Winder Stairs- Finish With a Handrail

When you're framing the stairs, it's worth giving some thought to the handrail.

Often, the handrail can be attached to a wall, so this is the time to add some blocking so you have something solid to attach it to- in the right place.

In my case, I've got a wall, but this is a winding stair, which complicates things.

For this particular project. I decided to frame in a short wall which rises around 30" above the front edge of the treads which will be covered in drywall with a handrail attached on top.

The difficult part to this is getting the angles right. As I mentioned in my post about the layout (here), the narrow end of each tread is 6" across. With a 6 1/2" riser, we know that the angle will be close to 45 degrees. I found that a 48" miter worked for me.

My idea was to treat this similarly to a newel post that might have a handrail coming into it from one direction and then continuing on from another side in the new direction.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Winder Stairs- Build the Treads

Yesterday, I wrote about how I did the layout for my small set of winder stairs (this post). Now, let's talk about how I built the treads.

Often, you can build the treads as a series of platforms and then just stack them and secure them in place. I'm going to frame each one individually, frankly, because I didn't have enough extra plywood to make the platforms... :)

Before proceeding too far, of course, I needed to consider the height of each riser. The total rise of my stairs was 26" so each step would be 6 1/2" high.

The risers would be made from 2x8's and be the frame that supports the 3/4" plywood treads. To achieve this height I ripped each of the 2x8's to 6 1/2", except for the bottom ones that were 5 3/4". (The bottom of the stairs is always thinner by the thickness of one tread)

You can see the progression in the pictures as I framed each step from the bottom up.

One of the more challenging (and fun) parts of this was getting the angles right. Most of the angled cuts were 30 degree miters, with a few 15 degree ones involved with the middle step.

All of these treads are secured to the surrounding framing, with blocking added where necessary to secure everything. The treads are nailed to each frame after on a bead of liquid nails to seal everything together.

Next, I'll add an interesting handrail...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Out With the Old, In With the New Floor

The room where we're adding a bathroom to this home was at one time a garage. It was converted a few years ago, but is still a couple feet lower than the rest of the home. The first phase of this project was to remove the closet and surrounding drywall that would be in the way of the new framing.

OUT WITH THE OLD

The closet was completely not load bearing and had been constructed with minimal framing, basically just enough to hold the drywall up. It came out fairly easily. When doing this kind of demolition work I always take it apart the way it was put together. First, I carefully remove the trim and doors and set them aside to be reused.

After the trim is out of the way, I do my best to remove the drywall in large pieces. Then I can bag the pieces and dispose of them. While I'm at it I like to go ahead and clean off all the studs by removing the nails or screws that had been holding the drywall. My goal is to reuse as many of these building materials as I can, but many of these studs aren't straight enough to make for good framing.

The closet had a lowered ceiling that I wanted to remove as well. Before taking off this drywall, I bagged all of the loose-fill insulation that was in the attic above. A dustpan actually makes a great tool for scooping this up and bagging it. I'll reuse the insulation later and save myself a huge 'blizzard' of pink insulation when I bring down the ceiling drywall.

FRAME A NEW FLOOR

Removing the walls reveals the floor framing for the adjacent kitchen that rests on the cinder block wall that runs around the perimeter of this former garage. I would be building the bathroom floor on this wall as well. Thankfully, the wall was nearly perfectly level, which is often not the case in old garages.

I will be framing the floor as one large platform first, and then add the bathroom walls that will rest on top of the floor. I'll also be adding two small stairways that will lead down to the old garage going into the den or at the backdoor.

I put a lot of thought into how the framing would work and where the walls would go before I got started. There are lot of factors in this particular project to consider such as the dimensions of the stairs and where the plumbing would go.

The floor joists would be 2x8 stock to match the size of the rest of the house, and provide plenty of strength to support the slate tile that the homeowner is considering for the bathroom floor.

TIP: Wondering if your floor will support tile or natural stone? Check out the calculator at the John Bridge forums here to calculate your floors deflection and see if it makes the cut.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

How To Fix A Wobbly Half Wall on A Slab

In opening up the wall between the dining room and kitchen at my current project, I've found that the remaining half wall is very wobbly and tends to lean back and forth. This is a problem because we'll be putting a bar top on this wall and it's likely that someone will lean on it from time to time.

