Bendy stairs !

[boilerbeasty]

my stairs bow a bit when I walk on them. i don't mean they bow in the middle of the tread (like standing on a plank of wood between two bricks)
I'm talking about the whole run of stairs bowing downwards. if you think of them as a strip of 13 stairswhich should be straight, they bow in a curve.

only a tiny bit, but it means that where they meet the wall there's a gap which varies. this makes it hard to decorate cos caulking etc cracks. even the more rubberier fillers don't stretch enough. i'm starting to think that one of those flexible L-shaped strips people use on their bath/tile edges might work.

any ideas - do you think I should boost up the support from below ? or is this normal and the solution is....?

 

[Thermo]

how accesible are the stairs from underneath?

 

[boilerbeasty]

oh quite accessible - the space is in an under-stairs cupboard which has some stuff in but not completely packed. there's the usual gas meter and associated piping. lecky meter is elsewhere. so I reckon I could put in some more support from underneath. the stairs are against the party wall, so I could put a new vertical support between the stairs and the floor - over a joist it should be quite rigid...

House is 100 years old next year...not sure how old the stairs are but wouldn't suprise me if they were original like most of the rest of the place.

 

[big-all]

dont think he means that sort of access

its access as in can you get to the back off the stairs and check the [loose]wedges

 

[masona]

Do you mean the string? (the side timber that hold the tread & riser)

You could use rawlbolts underneath through the string if it's brickwork, if not then support it with upright studs from the floor.

 

[big-all]

mmm got to be carefull here if the the treads and risers are firmly fixed to the strings they wont flex as they support each other

other problems with "pulling "the strings against the wall is
you can pull them apart if your not carefull and the treads and risers can become unstable and indeed fall out if they are loose [a possible cause for the bowing]
once you have tightend the wedges with all the components tight in the right place you of course can bolt to the wall with spacers if required to hold the string in line without deflection

 

[boilerbeasty]

thanks for the replies. the stairs are exposed underneath so I can get to the wedges etc. to be honest it didn't cross my mind when I replied that lots of people have them boarded/plastered underneath to form a flat surface underneath.

i'll have a good look later, see whether bolting the string into the brick wall looks like it causes other problems and whether i need to put a spacer between the string and the wall.

 

[masona]

i'll have a good look later, see whether bolting the string into the brick wall looks like it causes other problems and whether i need to put a spacer between the string and the wall.

Yes, I should've mentioned the packing! Don't overtighten the rawlbolts, just enough to support it.

 

[boilerbeasty]

quick update -
i put in some vertical supports from the string to a baton on the wall (rather than right down to the floor), which was already there. Stairs don't move much now, although there's a bit more creaking - I guess because the whole lot doesn't move any more.