A staircase located in a house can become a decoration of the interior, or vice versa, spoil the impression of it with its unpresentable appearance. Moreover, the result depends not on the structure itself, but on its finishing. The easiest way to give a staircase visual appeal and elegance is to use wood trim.
This natural material looks impressive in combination with any design and fits perfectly into any interior. In addition, finishing the stairs with wood will hide many defects that may arise during the manufacturing process of the structure.
Wooden staircase
Most often, cladding is conceived at the design stage, but sometimes finished products are also finished that were not originally designed for this. Both iron and concrete stairs can be sheathed.
Next, we will look in detail at how to finish metal, reinforced concrete and wooden stairs with your own hands.
Material selection
It is the sheathing material that will determine the final result. It depends on it whether you get a very modest and cozy staircase or a respectable and graceful design. However, regardless of the type of wood, an important parameter is its moisture content.
Excessive humidity can significantly reduce the strength of the material. Therefore, all wooden elements for staircase structures must be dried until the humidity level reaches acceptable limits. Otherwise, during operation, you may encounter swelling of wooden elements.
The moisture level of a freshly cut tree is 35-100%. Cladding work can only begin if this figure drops to 12%.
Staircase finished in mahogany
In addition, when choosing wood, you need to pay attention to ensure that it does not have the following defects:
- cracks;
- different pigmentation;
- holes.
- bitches.
The most popular types of wood for facing work are:
- Pine;
- Beech;
- Oak;
- Red tree;
- Ash;
- Exotic wood species, etc.
Oak
Of course, oak wood is especially attractive, as it has increased durability and strength. In addition, oak has a rich range of colors - from light yellow shades to dark, red-brown tones.
Oak wood
Note! When decorating a staircase with oak, one feature of this material must be taken into account - solid oak darkens over time and acquires a noble, deep color.
Ash
No less attractive wood for stairs than oak is ash, which is not inferior to it in strength. It has a beautiful, pronounced texture and a noble grayish tint.
Ash texture
In addition, ash has the ability to bend without losing strength. Therefore, it can be used for covering stairs with complex shapes.
Beech
Beech wood
Beech symbolizes sophisticated style and elegance. This wood has visual appeal, uniform texture and is not inferior to oak in durability. Beech is great for simulating mahogany.
Pine
Pine is also characterized by good performance properties. In addition, it is easy to process due to its low density. At the same time, the cost of cladding the stairs with this material will be significantly lower than all previous ones.
Pine wood
It must also be said that experts recommend using pine for the sub-walls. Although, an alternative could be spruce or fir.
Exotic varieties
The use of exotic wood species will achieve a magnificent effect. These include teak, wenge, merbau, etc. These species have an incredible color palette, ranging from lemon yellow tones to deep purple and even black! Of course, the price of this material is much higher than the traditional wood in our area.
What to cover the metal frame with?
The frame made of corrosion-resistant materials (stainless steel, aluminum) can be left open, and it is better to sheathe the iron staircase on all sides
.
The most common combination for a private home is metal and wood. For cladding, hard and soft wood is used (oak, beech, larch, pine, walnut). Advantages of wood for cladding:
- ease of processing;
- low thermal conductivity;
- high frost resistance;
- You can make the cladding yourself.
The shortcomings of wooden cladding can be corrected with protective impregnations
When choosing, we recommend paying attention to the individual properties of each type of wood; treads should be finished with hard oak, beech, larch; risers should be finished with cheaper soft pine, spruce, fir
Metal frames made of stainless steel or metal with galvanic treatment (chrome plating, brass plating) go well with glass. This is one of the home staircase options that looks natural in modern and traditional interior design styles. Steps, balusters, and railings are made of glass. To protect against falls, anti-slip pads are installed on the steps or sandblasted. Finishing a staircase with your own hands is very difficult - you need specialists who have experience, tools and equipment for working with glass.
WPC (wood-polymer composite board) is similar in texture, thermal conductivity, and color to wood, but without its disadvantages. High moisture resistance allows the material to be used for finishing street structures, flights for baths, saunas, and attics. Sheathing is not difficult to do yourself, without the involvement of installers, using an electric saw or a hacksaw to cut the boards and following the step-by-step technology for working with WPC. If you decorate a staircase with decking, it will last up to 50 years, will not fade in the sun, will not crack from impacts, and will not be worn out by constant walking. The surface is well washed from dirt.
The ends of inexpensive iron frames are covered with budget plasterboard. It is easy to cut and its surface can be processed.
Cladding metal stairs with wood
Decorating a metal staircase with wood is a creative process that, in addition to skill and knowledge, also requires good artistic taste. The most common and popular cladding method is attaching wooden steps to a metal frame.
In the photo - a metal staircase covered with wood
If the design project involves completely covering the metal frame with wood, then you will have to perform a set of works in the following order:
- First of all, you need to decide on the type of wood;
- Then you need to prepare the trim parts. To do this, the array should be adjusted to the dimensions of the metal frame, while eliminating the occurrence of cracks. After taking careful measurements and marking the array, you need to cut out the wooden parts.
- When the finishing elements are ready, they need to be secured using a screwdriver. After installing the steps, you need to rest the risers as tightly as possible against the frame and secure them too.
- When the steps and risers are installed, the balusters should be installed evenly. You can use pins for this. Then railings must be installed on them.
- Then you should completely cover the side of the staircase with a panel with recesses cut out for the steps.
- After completing all the work, the wooden surfaces must be coated with varnish or paint.
