saving usable area and the volume of the room, which is very important for small houses
Cons of cantilever structures for stairs:
- In the absence of fences, moving along a cantilever staircase is by no means safe, and in any case, such a staircase in a house is a risk factor and a zone of increased injury. classical marching ladder with a fence, designed according to safety formulas compared to a cantilevered structure - a safety example.
- Cantilever ladders are often inconvenient to climb and descend.
- The design and calculations of cantilever stairs are more complicated than classic mid-flight stairs, and installation is also difficult. Independent calculations without experience and special knowledge are hardly justified. Do-it-yourself installation is possible if there are calculations performed by specialists according to the initial data - materials and construction of load-bearing walls and ceilings, etc.
- The bearing capacity of the wall should be with a margin. Another option is an attached frame, and in both options, the reliability of the fasteners must be ensured.
Cantilever stairs are designed at the first stages. It is important to decide to which enclosing structures the stairs will be fixed, taking into account the mass of the steps themselves. Wooden and glass steps do not require additional wall reinforcement, but cast concrete steps require very strong support and additional local reinforcement if the load-bearing wall is designed from monolithic reinforced concrete.
Console with additional element at the free end will increase the load on the entire ladder system, so such solutions are usually avoided. The main errors in the installation of cantilever stairs are associated with the wrong choice of fasteners, the use of insufficiently reliable components and parts, and erroneous distribution of loads. These errors can lead to the fact that the ladder will be dangerous for operation.
Ready to install cantilever staircase - rare and standard version. For individual houses the design of such a staircase is made to order, according to the initial data of the design of the supporting wall or ceiling and the size of the room. Even if it is possible to complete with factory mounting and frame assemblies and choose a model from the catalog, changes for specific rooms are required. Cantilever stairs are classified as non-standard and piece products.
When the need for comfortable and secure access they think about the second floor even in the process of designing a house, you can lay a staircase of any type. This is much more effective than after trying to squeeze in at least something digestible, not to mention aesthetics. One of the participants of our portal thought of everything in advance, and as a result, he has a cantilever staircase, which is considered one of the most attractive in terms of "airiness". His experience is interesting in that, having remained a customer, he was still able to save decently even in terms of finances, not to mention time and labor costs.
- About cantilever stairs.
- sergpn.
- Project.
- Materials and tools.
- Execution.
About cantilever stairs
The effect of lightness and airiness in these structures is achieved due to the absence of external supports in the usual sense - there is neither an even stringer, nor a bowstring, nor vertical support. "Soaring" steps are mounted directly into the wall, given that the entire load will fall only on this fastener. When choosing this type of stairs, it is necessary to correctly calculate, first of all, the bearing capacity of the wall. The type of fastening of the steps depends precisely on the result of the calculations, these can be the following options:
- tie-in into the wall - the depth depends on the strength of the wall, on average 20-40 cm;
- brackets - how special fasteners, and various variations (metal plates, channel, decorative supports);
- frame - with a minimum bearing capacity of the wall, a metal frame (channel, profile) is placed close to it, which is fixed to the ceilings, and cantilever steps to it.
The handrail is usually launched along the wall, if necessary, ceiling strands are made as a fence, in rare cases, for the sake of the visual component, they do without strands and without a handrail.
With regard to materials, the flight of fancy is almost limitless, but the most practical stairs with steps on a metal frame with wooden lining or cases. It is this version of the execution of our craftsman.
Metal cantilever staircase from sergpn
sergpn
Project
Topikstarter's house was built using monolithic technology, and since he originally conceived the cantilever staircase, one of the stiffening diaphragms metal frame and was involved in the construction. The missing fragment was supplemented with a channel.
All calculations and the project itself sergpn ordered from professionals. Both bearing capacity and resistance to dynamic loads are taken into account. Our craftsman believes that the project is mandatory.
sergpn
All points were taken into account at the design stage, I deliberately singled out the costs for the calculation as a separate line, and did not write that “we go to the barn, look at what is left of the scrap metal, and cook a staircase of approximately this shape from this.” Considering the pathological rejection of most of the members of the forum of any expenses for designers and the desire to build by intuition, I want to convey to them that the project and calculation are savings, not expenses.
Drawings of your stairs sergpn posted for everyone interested.
Materials and tools
Used materials:
- profile pipe 60 × 60 × 5 mm - frame of steps;
- sheet metal, 10 mm thick - base plates and "kerchiefs";
- sheet metal, 4 mm thick - covering and end strips;
- channel 270 × 6 mm - the missing part of the support for four steps;
- chemical anchors, studs - for attaching support plates and channel to the wall.
