Hello Apartment Therapy, This winter, I made it my personal mission to conquer the constant air leaks that were making our heating bills skyrocket. One day I noticed that the leaves of my indoor plants were rustling in the wind. Lo and behold, a massive amount of cold air was blowing in through seams in the wooden stairs leading to our terrace. In a fit of (over)excitement, I managed to remove the stairs and used expanding foam to seal all of the gaps in the brick and drywall — problem solved! Except that removing the stairs pretty much destroyed them.
Good Questions: Replacing Steps to Terrace?
Now we're thinking of replacing them with a single brick step to go across the whole area — the wood floors are discolored and there are holes from where the original stairs were attached. My problem is that the space is 49" across and 10" high and I really don't want to have to lay 200 bricks. I'm also thinking that we need to make the step removable or at least moveable in case we want to replace the floors in the next few years. I was thinking of "floating" the step on a piece of plywood and hiding the edges with quarter-round.
Any suggestions from Apartment Therapy readers on what to do? Should we do the step ourselves, or are there any kits out there? Thanks! Caitlin
Caitlin, be aware that your state or city may have very specific building codes for residential stairs and steps. You don't want to spend money and time on a project that will de-value your home!
Anyone else?
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Bring in a carpenter to build some wooden steps.
view bepsf's profile
You can use ALC (aerated light concrete) for the steps instead of bricks. It's both very sturdy and fairly cheap. Plus it comes in bigger blocks. I'd put a floorboard on top the step just to make it look nicer.
Good idea: "floating" the step on a piece of plywood for easy removal.
view Anna Europe's profile
I think you should build the same thing that you took out. Maybe you attach the stairs with screws instead of nails, in case you need to remove it.
view webherring's profile
I know that there are very specific ratios that are how wide and tall to build steps so that they are easy to walk up and down. I'd do some research about that before starting the re-build process. And anchoring the steps securely is also vital.
view fjorlief's profile
I agree, building codes are fussy about steps. I'd hire a handyman with code knowledge to build wooden ones, with the awareness that you might want to move them for floor replacement. (He can probably build a unit then attach it to the wall with screws you can take out again later if necessary.)
view SherryBinNH's profile
Depending on how much storage you have in the rest of the apartment, you could build a 3 step storage unit in there. Googling "stair storage" throws up bazillions of links. Heres one example.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/06/11/a-brilliant-storage-idea-staircase-drawers/
If thats a standard width door, I bet you could find a product, if not theres probably some DIYers who've posted how to's online.
You might able to leave it unattached to the wall and weight the back of it with bricks etc so it wouldnt move (again check local codes etc).
view Clairepetrol's profile
who cares about the floor. your going to remove it right?
view mozmun20's profile
fjorlief brings up some sound advice -- the standard tread is 11" deep and the standard step riser is 7" high. With the height of your doorway, that is a significant step up -- and there really isn't a way to remedy that without making it seem more awkward. Since you have sich a high rise up or down, I would make the step deeper than the normal 11" to provide a better footing.
I don't think brick is the way to go with an interior stair, unless you are going to go to the trouble of sealing it and smoothing it so it doesn't look rough and uncomfortable to bare feet. I would do a sturdy wood stair tread on top of a built wooden box covered in drywall and painted.
view Jerith Bailey's profile
Commercial code risers are usually 4" Min, 7" Max. You need to have at least 3 steps so you don't have a trip hazard. All risers should be consistent in height.
Then, depending on what the height of the risers are, you can figure out tread depth. A shorter riser requires a deeper tread. A rule of thumb that riser riser tread = 25" or 26". So for 7" risers, your treads would be 10 - 11"; for 4" risers the treads would be 16" -17" (!)
But again, check your local building codes to make sure you are in the ballpark.
view addy's profile
Sorry the add symbols don't appear in the calculation:
RISER plus RISER plus TREAD = 25" = 26"
view addy's profile