Advice! In order not to confuse the parts, after cutting them you need to number them and make a simple drawing with part numbers.
What criteria should you use to choose cladding?
Wood for the production of steps is chosen based on personal taste and the allocated budget. For owners deciding how to cover a staircase on a metal frame, it is important not only to get the right material, but also to make sure of its quality. The following recommendations will help you choose:
- For cladding you need high-quality dried lumber with a moisture content of 10-12%.
- The quality of the wood is indicated by the surface of the material: no cracks or chips, a minimum of knots. It should be smooth, which means that the sawing was carried out on a good machine.
- It is necessary to select wood species with the same coefficient of thermal expansion. Otherwise, the likelihood of deformation of structural elements increases.
- It makes sense to purchase all components from one manufacturer. The staircase will look harmonious if all its parts are matched in color and processed equally.
Knots reduce the strength of steps Source accorel.ru
- Instead of solid wood, laminated boards are often purchased for steps. Compared to solid boards, they are less susceptible to deformation and cracking. Glued laminated timber differs in the method of gluing, solid lamella or jointed (parquet). The first option is more durable and abrasion resistant.
- For unloaded parts (risers, balusters, end surfaces), it is allowed to choose softer, budget varieties (not only pine, but also birch and spruce). Their wear resistance does not affect the reliability of the flight of stairs.
Cladding of reinforced concrete stairs
Finishing a monolithic staircase with wood will visually remove the bulkiness of the structure and give it elegance. In addition, the use of soft rocks will reduce the noise of concrete stairs to a minimum or eliminate it altogether.
Concrete spiral staircase trimmed with oak
The instructions for finishing concrete stairs are as follows:
- As in the case of covering a metal staircase, you first need to decide on the type of wood.
- Then you need to prepare the structure for sheathing, namely, level it. To do this, you can use a screed or logs. The polymer mixture will take two weeks to dry. If the leveling is carried out with concrete, then before facing you should wait two months so that the moisture is completely removed from it.
Tip: The best option would be logs, which will help save time and make the structure not so heavy.
- Plywood is installed on top of the joists, which has moisture-repellent properties. The sheets must be cut to size and secured with dowel nails, as shown in the video in this article.
- Then the elements of the steps are attached to the plywood using glue and screws.
- Installation of the plinth must be carried out strictly according to the markings. After its installation, you can install handrails and other parts of the fence.
Finishing of a wooden structure
Despite the fact that a wooden staircase does not need covering, sometimes there is still a need to refine it. Finishing wooden stairs, as a rule, comes down to covering the sidewalls, installing railings and applying paint and varnish to its surface.
Decorating a wooden staircase may also involve wood carvings and other types of decorations. But, in any case, regardless of what type of finishing you are going to produce, you need to think about it at the stage of choosing the material.
If, for example, the staircase is made of coniferous wood, then it will be difficult to paint it, since the wood may contain a lot of resin. If the staircase is made of beech or oak, then it is advisable to choose varnishes that can highlight the texture of the wood.
Finished wooden staircase
Since other types of finishing of wooden stairs do not differ from working with structures made of other materials, we will focus on paint and varnish coatings. Today there are two types of coating – transparent and opaque. In accordance with its type, other materials are selected, such as primer, mastic, putty, etc.
Experienced builders recommend coating the wooden surfaces of stairs with varnish, which, when dried, forms a transparent, dense protective film. There are two types of such varnishes - nitrocellulose and alcohol. .
Nitrocellulose varnishes are made on the basis of varnish colloxylin, plasticizers, resins and volatile organic solvents. Almost all types of wooden products can be coated with such varnishes. They are weather resistant and dry quickly.
Alcohol varnishes are made from volatile solvents and resins. This type of varnish lends itself well to varnishing and also dries quickly. However, its disadvantage is low frost and moisture resistance.
Note! When choosing paintwork, you should take into account the fact that wood may contain chemical compounds that can react with the paintwork, which can lead to the most unexpected results.
Of the opaque coatings, oil paints are the most popular. They should be applied in several layers. In addition, enamels are sometimes used, which are most often sold in cans, which is very convenient. If you decide to apply cellulose paint, you should keep in mind that it is not suitable for covering external stairs.
Acrylic coatings have become increasingly popular lately. They resist light and moisture perfectly, dry quickly and do not cause any harm to health at all. As a rule, applying paintwork at home is done with a brush.
“Staircase to the house” - professional production of wooden stairs with any design
If you are not confident that you can do it yourself, you should not risk the safety of your household - order a professionally made staircase from specialized specialists. They will design the structure, observing current GOSTs, make calculations, and help you choose a convenient and beautiful option for wooden cladding.
offers a large selection of mid-flight, screw designs at an affordable price. Buyers have access to ready-made options from the catalog (more than 400 models), as well as products for individual projects. Certified materials and high-quality compounds from Votteler, Loba, AkzoNobel are used in production. By collaborating directly with manufacturers, the company optimizes the cost of products and increases the efficiency of solving all technical problems. "Stairway to Home" offers:
- a wide selection of models made of wood, on a metal frame (with straight steps, winder steps, with platforms, etc.), a variety of finishing options;
- assembly and installation services of structures at sites in Moscow and the Moscow region - we install stairs in private houses, apartments, commercial spaces;
- delivery of manufactured structures to all regions of Russia using proven transport services;
- professional assistance in choosing designs, shapes, finishes and so on.
To place an order, ask a question, or find out about the terms of cooperation, contact the company’s managers by phone or write to us in an online chat.