This particular wall is resting on a cement slab. Here's how I successfully stiffened up the wall...

1. Remove enough drywall to access the floor plate (the flat 2x4 that runs along the bottom of the wall.)

2. I'm using something called a "hex sleeve anchor" to secure the bottom plate to the floor. The idea is to drill a hole in the cement then drive these down. As you tighten the nut it draws the bolt upward and spreads the anchor out which makes a very tight fit in the concrete. I'm using 3/8" diameter bolts that are 3" long.

3. Drill a 3/8" hole through the floor plate with a standard wood bit, then, switch to a hammer drill with a 3/8" masonry bit to drill at least a couple inches into the concrete. You want the hole to be deeper than the bolt by at least 1/2" or more. This gives some space for the debris that accumulates at the bottom.

4. Carefully tap the anchor into the hole you just drilled. Make sure you strike it squarely so you don't bend the bolt and make it impossible to tighten the nut. (Trust me on this one... :) Drive it down until the washer is resting on the 2x4.

5. Use a socket wrench to tightened the nut until the floor plate is snug against the floor.

I used this process to insert four bolts and it did the trick. I found this to hold better than other methods such as using Tapcon screws.

The anchors hold the bottom plate very securely and greatly reduced the movement of the wall, but I also needed some extra bracing to keep the studs from moving back and forth on the bottom plate. For this I used a couple scrap 2x6's with 45 degree angles on each end. I nailed it in place and even drove some heavy duty Spax screws into it as well.

In the end the half-wall felt much more solid and is ready for the countertop which will also strengthen it up even more.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Don't Supersize That Header!

I've started a new project where I'll be opening up the wall between a client's kitchen and dining room. I started removing drywall and found this enormous header above the doorway...

And it's a NON load-bearing wall!

The header is a double 2x10 with a flat 2x4 on the bottom. In a non-bearing wall like this the flat 2x4 is all that you need so this is overkill. Most likely, the builders had some 2x10 scraps laying around and decided to use it. However, I also did some renovations at the neighbors home and it had the exact same header. Hmmm...

Even if it was load bearing, this is grossly oversized. I guess it doesn't hurt anything, but it's always best to use the appropriate materials for the job, and that includes the right size of materials...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Add Some Simple Steps

After leveling the floor with a new cement slab (this post) and framing the wall to enclose the laundry area (this post), it's time to build some stairs to get into the room. Long before we can start building, we have quite a few things to consider to get our stairs right.

I won't cover every single aspect of stair building. Frankly, I still have a lot to learn myself. Let's go through some of my thinking for this particular project:

Have a Landing or Not?

Building codes require a landing at the top and bottom of each stairway. It has to be underneath the side that the door opens. In our case, if the door opened into the room, we would need a 36" deep landing, making our steps reach nearly 6 feet into our room. Instead, we planned to install a new door that would swing into the kitchen. In this way, the kitchen floor acts our 'landing', so we wouldn't need another one inside the new room.

The next thing to figure out is height of the risers and the depth of each step.

Risers

For this I measured the total rise of the stairs, or the distance from the cement floor at the bottom to the finished floor at the top. In my case that was 27 1/2". Codes say that the maximum rise for a step can be 7 3/4" This means that we'll need four steps of 6.875" each or 6 7/8". (27.5" total rise divided by 4 steps)

Treads

There are lots of opinions out there on how to figure out tread size. One rule of thumb that I've read says that two risers + one tread = 24 or 25 inches. Another formula I saw says that the tread + riser should equal 17 to 18" and a tread x riser should equal 70 to 75". Digesting all of this, I decided to make my treads 10 1/2" deep.

So, if you're hanging with me, it's time to layout our stringers on a 2x12 using these two dimensions. You can see in the picture how mine looked before I cut it. Use a framing square to make the marks and double check to make sure you are as exact as possible in your measurements.

Cut out the stringers. Then, cut the thickness of one tread off of the bottom of the stringers. This way, once you add the treads, the height will be the right distance from the floor.

Check the stringers in place with a level and make sure everything looks right before you nail them in place. For my project, I first attached a plate to the floor that would go across the bottom of the stringers to secure them to the floor. I made a notch at the bottom where the plate goes.

