Although we try to prepare as much as possible, assembly can be quite tricky in some cases. This depends mainly on the conditions in your garden.
Let's put it this way, if you have trouble with a closet from Ikea, then assembling such a large balustrade staircase might be a bit too much. Ask help from a neighbour or that nice uncle who is good at DIY, a bit of experience and insight does come in handy!
For the total assembly of the largest model, it is better to take a whole day. A model up to 10 steps is a morning (or afternoon)'s work.
First, make sure the surface is completely flat, firm and level.
Spend some extra time on this to avoid problems.
The highest staircase, including the balustrade, is 400cm high. If the lower leg is at a slant of 2 or 3 mm, you will soon have a difference of a few centimetres at the top.
Make sure the legs cannot sink into the ground because then the whole staircase will sink and that would be a shame.
Pre-drill into the step boards:
The holes in the step boards are not pre-drilled. Marking out the holes takes a lot of time and therefore money. The largest staircase would easily cost 300€ more if our staff did it for you, so you can quickly earn that money yourself.
Furthermore, we then have to number all the planks, so you have to search which one to use, also less convenient.
Besides, pre-drilling these boards is not absolutely necessary. Personally, I never do it. A board may split on the outside when you screw in the screw without pre-drilling. That's technically not a problem, but some people don't like that as much. Anyway, wood always works. Over time, dry cracks will appear in the boards anyway. I'm not worried about a crack more or less, that's the charm of wood. Anyway, we leave that choice to you.
Pre-drilling of screw holes for mounting the vertical beams of the balustrade stairs:
The fact that we do not pre-drill these holes has a technical reason. Believe me, NOTHING is straight.
In my life, I have renovated an old building in Nijmegen city centre and an old farmhouse in France. I also sometimes help family and friends in newly built houses.... nothing is straight, nowhere, really.
Well, nice you will say, but what does that have to do with my balustrade staircase?
Simple, in your home and garden, it's not 100 per cent straight either. If we were to pre-drill the holes of the vertical beams, you will have a problem when mounting it because it won't fit.
As we wrote above, if the ground is uneven by a few millimetres, you have a difference of a few centimetres at the top. I'm also sure that the wall or terrace or balcony that you put the stairs against is not 100% plumb.
So let's leave the top beam of the stair balustrade at the top 2 cm longer than necessary according to the calculations.... you probably won't even notice. You would notice when it is too short, though, which is not pretty.
And the beam is better to be too long than too short right? Too long then you can still saw something off... too short? Well... sticking wood to it is difficult.
Furthermore, some customers find that 3 beams for the balustrade are not enough. If we pre-drill, you can't add any. Now you can, just contact customer service and for a small extra charge you will receive extra balustrade beams.
Incidentally, we supply extra support posts with the balustrade stairs to help you mount the vertical beams of the stair balustrade. You put these posts on the stair treads, place the beam on top and it will be exactly at the right height for pre-drilling and screwing.
No problem at Vinuovo, we're thinking with you this summer! ;-)
A balustrade staircase kit contains everything you need to make your own outdoor balustrade staircase.
In our own workshop, we cut everything to size for you.
The kit contains:
- All wooden beams, stringers and planks you need
- Stainless steel screws in various sizes from the brand Reisser
- 1 long wood drill bit 6 mm
- screw bits TX20/TX25/TX40 (if necessary)
- Galvanised steel corners with stainless steel screws (if needed)
What is not included?
- items for fixing the balustrade stairs to the wall
- stuff for fixing to the ground, if necessary
- any other tools you may need
Why isn't that included then? We don't know your wall, balcony, terrace or surface. So we don't know what you need.
As for tools, we hope you have your own ;-)