How to make a ladder to the attic with your own hands

01-05-2018

Useful

If in the near future you intend to retool the attic under the functional room, then you should consider where to install the ladder and how to manufacture it before starting work. A ceiling door or hatch will also be installed here. Such a design can be ordered or bought ready-made, but let's find out how you can do everything yourself. So, you pretty much save the family budget and acquire new skills that may well be useful to you in the future.

Earlier, attic stairs were made outside, but hardly anyone will be pleased with the prospect of climbing into a room across the street in cold weather or rain. Many people in the attic arranged a ceiling door, most often in the corridor, and if necessary to climb up, they use the ladder. But this is also inconvenient if you have to equip, for example, a study or a rest room on the upper tier. For a civilized person, a better choice would be the installation of a stationary or folding stepped lift. If there is no place for the first option, then the second will suit you very much.

Design requirements

Whatever ladder option you choose, it must comply with safety requirements. The design should provide a safe passage to the attic and be strong enough. The screw type takes up relatively little space and is highly attractive, however, it will be very difficult for older people to climb these steps.

If the area of the corridor or hallway allows, it is better to make a wide enough opening so that you can install a good stationary staircase.

The larger the doorway to the attic, the greater the heat loss will be, if it is, of course, not a heated attic room.

Handrails and railings provide sufficient security for a person climbing stairs. Therefore, if possible, make a design with these elements. Since in our case we are talking about independent production, it is also important to process it with special means that increase the refractoriness of the structure. This is especially true for wooden stairs.

Indicator of load capacity should not be small, since if necessary to lift a heavy load into the attic, it is necessary to take into account its own weight. So, the optimal load capacity - 260 kg.

Varieties

Attic stairs are divided into the following types:

Monolithic. They can be marching and screw.
Folding. There are lever, scissor, folding, sliding or telescopic.
Portable ladders or step-ladders.

Transportable views are a temporary connection between floors. If you plan to use the attic in rare cases, the additional structure is the best option. But with the arrangement of the upper premises under the recreation area or for children’s games, a more reliable ladder should be made.

Most often, the arrangement of a massive structure has no place in residential buildings. It is therefore not surprising that retractable stairs and their folding counterparts are most in demand when arranging an attic. They are compact, safe and convenient, easy to use.

Dimensions

The attic staircase has standard parameters, observing that you can make a really reliable and easy-to-use construction:

The width of the march should be 65-110 cm.
The height is up to 3.5 m. This is due to the fact that a fall from such or greater height is fraught with injuries, and the rigidity of the high construction will be much smaller.
The average number of steps is 15.
Risers height - 19 cm.
The thickness of the steps is 1.8–2.2 cm.
The tilt angle ranges from 60 to 75º. This is due to the fact that an angle of less than 60º will require a lot of space, and an angle of more than 75º is dangerous when used.
If you have to make a folding option, then it must withstand a weight of up to 150 kg.
Steps should not be slippery. They are set parallel to the floor.

Choice of place

If you have to make the stairs yourself, then it is important to determine the installation location - inside or outside, if you choose the first option, then in what room will there be an opening for lifting to the attic? It is important that the stairs do not interfere with households. Therefore, to install it in the kitchen or in the bedroom is not advisable.

If the upper tier is not used intensively, then a device for lifting it can be made in the living room. It is better that the staircase is closed or autonomous. In such a situation, folding design is a very good option.

Measurements

If you make a folding ladder, then take into account its size when folded and unfolded. Measure from floor to ceiling. Decide on the width, the number of steps, the angle of inclination. All data is fixed on paper, which will help you to make the most accurate drawing. Errors in calculations can lead to undesirable consequences. For example, the staircase will be inconvenient to use, the risk of injury will increase.

The steps must be arranged parallel to the floor. Doors must not open onto a flight of stairs.

Material selection

In the manufacture of wooden stairs should be processed all the parts with antiseptics in order to avoid rotting of the finished product. After assembly, it will be possible to paint the product with any varnish / paint suitable for the color. Usually attic stairs are made of pine. This material chooses the majority of home-made, since it is easier to work with wood than with metal.