After securing the stringers, I had to frame around a valve on a gas pipe that would need to have an access hatch added as I finish the stairs out.

We're almost there now...

My stairs are a little wider than the typical 36" so I added some extra cross pieces to support the treads that would be 3/4" plywood. Starting at the bottom, I added 3/4" boards as risers, ripped to 6 7/8" wide. Then I added the treads cut 11 1/4" wide, overlapping the riser on the step below. After adding the next riser, the tread will be 10 1/2" just as planned.

These are just the basics. For a better understanding of stair building, I'd recommend a great book on framing called Ultimate Guide To House Framing by John D. Wagner. The book has an entire chapter devoted to stair building and goes into quite a bit of detail that may be helpful if you'd like more info.

Schools over. Time for recess... :)

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Building a Wall of Doors

To enclose our utility area and create a separate closet for our new room that used to be a garage I needed to build a wall. Much of the wall would be doors to access the closets. Framing is an exciting phase of the project because it seems to go so fast compared to other parts of the project. Before we get ahead of ourselves let's think this through.

In the end of the closet is the service panel with all the circuit breakers for the entire house. By codes, this needs at least 30" of clearance to the sides and 36" in front of it. I also need to make sure that the washer/dryer fit in the closet with wiggle room. I decided to make the interior of the closet 34" deep to satisfy these criteria.

Next, I needed to place the doors. I wanted a normal 30" 6-panel door on the end to access the service panel and a small mud sink. Next, I planned for a 60" opening with bi-fold doors that would hide the laundry appliances. The interior of the laundry/sink/service panel closet will be open inside with no dividers. Because of all the wiring and plumbing in that area I'm not changing this wall. Just enclosing the area.

Beside the laundry will be a small closet to add storage to this room enabling the room to function as a bedroom if someone wanted use it for that. With doors so close together I also had to think ahead about how the trim would be installed. I'll be using 2 1/4" casing and I didn't want the trim from adjacent doors to get in the way of each other.

Once I had the wall designed on paper, I started by laying it out on the floor using chalk lines to show where the floor plates will go. I marked the doorway rough openings, leaving room for doorjambs, which add approx. 2" to the width of a door. For these 30" doors I'm making the rough opening 32". This allows for 1 1/2" of door jambs (2 pieces at 3/4" each) and then 1/2" of space to shim and make sure I can get it level.

The bottom plates will be treated 2x4 as required by codes because they are resting on the cement slab. I spread a little liquid nails underneath and then secured the bottom plates to the cement using a Ramset. This is a 'powder actuated' tool that literally shoots the nail through the lumber into the concrete using small caliber loads. I have the most basic single-use model that is triggered by me hitting the top with a hammer. If you have to use it a lot, they make various models up to the .27 caliber semi-automatic. (Check them out here.)

Anyway, the Ramset is a great alternative to some type of masonry nail or even using Tapcon screws with a hammer drill. I was using 2 1/2" fasteners that were meant for use in treated lumber.

You might note that the header above each door is only a flat 2x4. Since this is a NON-loadbearing wall, this is all that's needed. Of course, if it was supporting a load above it, we'd need something more substantial.

Things are starting to take shape. Next, let's build some steps to get into the room.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com /

Framing for the New Window

After getting the doorway framed, it was time to focus on the new window. At one time, long ago, this room was a garage. The garage door opening has since been framed and covered with lap siding. Now it was time to make room for a new window that will give this room plenty of light.

We found this double window at Hailey's Salvage (see this post). It was a good find because it will coordinate with the homes other windows well and it's already got a few layers of paint just like the others! :) Overall it's in great shape and even had a a sill and a couple of old counter-weights intact.

The rough opening will need to be around 45" tall by 68" wide. I measured the location from the outside because I wanted the top of the window to match the height of the others on the front of the house. This garage has a lower roofline than the rest of the house so I measured the existing windows and just made the distance from the window to the eave the same for my new one.

With the height now figured out, I centered the window on the wall and drilled a hole through the siding as a reference point. Back inside, I could now place king studs at either side of the rough opening. These are the studs that go from the floor to ceiling. Next to them will come trimmer studs that will support the new 2x6 header above the window.

