If you have an attic space in your house, the folding ladder will save you free space on the first floor. You can make it yourself or buy it in a store. However, the first option is most preferable, since you can perform a design that is suitable for the room in which it will be located.
Dimensions of folding stairs
If you will be making a ladder folding, then you need to be guided by standard sizes. They are considered the most acceptable, since the use of the device with their account will be most comfortable. As an optimum width of the ladder march , 65 cm stand. If we talk about the height of the ladder, then experts do not recommend making this parameter more than 3.5 meters. Otherwise, it may cause injury. Among other things, this design will be inconvenient to lower and raise. The number of steps should be limited to the 14th or 15th. The folding ladder will be most convenient if the distance between the steps is 19.3 centimeters. The thickness of the step should vary from 18 to 22 millimeters. If the upper part of the staircase is fixed to the ceiling or aperture in it, it is important to choose the correct angle of the construction. The standard value is a value in the range of 60 to 75 degrees. If you use a more impressive slope, then the design will be dangerous, whereas if the slope is less, the ladder will occupy an excessive amount of free space. When you make a folding ladder, you should consider that it must withstand a weight of 150 kg. The staircase, which is built into the hatch, serves as the best option. The width of the structure should be 70 centimeters, while the length - 120 cm, these parameters are considered the most convenient for use.
Making a folding ladder of two sections
Folding stairs to the attic can be manufactured only with a specific set of tools. To perform the work you will need a hacksaw, which is intended for working with wood. To measure, you should prepare a tape measure. It will take a master and a card loop of 4 pieces. Prepare two bars, the length of which is equivalent to the width of the hatch. The same number of bars should be prepared with a more impressive length than the first. The difference between these parameters should be 20 centimeters. The thickness of the bars can vary from 2 to 3 centimeters. As fasteners, use self-tapping screws, anchors, and hooks.
Features of work
If you decide to make folding stairs to the attic, you initially need to fix one of the shorter bars on the upper end of the structure using the hinges. The other end is fixed firmly to the bottom. Two racks should be mounted on the flight of stairs, setting them so that they are located obliquely and do not interfere with the movement. They will act as stiffeners for the construction. The next step will be a sawing with a deviation of 2/3 of the length of the ladder. After both parts must be interconnected by means of loops. It is important to ensure that the mount is correctly made. This will ensure the correct folding of the structure. The top bar is fixed to the wall surface under the hatchway. If you make a folding ladder with your own hands, it must be attached to the wall surface using a hook. The loop is screwed into the kosour directly next to the place where the saw was made, while the hook should be fixed to the wall. As a minus of this design is that it will remain in sight. This can be avoided if the product is used more complex design, it has to fix sections on the hatch cover.
Making stairs in the hatchway
Folding stairs to the second floor can be manufactured in such a way that they can not be seen at a time when they are not used. For this, the structure should be made in such a way that it consists of three separate sections. To do this, it is necessary to make a hatch that will lead to the attic. You can use improvised materials. It is important to determine the location of the opening. As dimensions of the staircase, you can use the dimensions limited by the parameters of 125x70 centimeters. In order to cut out the hatch, it is necessary to add about 8 millimeters on each side to the indicated dimensions. These gaps should ensure easy closure of the cover, but at the same time, the insulation will not be damaged.
Material preparation
If you make folding stairs to the attic with your own hands, you will need to prepare square bars with a side of 50 millimeters. These blanks should be 4. Two of them should be less long. You need a 10mm plywood sheet, you can use two panels of the whole sheet. This can help the master, who did not have a single canvas.
Making stairs
When a folding ladder is manufactured with your own hands, the drawings must be prepared by the master in advance. At the initial stage, cuts should be made at the ends of the bars, which should have a depth of 1/2 of the thickness. After it is necessary to make the treatment with glue and fix all the screws. Beforehand, you must analyze whether the diagonals match each other. In order to avoid changing the diagonals, it is necessary to temporarily install the scarves, which are made of 4 mm plywood. Afterwards, you will need to get rid of them, reinforcing the canvas with 10 mm plywood, using self-tapping screws installed around the perimeter. At the next stage, you can proceed with fitting the opening. In order to ensure a good closing of the hatch, a door latch must be inserted into the cover.
Work on the mechanism of a folding ladder with a hatch
Drawing a folding ladder will allow you to do the work correctly. The next step is to start manipulating the opening mechanism. Accessories before the beginning of the process, you can buy in the store, but they can be manufactured independently. Originally on the cardboard you need to depict the design of the structure, in the manufacture of which will be used corners. Next, the cardboard parts are cut out, which allows them to be tried on. This ensures accurate determination of the length of the hinges. You can find in your garage iron corners, pieces of metal, as well as trimming tin strips. All this may be necessary for the manufacture of stairs.
Material preparation
For the process, one corner will be needed, two different lengths of stripes, as well as a piece of sheet steel.
Recommendations for work
The next step is to mark the location of the holes for the hinges. The distance between them must be determined by experience. Next, you need to make holes for mounting the M100 bolt. When assembling is done, it is not necessary to tighten the fasteners. Now you can fix the required angle of opening the hatch and push the future mechanism to the desired angle. Then on the metal should be noted area, which when opened will overlap the corner. This will cut the element with a jigsaw. Now the metal bands should be brought to the proper view, for this, they need to cut off excess length, and also round their ends. This eliminates cornering and will not impede the movement of the structure. The next step is to reassemble the entire mechanism. On this we can assume that one mechanism is ready, you can proceed to work on the second one.
Making the second mechanism
It is important to make it on the same principle that it turned out to be exactly the same as the first, only in a mirror version. To do this, you need to connect all the parts with clamps and drill the necessary holes. After one hole is ready, it is necessary to install a bolt in it and drill another one. Then the details are twisted together and equal in length. For this technology, you need to make all the details. As a result, the master should receive a pair of completely identical mechanisms.
Final work
If you decide to make metal folding ladders on your own, the next step is to install the gears on the hatch and try everything on the doorway. It is important to take into account the height of fixation on the beam of the floor. This indicates that the part must not go beyond the overlap. If the error is still allowed, then you can make the installation of temporary bars. The hatch must be adjusted in such a way that it opens well and does not touch the walls of the opening.
Manufacturing of support mechanism
If aluminum ladders are manufactured, they will also need a supporting mechanism. To do this, prepare two bands of metal, the width of which is 20 millimeters. Useful in this process and a corner. To do this, by the end of one of the strips, a piece of metal should be strengthened by welding, which will rest against two strips. From the corner it is necessary to make a kind of support area. In the end, you should get a hinge that will remain slightly bent when opening the hatch, but it will reliably hold the load. Subsequently, this node must be installed so that it is fully decomposed when the mechanisms are opened as much as possible. This will ensure an even distribution of the load between the elements when the folding ladder is open.
Features of manufacturing stairs on the strings
You can make aluminum folding stairs, such designs are light in weight and do not take up much space. However, quite often stairs are made and using wooden boards. In this design, not only the steps, but also the bowstring can be used. Both these constituent elements must be prepared from an inch board, the width of which is 100 millimeters. The length of the first section should correspond to the dimensions of the hatch, while the second one will be somewhat smaller, but it should not touch the ceiling when folding. The third section will have a length that allows it to remain on the floor surface. In order to provide a more aesthetic appearance of the structure, it is possible to grind the faces with a milling cutter. On the strings, you need to make a small groove to install the steps. Self-tapping screws and glue will allow to connect all the details in a single structure. The loops will join the sections of the march, and also allow the ladder to unfold and fold. If you take into account these rules, then the work will be successful, and you will achieve the expected result.