There Are 3 Standard Types Of Hardwood Stairway Systems
#1. ‘Boxed In Stairway System’: stair treads are installed between two walls.
( the stair treads do not need mitre return ends )
Picture #1 - Boxed In Hardwood Stairway:
#2. ‘Single Open Stairway System’: stair treads are installed with one side open & one side meeting the wall. ( the stair treads have one mitre return end )
Picture #2 - Single Open Hardwood Stairway:
#3. ‘Double Open Stairway System’: stair treads are installed with two sides open as there are no walls.
( the stair treads have two mitre return ends )
Picture #3 - Double Open Hardwood Stairway:
* Quick Tips On Knowing What Materials You Need For Your ‘Stairway System’: Please Note: All stairways include two parts: ‘the staircase’ and ‘the railing’.
For the ‘Stairway’ you need: skirt boards that get attached to the walls for your sides, riser boards that get attached to the stringers ( on the vertical face) some people call them kick plates, and the stair treads also get attached to the stringers ( on the horizontal face ) these are your steps. If you are going with an ‘All Wood Staircase’ you need to use j-trim moulding and cove moulding on the top exposed edges of the skirts. If you are going with a ‘2-Tone Staircase’ ( wood stair treads, wood top rail, wood trim’s, white skirt boards, white riser boards, white balusters ) you can use j-trim moulding and cove moulding on the top exposed edges of the skirts or you can simply router the top exposed edges of the skirts. Cove moulding needs to be used under the treads front bull nose and side mitre return ends.
For the ‘Railing’ on a ‘Boxed In Stairway’ you need to have wall mounted handrail. This rail is typically mounted to the wall with wall balls or wall brackets ( this are screwed into wall studs). Then the handrail is screwed into the wall balls.
For the ‘Railing’ on a ‘One Side Open Stairway’ you have a full rail system running up the left hand or right hand side of the staircase. You typically have a 48” Starting newel post and a 40“ baluster on the starting stair tread and one 36” and 40” Baluster on each stair tread and one 42” landing newel at the top mounted on the nosing.
For the ‘Railing’ on a ‘Two Side Open Stairway’ you will have a full rail system running up both sides of your staircase. You will need twice the amount of handrail parts.
* Split Entry Home Example:
In a typical split entry home you have 2 staircases: the ‘lower set of stairs’ are most likely ‘boxed in’ and the ‘upper set of stairs’ are most likely ‘open one side’. You would have 7 box treads for the lower set and 7 open one side treads for the upper set. Which side of the tread will need a mitre return end? Simply stand at the bottom of the staircase looking from the first tread up, the open side of the tread will need to have a mitre return end. Lets say the right side is open; you need 7 stair treads with right hand mitres.
The materials for the lower set of stairs ‘the boxed in Stairway system’:
7 ea. - 42” Stair Treads
16 ft. - 9-1/2” Skirt Board ( 2 ea 8 ft. side boards )
28 ft. - 7-1/2” Riser Board ( 8 ea 3.5 ft. kick boards )
20 ft. - J-Tim ( top edge of skirt )
60 ft. - Cove Mould ( under front edge of treads and on top of j-trim )
4 ft. - Nosing ( nosing is at top of staircase meeting the hardwood/ceramic floor )
8 ft. - Hand Rail
2 ea. - Rail End Router
2 ea. - Wall Balls
The materials for the upper set of stairs ‘the open one side Stairway system’:
7 ea. - 48” Stair Treads – RH Mitre
4 ft. - Nosing ( nosing is at top of staircase meeting the hardwood/ceramic floor )
16 ft. - 9-1/2” Skirt Board ( 2 ea 8 ft. side boards )
32 ft. - 7-1/2” Riser Board ( 8 ea 4 ft. kick boards )
24 ft. - J-Trim ( top edge of skirt )
70 ft. - Cove Mould ( under front edge of treads and on top of j-trim )
1 ea. - 48” Newel Post starting newel ( on the first stair tread )
1 ea. - 42” Newel Post landing newel ( on the nosing at the top of the stair case )
6 ea. - 36” Balusters ( front baluster on stair tread )
7 ea. - 40” Balusters ( back baluster on stair tread )
8 ft. - Hand Rail
2 ea. - Newel Mounts
13 ea. - Dowel Screws
* How To Measure Level Run Rail:
If you have any ‘Level Run Rail’ in your house ( a rail system not on the staircase ) you need to use 42” Newel Post and 36” balusters to secure this space. Rule of thumb is that you need 2.5 balusters per foot and any span over 10 liner feet needs a middle post. Also note the rail height minimum is 36“ to meet current Canadian Building Codes.
For example if you have 9 feet of level run rail at the top of your stairs you need:
1 ea. - 42” Newel Post ( the post at the top of the staircase )
1 ea. - 42” Half Newel Post ( this post will hit the wall )