Before cutting studs I added a couple temporary supports to the top plate because this exterior wall is load-bearing, carrying the weight of the attic and rafters above. Once my header was in place with supporting trimmer studs I could remove the temporary supports.

I cut the siding so it would overlap my king studs and saved the boards for later. I'll trim the siding back more once I have the window installed and know where the casing will end up. Like when I added the door (this post), it's a good idea to leave plenty of siding for later.

Even just having this huge hole in the wall made a dramatic difference to the feel of the room. Windows are a good thing.

This window is an especially good thing because it will give our concrete truck a way to get the cement in for the new slab. That's coming up next!

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Removing Part of the Kitchen Wall Part 2

Yesterday, I covered removing the trim and drywall for the opening I made in the wall between a client's kitchen and dining room. (See this post) Now it's time to remove framing.

Again, it's important to think this through.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a NON-load bearing wall.

1. Remove the old header. Before removing studs, I carefully removed the header above the old doorway. It's hard to not damage drywall doing this because they are often nailed from every direction! Still, I was able to cut around the perimeter with my reciprocal saw and cut most of the nails. Once I got part of it loose I could start prying it out and cut more nails. Now onto those studs...

2. Think it through. If this wall had been load bearing, we would need temporary walls and install a substantial header to carry the load. A non-bearing wall up to 8 feet just needs a 2x4 header, however, this is a little longer so I've used a double 2x6 header built up with 1/2" plywood in between.

Knowing that my header is 5 1/2" and that I want to reuse the old trimmer stud on the left side, I can figure out where to cut these studs so that they'll rest on my new header once it's in place.

Also we'll be installing a countertop on the lower section of this wall at 42" high. The counter will be around 1 1/2" and then there will be a top plate (2x4) that's another 1 1/2". All this means that I need to make the bottom cut at 39" to accommodate these things. I measured in one place and then used the level to mark the others. It's very important that our countertop is level.

3. Cut the studs. Mark across the studs using a level to make sure they're all the same. Once they are marked, use a small square to mark lines on both sides of the stud. This will be a reference to help me make a flat cut across each board.

Before making the cuts, I used a longer metal blade in the reciprocal saw to cut any screws holding the drywall to the studs I'm about to remove. Starting with the the stud closest to the old doorway and working toward the wall, I made the top cut first before making the lower cut. If anything, I tried not to remove too much. After cutting, I checked everything with my level and trimmed a couple studs that had high spots. I was very careful to not cut all the way through and damage the drywall on the other side.

4. Install the new header. Now I built my header out of a couple 2x6 pieces with some 1/2" plywood sandwiched in between. The plywood makes the header 3 1/2" wide which will be flush with the surrounding 2x4s. Before nailing it together, take note of which way each piece is crowning and put this side up.

The crown is the slight curve in the middle of each longer piece of dimensional lumber. Too much crowning will be a pain to work with, so leave these boards at the lumber yard. However, even great lumber will have a slight crown in the center.

WHICH WAY IS IT CROWNING? When you pick up a piece of lumber and look down the edge do you know what you're looking for? To tell which way it is crowning look at an upper corner at the opposite end. As you raise the board, if the corner disappears then it's crowning up. If you can see the corner all the way down the board, then it's crowning down. Flip it over and repeat to make sure you've got it right.

Installing a header can be a tight fit. I usually cut the header with a little margin so that it won't be impossible to install. Rest one end on the trimmer stud and slide the other end into place. I needed a small prybar to get mine in, but that means it fit well. The crown means that the middle may be a little tight. You want it to fit snugly.

Next I put a top plate across the bottom studs where the countertop will go. I double checked it to make sure it was level and then did a little dance because it was... :)

Now, where's that beautiful countertop?

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Framing the New Gable Porch

With the old sagging porch out of the way, (see this post) it was time to frame a new one. The goal was to better support the structure, but also match the old porch style as much as possible.

I started by finding my center lines and cutting back a little more roof decking so that I could make a place to tie in my ridge beam. The old porch didn't have one which was one of the main problems with it. I sistered a couple 2x6's to one of the rafters where I would attach the ridge beam. This will secure it and support the weight of the porch.

