Tag: stair opening

First Floor Stair Opening

My friend Dean came back last Saturday to help me work on the house. We spent some time sorting through my scrap metal pile, getting all the copper, brass, and aluminum separated and pondering what to do with the remaining near-worthless steel and iron. Then we started work on framing the opening for the first floor stairs.

Stair opening

Planned stair opening (not actually green)

The new stairs will be several feet further back in the house to increase the front bedroom size (currently 8′ x 7½’). This means the existing opening between the first and second floor needs to move. In addition, because we’re adding steps to the attic, the opening will change shape, from an L to a rectangle. One advantage of this design is we can put a solar tube in the roof above the stairs and a light well will allow natural light all the way down to the first floor.

Dean putting up the wall

Dean putting up the wall

After adding some blocking from below between the first floor joists to bear the wall, we put down a sill plate board and used the laser level to position a sistered double joist directly above it. Getting the joists into position proved the most difficult part of the process. We were able to frame the wall on the floor and tip it into place. The laser level proved accurate: once it was aligned on the sill and joist, the wall was perfectly plumb.

Sistered joist on opposite side

First sistered joist on opposite side

Sunday I positioned the sistered double joist on the other side of the stair opening. This set the boundaries of what need to be removed and what needs to be filled in. Last year when we demoed the old stairs, we also demoed the middle bedroom we were using as an office so that we could make way for the new stairs. Last December we filled the room back up with debris from the attic, so Monday evening I cleared it all out, dropping the boards straight down into the basement and then piling them for later use. Tuesday evening I pulled up the hardwood floor (which was good enough to come up in sections still attached to the furring) and the subfloor.

Dean sistering joists

Dean sistering joists

Sunday morning Dean returned, bringing his old but compact jigsaw which fit between the floor joists. This allowed me to cut out the joists over the new stairwell and give them to Dean, who put them back up over the old stairwell, sistered to the existing partial joists. Then I put in a new joist down the length of the opening directly above and flush with the beam.

Opening finished

Opening finished

Once again, we’re very grateful to Dean for his assistance! This felt like a big step forward toward getting the stairs in and the first floor framed out. It’s pretty amazing how big the space is. On one hand it feels like a bit of a waste, since we’re losing almost a hundred square feet out of the second floor, but in exchange we’ll get two bedrooms in the attic, so I think it’s a worthwhile trade.

Basement Stairwell Framing

The subfloor is nearly done. I just have to put down a thin, 4″ strip along the North wall. However, before I can finish that up I needed to fix the stair opening to the basement along the outside wall. When Matt B and I framed it last year, we cut back the joist ends along the outside wall. Now, as with all of the other joists, they need to be at the right level. I took a look at it and decided it would be easier to pull out the joist ends and redo them.

Stair opening

Stair opening (also pictured: giant rack of old floor boards in basement)

I first tried cutting the joist ends down to the right size, but they were not in great shape, and a couple of them broke in half. I tried cutting some new pieces but nominal 2x10s are too loose in the rough sawn notches and I couldn’t position them as accurately as I wanted. In addition, I decided I wanted some sort of bracing down the length. A full 2×10 would close up the cavity and prevent it from being spray-foamed. Notching a 2×4 into the ends would work, but would be a real pain.

Instead I decided to just put new 2x4s (planed a few times) on top of the rim on the other side of the wall studs, screw a 2×4 onto the face, and then for good measure, shore it up with some support blocking glued and screwed underneath.

New framing, start of subfloor

New framing, start of subfloor

With the new structure built, I started working on covering it in subfloor. I wanted the OSB to span the opening, which required some fancy carpentry. The narrow section along the wall needed a groove because the rest of the subfloor is tongue and groove. I’ve been cutting my own grooves out of my leftovers on the table saw instead of wasting full panels. The problem here is that the piece is shaped like an ‘L’, so cutting the groove on the inside edge was complicated by the fact that I couldn’t slide it all the way across the table saw.

I started by cutting the groove as far as I could on the table saw, which left about a foot or so. Then I used my circular saw to get closer, leaving about 4″. Finally I used my oscillating tool to cut the sides of the groove and a wood chisel to finish it up. The piece slid in and fit like a glove, tying this section in with the rest of the subfloor. Once I finish this edge, I just need to plane and glue some seams and this project will finally be done!