View ChannelsFeatured: Finance
View ShowroomsFeatured: Radiantec - Radiant Solar Heating

BobVila.com

Home

Building Wooden Stairs

Bob helps carpenter Bob Ryley cut and install stairs leading to the garage's storage area. Starting with the stringers, Bob and Ryley secure the framework and add the risers and treads.

Get Adobe Flash Player to see this content.

Chapters from this episode

Clip Transcript For:

Building Wooden Stairs

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" All right. Fat. Cutting a stringer is always done. From a pattern right right. And now do a little bit and cutting before we can really get anywhere with them. And this is -- what you're putting -- stringers supported the second line OK we are cutting had a lot of candidates is that you can see it's pretty green stuff notes. Now what what is -- about screws right. So we don't use screws through strength. Well especially at it in well that's what they -- carry basically then clear the the stage and trying to prove. In the Iran Iraq so Matt is out frame right which is -- world. All right I'll pass that up Cuba right. This goes fifth generation snug. Up against clean. Timber up there back if you just little bit okay. Of that announcement accompanied an inch. -- OK now this is a pretty unorthodox way of fastening needs stringers yeah well that timber up there. I would contact -- got these great hardened screws. That are ten inches long yet and not try to remember a time to snap them and I can't. Yeah now there have been very very sturdy items when they were -- of course. To connect the and shall spend panels on TV yeah. -- All right. Including a total war stringers in this 36 inch wide stairs. Which is plenty plenty stirred. But since it's a storage a lot. You might be carrying heavy stuff up there."

" That's good. Now Ryley how did you figure out the rise and the run them. On the stringers. Well first thing we did was make it from book. The law for a total rise it was a 116. And a quarter inches from finished floor to finished floor divide that number by eight because you never want to rise in more than eight inches to find out how many we needed -- they came up with fifteen all right and it. Double back and fifteen times seven and three quarters comes up exactly 116 and require some basic arithmetic so that that's how rise. -- I know you're going one flat bombing here really got it right here right here so that left fourteen rises. Which is what we haven't put them. And I made the treads by nine and a quarter inches you know resort and to be at least nine right OK so let's put our temporary treads in place. Eventually will have little things that doesn't plywood. But right now these -- just temporary."

" like that accommodates the sprinkler pipe really well and provides us tonight. Safe for access to the storage loft."

[-]

More Videos »Related Videos

Supporting the Chimney Flues and Hearth

Bob and the mason discuss the chimney. Pointing out that we have two flues, one for the boiler in the basement and one for the wood stove. By code, the ceramic flue liners need to be surround by at least four inches of solid masonry (the chimney). The mason tells Bob how they are going to attach the pipe from the wood stove to the flue. Then the mason shows how easy it is to cut a four-inch cement block with a hydraulic jack. The mason and Bob then discuss the supports for the hearth, including a concrete table and a blue stone finishing floor.

Radiant Floor Heating System Installed

John Martin from WarmZone is on hand to show Bob how the medium density fiberboard (MDF) faced with reflective aluminum shielding and precut channels for the Pex hot-water tubing comes together to create a layout for the in-floor radiant heat system. One key advantage to radiant heat is the comfort level, since it is steady heat that is evenly distributed and free from the blowing, particulate matter that can come with forced-air systems. Martin explains how the WarmZone system comes ready-to-install with complete layout diagrams and directions that make it simple for do-it-yourselfers. The panels are set in adhesive, with spacers to temporarily align them and line up the tube channels until the panels are nailed in place. The heat panels then become the substrate for finish floor coverings. Unlike gypcrete, which is a skim-coat concrete application, these panels add very little weight to the floor. Since it is a 5/8-inch product, there is also no need to alter existing door openings. WarmZone specifies a 3/8-inch Pex tubing to deliver the heated water. Martin fits and taps the tubes in place in the channels to complete the installation. Bob then looks at the heat distribution system with supply and return pipes that come directly from the boiler room below. WarmZone has specified three short runs and circuits, which will give steady even heat throughout the space even with the heat loss calculations they have figured. Michael Willburn from WarmZone shows Bob the preassembled boiler-room manifold board and radiant-zone board that are created match the application and arrive ready-to-install from WarmZone. WarmZone takes the information directly from the homeowner, creates the system to fit the job, and then ships it to the site. The homeowner or installer can do all the work without the aid of a plumber until the system is connected to the boiler, at which point a professional installer should verify the connections and operation of the system before firing it up. Initial costs are about double the cost of a traditional baseboard-heat installation, but the operational savings are approximately 30 percent annually.

Installing Hardwood Flooring with Screws and Plugs

Wood floor expert Howard Brickman is on the job site installing White Oak hardwood floors from Carlisle Restoration Lumber. Instead of blind nailing the floors to conceal the fasteners, Brickman is using a screw-and-plug method. After locating the joists beneath the subfloor, the floorboards are pre-drilled about halfway through their thickness. Flooring screws are then driven into the pre-drilled holes in the floor, passing through the subfloor and into the joists. The result is a very secure installation. Finally, plugs, which were made from scrap flooring pieces, are inserted into the holes to conceal the screw heads. The plugs are tapped into place with a hammer, and then cut flush with the finish floor using a Japanese-style pull saw.

Installing Bellawood Hardwood Flooring

Bob joins Steve Shelowitz from Williamsburg Parquet Flooring to observe the installation of the hardwood floors in the penthouse apartment. Before the floor is secured, a red rosin paper is laid over the subfloor. The underlayment prevents dust from traveling between the subfloor and the finished floor, and prevents wood-to-wood contact to reduce the possibility of squeaking. The Ash hardwood floors are first roughed into place to determine the layout. Joints are staggered for an attractive layout, and longer boards are placed in the room's most visible areas. The floor's finish is factory applied, and is guaranteed for 50 years of normal residential use.