You can see in the pictures where I also added some braces to add more strength to this structure. It's a little unusual to think that the ridge is holding up the porch- usually there are posts or walls holding up a roof. There will be brackets attached below for some support, but I want those to be mostly decorative.

I was able to save and reuse the old rafters which were bulky, old-fashioned, 2x6s. This means that they measure 1 5/8 instead of the modern 1 1/2. This will match the upstairs gables and stay with the look of the home, especially since the homeowners wanted to leave the vinyl off the porch and expose the eaves.

I made the ceiling with doubled-up 2x6s on front and back. I attached one to the house first above the door, making sure it was completely level and solidly nailed to the house framing. Then I added the rest of the ceiling framing to that.

Having two 2x6's around the perimeter of the porch will do the job structurally, but to match the old porch it needs to end up around 5 inches thick. To achieve this I put a piece of 3/4" plywood on the sides which will be covered with 3/4" trim inside and out. That should do the trick.

Next will be roofing...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Cover the Ugly Ducts with Soffits

There are times when exposed ductwork can be really cool- other times it's really not. Ours was the latter case.

Our home had survived 40+ years with out central air conditioning, but this changed after we bought it a couple years ago. It was a bit tricky to add a new HVAC system to our 60's split-level because there weren't many hidden places to run the new ducts. Instead, it had to go along the ceiling, waiting for me to deal with later.

So, with our current apartment conversion it is time to build soffitts to cover all the ducts and make it look as pretty as possible. Here's a picture showing the ducts and framing we've done in the bathroom:

You can also see in the picture where we made the closet a little deeper to accomodate the stacked washer/dryer (more on that here).

NOTE: There are a couple different kinds of soffitts. Often this term describes the underside of an eave, or the roof overhang- you may have heard of a soffitt vent which is installed in an eave soffitt to help air flow in the attic. In our case, the soffitt is a framed box that will hide ductwork. They are quite common especially in finished basements where plumbing or ducts are unsightly.

For most of our soffitts we just ripped 2x4s in half and made a grid to fit as snugly as possible without collapsing any of the ducts. Then we pulled out the ol' studfinder and made sure to nail the new framing into the wall studs, otherwise it will not hold and the drywall seams will crack (or worse!).

I like to add some insulation before the drywall because sometimes the ducts can be a little noisy. That will go quickly and I should get the drywall hung tomorrow.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Making an Easy Notch When Framing

The other day when I was framing the wall for a client's back hall (see this post), I used this quick trick to make a notch in the 2x6.

First, if possible, hold your piece in place so you can mark how wide the notch needs to be. Otherwise, you can measure as well.

Don't get out the jig saw to cut the notch out. That takes too long! Go to the chop saw and cut the edge of the board to the right depth. Usually, it doesn't have to be terribly accurate, as long as it fits.

After you've made these cuts, pull out your hammer and whack it! With a couple good hits, the notch should just break off along the grain and you're done. Once you've done it a couple times, you can do it very quickly- way faster than making a notch with a jig saw.

This only works if you are cutting across the grain so that the notch will split off. Also, don't try this with something that has to look pretty. It works with framing because it will be covered. It wouldn't work so well with door casing, for example... :)

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Hide the Ugly Electrical Panel Part 1

Today I started a job in Inglewood for a couple who have an incredible older Bungalow from the 1920's. It's a style that I love with all the goodies.

They have just renovated their kitchen with all sorts of upgrades, but still had a short hall by the back door that needed some help. This was where the electrical panels were located, but they didn't look very nice and certainly didn't match the rest of the home. My job was to build a wall to cover it all up and install some large doors so the panels can be accessed whenever needed.

I started by framing the ends of the wall and making sure they were level. Thankfully, the new wall was right under a ceiling joist so I secured the top plate to that with no trouble.

With the main wall studs in I went to work making the opening for the doors that I'll install. When finished it will be around 3' wide by 4' tall. I framed the opening with 2x4s making sure it was also level, which will be helpful to make sure the doors fit correctly when I get to that.

Next, I built a soffit for the ductwork that ran up to the second floor and hung the drywall. It was less than 16" wide so I could just place studs on either side and drywall over it.

With the drywall up and the first coat of joint compound finished, it's already 100% better. Just wait until I get those doors on!


-Peter


www.CarpentryGuy.com