How to Reinforce Attic Stairs

Reinforce a Fixed Attic Staircase

• 1

  Shine a flashlight onto the underside of the attic stairs for maximum visibility. The boards that run up at an angle on each side of the stairway and support the treads and risers are called stringers. The horizontal piece that you walk on is called a tread, and the vertical piece that covers the space between the treads is called a riser.

• 2

  Move a stud finder along the wall underneath the staircase to find the location fo the studs. Mark these points with a pencil. You can accomplish the same thing without a stud finder by tapping a row of holes across the drywall with a finish nail until you hit a stud.

• 3

  Place 3-inch-long screws into the stringer in front of each wall stud. Drive the screw through the stringer, through the drywall and into the stud.

• 4

  Spread a narrow glue line onto a strip of wood and then press it into the joint where the top edge of the riser meets the bottom of the tread above it. This strip of wood will reinforce the joint between the tread and riser. Repeat for each step on the attic staircase.

• 5

  Test any shims that are between the risers, treads and stringers by wiggling them with your hand. When you find a loose shim, tighten it up by tapping it in firmly using a hammer.

Reinforce a Fold-Down Staircase

• 6

  Drill a 3/8-inch-diameter hole through each stringer just beneath the bottom tread of the stairs.

• 7

  Measure the distance between the outside faces of the two stringers. Cut a piece of 3/8-inch-diameter threaded rod to a length that is 1 inch longer than this measurement.

• 8

  Pass the rod through both holes that you drilled in step 1 so that the rod is underneath and parallel to the bottom step, with 1/2 inch protruding past the outside face of the stringer on each side.

• 9

  Put a lock washer and a nut on each end of the steel rod. Tighten them by holding an adjustable wrench on the nut on one end and turning the nut on the other end with another adjustable wrench. Tighten the nuts until they are firm, but don't overtighten.

• 10

  Repeat steps 1 through 4 for the rest of the steps on the fold-out stairs.