Instead of bothering with cutting such a thick metal with a grinder, I gave everything to the workshop for plasma cutting, an inverter welder and professional welders of the 5th category were used for welding.
Execution
At the first stage, according to the marking, holes were drilled for the studs and fixed in the wall; next, they mounted the support plates for the steps and the channel on them. Chemical anchors the craftsman preferred the usual ones in order to avoid the formation of backlash in the future.
Due to certain difficulties, the algorithm for the execution of steps turned out to be as follows:
- pipes "tacks" to the base plate;
- kerchiefs;
- covering sheet;
- end plank.
It is this sequence that is due to the fact that in other cases it was not possible to maintain the ideal plane.
sergpn
We cooked alternately, which is somewhat more difficult, due to the inability to attach the thrust plates evenly (somewhere reinforcement, somewhere else some kind of trouble). Therefore, each step is made individually. It is easier to weld a frame from a professional pipe, but this design works worse for bending than parallel pipes completely sewn on top with a covering plate. But, on the other hand, sewing with a sheet from above is possible (as practice has shown) only for pipes that are already welded to the plate, otherwise it is difficult to maintain parallelism (the sheet leads). That, in fact, because of this, this assembly method was chosen.
Some participants in the topic were interested in the question of whether it was easier to use through fasteners. As the craftsman answered, due to the load, it is impossible to make the bolts flush. And do double work on fixing the plates on the other side and then figuring out how to close them is too problematic. Others were confused by kerchiefs, since many examples of mounting steps are without this knot. It turned out that scarves are not only necessary, but also useful.
Since, for financial reasons, decorative wooden cases are not expected in the foreseeable future, the craftsman generously treated the finished structure with a primer and stopped there for now.
As recommended by the project, after completion installation work the ladder was checked for its bearing capacity by the "classic" method - 250 kg bags of cement were loaded onto the step. The deflection was less than 1 mm, which is quite satisfactory, given that the weight of the household is much less, and no one plans to jump on consoles.
Taking into account all the expenses, the staircase cost 45 thousand rubles:
- project - 5 thousand;
- metal (with cutting) - 15 thousand;
- installation (welding / cutting on site) - 20 thousand;
- consumables and accessories (anchors, studs, electrodes, primer) - 5 thousand.
It took only four days to make the stairs. As emphasized separately sergpn, companies offering ready-made designs of such a plan called a price tag of 100 thousand rubles and a period of two weeks. Therefore, even if we refuse self-manufacturing in favor of a professional, really cut costs in half. If you have the appropriate skills and equipment, then the cost of materials is completely minimal in our time.
You can follow the further development of events, more about different types stairs, including cantilever ones - in the article, how to provide access to cold attic- in the material. An example of a very unusual staircase is in one of our videos.
Suspended stairs are a "fresh breeze" in your home. Indoors, they look like light transparent structures, and many design styles use them as a highlight in the interior.
Stairs are attached to the interfloor ceiling with metal braces, which, in turn, support the step in a given position. Opposite side steps are firmly attached to bearing wall.
And although such ladders do not look reliable on the outside, moreover, some people are even afraid to walk on them, the hinged ladder, when properly installed, is quite durable.
Combination of sleek metal suspension bars with warm solid wood natural wood steps, gives a certain charm to the stairs and opens wide opportunities for the flight of design ideas.
Have you built a house or are you doing overhaul and you want to add space to the interior? Ordinary wooden or concrete stairs don't fit here. But a hanging ladder would be a perfectly acceptable solution.
This article was conceived as an instruction and with its help any owner who is able to perform elementary plumbing and carpentry work will be able to build such a staircase in his house with his own hands.
Before starting construction, watch the 2 videos in this article, they cover common mistakes in the construction of stairs.
Selection of tools and materials
Tool
- Electric drill with a set of drills
- Perforator with a set of drills
- Construction level
- plumb line
- A set of keys
- Bulgarian with a set of disks
- Lerka and tap for threading
- Preferably a welding machine
- Roulette
Material
- Metal strip 50x10
- Metal corner from 50x50
- Wood hard rock oak, beech, ash, etc. For steps
- Set of anchors, sleeves, nuts
- Wall Mounted Handrails
Calculation of the dimensions of the stairs
Naturally, we start with accurate calculation dimensions of our stairs.
Hinged ladders are calculated according to the same principle as the rest.