If you still decide to work with metal, then use materials with a galvanized coating. This type of metal does not rust. Such structures have great strength. So, you can save space, galvanized elements are thin, and therefore do not take up much space.

To prevent metal parts from rubbing against each other, plastic parts can be used. Thus, due to interchangeable side plastic inserts slip will be prevented.

The form

The feature of the attic stairs is the form. It should be ergonomic, compact, comfortable and convenient. In a small room overall design will look ridiculous. In a large enough room - there are no restrictions, you want to install a compact one, but you want to build a stationary massive one.

It depends on the available space and personal preferences whether the staircase will be one-, two- or three-deck. If from floor to ceiling is no more than 3 m, then it is quite possible to get along with the simplest type - one-shot. But, if you want to be more original, build a dvuhmarshevoe product.

To make a single-march design more interesting, make it arc-shaped. Steps can be made in the form of diverging rays.

Beginning of work

If the measurements were made by you, and the drawings are outlined, then it's time to make an estimate of the materials. You should stock up:

Screws.
Screwdrivers.
Roulette.
Hacksaw for wood.
Set of wrenches.
Polyurethane foam.
Protractor
Hinges

As the base side and vertical beams are used, which serve as a support. The amount of permissible loads on the structure depends entirely on the strength of the base.

Two-piece ladder

One section of this design is folded to the top. The assembled two-section ladder is not hidden, but remains visible. This is allowed if the exit to the attic settles in the garage or other work space. At registration of the house in the corresponding style the two-section model will successfully look also in the corridor. For its production you will need the following materials:

Roulette.
Plain wooden staircase.
Hacksaw for wood.
4 bars, having a thickness of 2-3 cm, 2 of them should correspond to the width of the hatch, and 2 - to be 20 cm longer.
4 things. card loops corresponding to the width of the kosour.
Fasteners.

Kosour is the base of the ladder on which the steps are laid.

Manufacturing technology

First you need to connect a short bar with hinges to the upper end of the ladder, another similar bar should be firmly fixed to the bottom. To end up with a reliable design, take 2 slats and nail them diagonally on the back of the flight of stairs. In this case, it is necessary to carry out these actions so that these reinforcing slats do not impede the movement of the stairs.

After that it is necessary to measure 2/3 of the total length. Measurements are taken from below. In the intended place should be cut the stairs. These parts will subsequently be connected by card loops, which are fastened on the reverse side. Thus, the design can be easily folded.

The upper bar is fixed under the hatch. Thanks to the hook and loop, your product will not open arbitrarily. So, the hook is attached to the wall, and the loop - to the bar.

Making a folding ladder on bowstrings

The process of making a folding ladder consists of the following steps:

Divide the height from the floor to the attic hatch into 3 parts. In this case, the first part should be the same as the hatch size, the second one - a little less, and the third one should cover the remaining distance to the floor.
Now you need to measure the angle of the hatch Mulka.
Transfer the angle to the workpiece ladder, which will allow you to mark the steps.
Drill holes between the sections for subsequent assembly of the hinge.
Sand all the elements.
In places of installation of hinges boards are sawn.
Cut and grind steps.
Make notches in the string for setting the steps.
Insert the steps into the bowstrings, setting them on the glue, and then tightening them with self-tapping screws.
Loop the sections. To properly perform this stage of work, place the sections on a flat plane.
Check the functionality of the sections.
Assemble the structure and temporarily install it in the hatch. If it turned out that the ladder needs to be adjusted a little, then do it.
Now sand all surfaces and cover it with varnish in several layers. In this case, the following can be applied only after the complete drying of the previous layer.
After the varnish has dried, install the finished product in the hatch in the hatch.

To speed up the process, do all the work with a partner. This will also help avoid injuries when working at height.

If you have questions on the topic, then by all means ask them to our expert. Would you like to add an article or provide useful additional recommendations? Leave your comments.

Video

A photo

The photo shows several options for attic stairs: