Building stairs/steps

[dieselcrawler]

I'm going to be replacing a flight of steps at one of my rentals, a garage/apartment... the stairs going to the apartment are on the verge of catastrophic failure.

No real issues, remove the old ones, replace them with new ones... have most of the material already on hand, need to buy a box of 3" deck screws, and just do it. I have already cut out the stringers, (did that this evening) I have changed the pitch a little, stretching them out a little, to make them not so steep.

I've built meny sets of stairs over the last 20+ years, the math involved comes easy to me, and having built one set in particular that was just perfect, very comfortable rise and run ratio, easy to walk up one step at a time, or double step them if you want...

Who else likes to build steps/stairs?

 

[Rustyiron]

They are a satisfying project for sure, although I am finding that in their use, going down is much easier on my knee's :laughing:

 

[CalG]

rise and run sums to 18, the stair will be comfortable.
Don't forget the tread thickness in the layout!

 

[lennyzx11]

I like doing them. Wanting to do a square spiral off my 2nd story deck one day. Project list has a ways to go to that one though.

 

[ultrarunner]

I no longer enjoy it because some of the property I have looked after for since the 80's and wood steps need maintenance... it is just a question of time.

For small walk-ups I pour concrete... for larger staircases I have a buddy that installs precast concrete apartment/commercial style and so far they have been 100% maintenance free.

 

[MossRoad]

I've only built one set of stairs in my life, for our deck, about 7 steps. I read up on it quite a bit, measured twice, cut once and it turned out perfect. I don't want to push my luck an further!!! :laughing:

But it is very satisfying, indeed. :thumbsup:

 

[CreekyB]

Stairs, finish carpentry and oddly enough roof framing were always some of my favorite tasks when I was remodeling for a living. I was/am a math geek and to me math + trades work = fun.

Weird I know but there it is.

 

[mrmikey]

I enjoy them as well. I used to lay them out in CAD then I found this site. Not only stairs but a lot of useful layout formulas Stair Calculator - Stringers - Headroom - Plans - Metric ........Mike

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm not a fan. It makes my head hurt trying to figure it out. I go to this site to do the math for me. Stair Calculator - Plan Diagrams

One of my pet peaves is a stairway without a center stringer. Most seem to be two stringers 26 inches apart with a pair of 2x6's spanning that distance for the step. I treat stringers like floor joists and never go farther then 24 inches. I can't think of a set that I've ever done that didn't have at least three stringers.

Back in CA, where I'm from, a friend's family owns a bunch of apartment buildings. They had a person trip and fall on their stairs and they where sued because there was more then a quarter inch difference in the stair height. When they went and measured, they found that just about every set of stairs in all their buildings where off a little. The lawsuit cost them a fair amount, taking out all their wood stairs and putting in metal ones cost a fortune!!!!

When I build a deck, I like to make the bottom step concrete and then attach my stringers to the concrete. Makes it easy for mowing and you never have any rot issues.

 

[ultrarunner]

I was going to mention the liability part of stairs and rentals... this is why I have converted to precast concrete with metal stringers...

Railings are another big issue.