For example, let's take a small staircase with a height of 144.78 cm
- To calculate the number of steps, overall height divide by standard height
Steps 144.7: 17.7 = 8.17 this value is rounded up to 8. - We calculate the distance between the steps 144.7: 8 = 18 cm.
In total, with a height of 144.78 cm, we will have 8 steps with an interval of 18 cm.
This video in this article will help you perform the calculations.
For the convenience of calculations, we provide a photo of the table:
Mounting
Attaching brackets to the wall
- Hinged ladders are best mounted before the start of finishing work.
The drawing of our staircase is already ready and now we mark the place of attachment of the steps on the supporting wall.
- Next, we cut stops from the corner for each step.
- We will mount them on the wall. The stops should be slightly less.
- The width of the step itself, indent from the edge in the region of 20 mm.
- We drill holes on the wing of the stop, the wing applied to the wall 3 holes.
- The wing on which the step 2 of the hole will lie.
- All holes can be made of the same diameter, but we start from 10-12 mm.
- It is better to number the stops.
- We apply each stop to the design place for attaching the step and mark with a pencil the places for drilling holes in the wall.
As we remember, the stops are attached to the wall with 3 anchors.
Take anchors with a length of at least 200 mm. More is possible.
We drill holes with a perforator and fasten the stops with anchors. The cross section of anchor bolts is from 10-12 mm or more, as you wish.
Making a frame
- Hinged ladders require a strong frame. We will make the frame from a corner, which we will mount on sometimes between ceiling. Most best option weld the frame, because how to fasten it with bolts for a long time and less reliably.
With a corner, we will tie only the interceiling overlap, both in the upper part and in the lower part. We have a U-shaped harness on top and bottom of the ceiling. Now both parts should be fastened together.
We have a corner 50x50, connecting two corners end-to-end - we get 100 mm, the thickness of the overlap, as a rule, is greater. To connect two corners, we cut the strip into segments equal to the thickness of the overlap and weld the corners together with these segments at an interval of 200-300 mm from the inside.
An important point: Cook each segment separately and only when all 3 segments are ready, put them in a girth on the ceiling and weld in the corners.
- When the U-frame is welded and installed, it should be fixed. First, connect the two opposite parts of the frame bordering the wall with a metal strip. If the thickness of the overlap is large, then connect top harness frame and lower frame trim in two separate strips.
We got a closed rectangular frame. Along the perimeter of the ceiling there is a strapping from the corner, and along the bearing wall there is a strip. Next, the frame should be securely fixed.
To do this, in the strips with which we welded the corner of the upper and lower contours, we drill holes, then we drill a hole into the depth of the ceiling with a perforator (we proceed from the fact that reinforced concrete slab) and fix the frame with anchors, we also fix the strip along the load-bearing wall.
We mount the suspended structure
- The next step will be the installation of the structure, on which the metal rods will be attached, supporting the steps and the fence. staircase second floor.
To do this, we cut corners similar to those that went to the strapping.
The structure will be mounted only from two sides, from the side opposite to the load-bearing wall and from the side opposite to the end of the stairs. We weld the corners to the frame, in the form of the letter T, so that they form a kind of I-beam.
In the welded corners, having accurately measured, we drill a series of holes for fastening metal rods from below and fences from above.
On the large, bearing side, the holes in the upper corner should be exactly opposite the holes in the bottom. On the side of the side rail, it is enough to drill holes only in the upper corner.
- Cooking metal studs. We make studs from round rolled metal, with a thread cut along the entire length. Length is calculated by the formula, thickness interfloor overlap plus 100 mm. For the side where only the side railing will be attached, overlap plus 50 mm.
Next, we mount the studs strictly along the plumb line. From the inside, under the corner, firmly fix the studs with nuts. With the expectation that carrier beam, on both sides remained 50 mm. From the side where there will be only the upper fence, we fix the stud under the upper corner with a nut, and to the lower one, we grab it by welding. Here, of course, only 50 mm should remain on top.
We hang the steps
- Our hanging ladder, of course, should be hung on something.
The fact is that we plan to use metal, nickel-plated tubes for the suspension of steps and as balusters in the railing. They will greatly facilitate the entire structure. And although they are much more expensive, the appearance is worth it.
We measure in height and cut off the tubes. We cut into tubes on both sides internal thread, to a depth of 50-70 mm. We screw the finished tubes into the remaining 50 mm studs from above.
