How to Build Tiny Home Stairs

If you have seen a tiny house before, you likely came across an ingenious staircase, climbing up to the loft, with tons of storage underneath each step. It is even more likely that if you are planning to build a tiny house of your own, you are looking for a guide on how to build tiny home stairs. The honest truth is that they can be a little tricky to build, and the whole process will require some Math, special tools, and woodworking skills – but rest assured that this short guide will help you get through the building process with success.

Let’s get right into it; there is a lot to do!

What You’ll Need

Here are some essential items you will need for the job

1. Baltic Birch Plywood
2. BOSCH Laser Distance Measure
3. Makita Compact Router Kit
4. Ryobi Drill and Circular Saw Starter Kit
5. Wood Glue
6. Wood Screws

Step 1: Brainstorm for inspiration

As we suggest with any interior designing project, you should brainstorm for ideas if you have no clue what you want your staircase to look like. There are many genius ideas available on Pinterest for you to take inspiration from. Look at what will suit your tiny house; if you want something fancy and will be needing the help of a professional in building stairs for your tiny house, and other similar considerations.

Step 2: Imagine your staircase as a series of boxes

Once you have a rough idea of how you want your storage staircase to look like, try imagining it as a series of wooden boxes. This will help you design box modules later in the process, and it is also the best method to visualize the storage of the staircase. Moreover, if your staircase is a pile of boxes stacked together, it is flexible to change its layout by easily unscrewing the boxes. This method is the easiest to work with for DIYers.

Step 3:  Decide on the dimensions

The first and foremost thing you need to do now is to decide on three main dimensions of the storage staircase. Without this step, you will not be able to proceed. Any staircase has a rise, a run, and a width. The rise is the vertical gain of the staircase, while its width refers to the horizontal length of each step -also known as the stair tread. Finally, the run is the longest dimension of the stairs from the bottom step to the loft. Those aware of the Pythagoras theorem can think of it as the hypotenuse. Play with numbers here to see what you will be working on.

Step 4: Calculate the number of steps

An easier way to do this is by dividing the total rise of the staircase by how high you want the steps to be. So, if the run of your entire staircase is 120 inches, the rise is 84 inches, and you decided to keep each step 7 inches high – then 84/7 = 12 steps of height 7 inches each. You can calculate the run of each step in the same fashion by dividing the total run (120) inches by the total number of steps (12). This means the run per step should be 10 inches. You will have to calculate these numbers beforehand, as a single box with the wrong measurement will leave the whole of your storage staircase incomplete.

Step 5: Plan your stairs storage

Once you have planned out the dimensions and number of steps of your stairs, the next step in building stairs for your tiny house will be to layout your storage in a list. What will the general composition of the boxes look like? What will you be utilizing the storage for? Your list of storage may include things like bookcases, cleaning supplies, a place to keep important files, photo frames, décor pieces, or even your wardrobe. The biggest items should be the top priority.

Step 6: Design different box modules to mix and match

Once you know what type of storage you want, use graph paper to design modules for different boxes that will form your storage staircase. The boxes that will form the actual steps of your staircase need to be the same shape and size, but you can play with the ones that will be placed at the bottom. We recommend designing some standard form factors so the steps are modular and can be moved around into different configurations.

Step 7: Build your boxes or buy pre-made ones

If you choose to build the boxes yourself, you will need some tools and woodworking skills. We suggest taking help from a professional here if you are not confident about the latter. Measure and cut the top, bottom, and sides for each box and glue as well as screw them using a simple butt joint. Once the glue has dried, cut and attach a back to each box using screws. Finally, assemble the boxes together in a staircase configuration and fasten them together with 1.5-inch wood screws. To attach the entire staircase to the wall, you will need bigger 3-inch screws. Make sure to hit the walls studs for a secure anchorage of the storage staircase.

Alternatively, if you are able to find pre-made boxes that fit your storage needs and staircase configuration in your mind, you can just fasten them to each other after assembling them together.

Our Final Thoughts

Building stairs for your tiny house can be more of a challenging DIY project, which is why most people prefer to get it done by professionals. However, the job is not entirely impossible and can be completed successfully if you have a good sense of measurement and have passable woodworking skills. Our short guide on how to build tiny home stairs will help you plan the entire process out thoroughly before you can jump into the dirty work, and as the famous saying goes, an hour of planning can save 10 hours of doing.

Happy Building!