Carpentry
Many homeowners seek professional carpentry services which can include laying new carpet, building stairs or repairing doorways. Perhaps you are thinking of building a second floor in your home but are unsure what steps to take in order to build a staircase. Hiring a carpenter can easily be avoided if you gather up the right amount of information and gear to do the work yourself.
If you have just purchased a new home and it is in need of significant repairs, look into what you can do yourself before hiring a carpenter. There are many steps you can take to make your home safe as long as you know what it is that needs to be done. First, take a look at stairs inside your home. What condition are they in? Do they have railings? Are there places inside of your home that need a set of steps? Often times when a homeowner is thinking of adding an additional floor to their home, they are unaware of certain codes and restrictions in place which may prohibit them from building stairs a certain way, in a certain spot or a certain size.
If you are in need of steps inside of your home, be sure and take the correct measurements for your steps. Be sure you are following whatever guidelines or codes that are in place for your area. Often, if you are unaware of these codes, you can call your local home improvement store such as Lowe's or Home Depot and they will have the information for you. Most typically, stairs are required to have a good 10" worth of tread. Take the correct measurements with a tape measure so you know you are accurate. Keep in mind that the number of steps is usually one less than the number of risers. So take the number of steps and multiply by 10. This is how far out your steps will be.
With this measurement, you are then able to mark your floor to signify the starting point of your staircase. If you are building your stairs by a wall, the front of the stairs must be at least 3 feet away from the wall in front of them. As a safety precaution, make sure that your bottom step is not an obstruction for another room such as a kitchen or living room. This can be a danger and can lead to accidents such as tripping and falling down. Design your staircase on draft paper before you start building so you have an idea of the shape and location of your stairs. This will help you in the long run when tackling such a large home improvement project.