We fix the steps from below. To do this, in the steps prepared in advance, we make holes along the diameter of the tube. We put the step on the tube and fix it from below with specially prepared bolts. You can just put, for strength, washers.
But we advise you to cut metal strips, according to the size of the corner fixed on the wall, drill two holes at the distance of the tubes, then use the strip as a washer, immediately fixing both tubes. - After two bolts, we fasten the step to the corner on the wall. If you don't like the look of exposed bolts, drill a small hole in the stair tread the size of the bolt head, sink it, cover it with wooden furniture cork, cut it off and sand it down.
Attention: the thickness of the board for the steps must be at least 40 mm.
If you are afraid that such a board will break, put a metal strip under the board from the front suspension to the corner on the wall.
This will be enough.
- The top railing is mounted in the same way.. The tubes are screwed onto the studs, the railing is mounted on top and fixed to the wall.
It is better to choose and buy handrails in advance, and mount them on the wall.
It's easier and more reliable.
Conclusion
As you can see, a suspended ladder, with a strong desire, is not so difficult to implement.
Every normal man is quite capable of making such beauty with his own hands.
In the video in this article, you will find comprehensive information on the topic we have discussed.
Reading time ≈ 4 minutes
Among interfloor stairs console ones are the most effective. After all, most often it seems that the structure is floating in the air, the steps seem to hold themselves, without support. But this, of course, is an illusion. In fact, such engineering design, like a cantilever staircase, is painstakingly considered, and installation is carried out with all possible care.
However, unlike traditional wooden stairs on stringers or bowstrings, this design does not block light flows and does not limit the space that falls into the field of view. The benefit is not only visual, but also practical, because often the area of \u200b\u200bthe room does not allow the installation of support pillars. And modern interior solutions do not tolerate clutter, because they prefer simple and swift lines, and the structures themselves are light and transparent.
What are the design features of cantilever stairs?
The main support for steps, even the most massive ones, of this unusual staircase are brackets fixed in the wall. Auxiliary support can be provided by ceiling ties, which are not always used. The handrail, necessary for comfortable and safe movement, is launched along the wall.
They usually try to make the railing at the stairs with cantilever steps the least noticeable. In radical variants, they do without railings at all. However, this is rather an extreme, calculated on the external effect and complicates practical use.
In its pure form, cantilever steps are rarely mounted - for reasonable reliability, they usually resort to combining cantilever brackets with other support nodes.
What are the construction steps for cantilever stairs?
Since the construction of a staircase-console is a complex, responsible, and time-consuming task, its foundation is laid at the stage of planning and creating a project. This is necessary for several reasons.
- The material from which the walls will be built must be taken into account. For example, brackets are inserted into a brick base by at least 200 mm and in such a way that each one is pressed down with ten rows of masonry (this is with a march width of 800 mm). And if brick or hollow blocks are used, the embedment depth increases to 400 mm. Fastening a cantilever staircase to a wall of aerated concrete - a rather loose-porous material, will have to strengthen the places where the steps are embedded with mortgages.
- The steps also have certain requirements. Not all are suitable, but only those made of solid elastic materials, for example, cantilever stairs made of concrete are often found.
If the question arises about the construction of a cantilever staircase with your own hands in already finished building, then it is important to know the characteristics of the walls. Installation is possible on brick and concrete walls, while you can use another type of fastening, namely, anchor.
What is a cantilever type ladder for anchor installation?
Fastening with anchors will require the implementation of special welded brackets on which ready-made platforms are held. Each separate element attach to the wall anchor bolts- four or more. Accessories for cantilever stairs of this type - bolts with a diameter of 10 mm and thicker, with a length of at least 150 mm. The march width cannot exceed 700-800 mm. This method is applicable after the completion of the main construction.
There is also a method of fastening steps, which does not depend on the quality of the walls at all and is possible in any building. Its essence is in the construction of a powerful metal frame welded from channels / profile pipes. The design is made up to the ceiling, is located close to the wall, and is tied to the upper and lower ceilings. Supports for steps are welded (or bolted) to the racks of the frame. The frame itself can be hidden behind the masonry / sheathing.
About how to make a cantilever staircase on your own, tell photos and videos. However, architectural supervision is desirable. When constructing a "floating" staircase, it must be remembered that each step must withstand a repeated load of at least 150 kgf. This is attached to the hanging edge - that is, to the end that does not rely on anything. In addition to this weight, you need to take into account the weight of the railing, if any.
As a rule, console stairs are not sold ready-made, but are made to measure. specific premises according to the wishes of the owners.
