Deck Stairs For Beginners
Plan your stairs before building. The thought of building deck stairs usually makes the weekend carpenter feel a bit uneasy, especially if it's the first time.
Building the actual deck - framing joists and attaching deck boards - is the easy part and doesn't involve as much thinking as building stairs does.
But building a set of stairs for your deck is not as difficult as it may at first appear. If you break the process down into simple steps and approach each step thoughtfully you will have no problem building a beautiful set of deck stairs.
There are certain basics in stair building that you have to know - like rise and run - and stairs layout. We'll explain all of that to you.
But unlike most other building tips, we will show you - with a few tiny tricks - how you can build stairs that will never rot - or at the very least, greatly extend their life expectancy and reduce your annual maintenance.
Be sure to read these articles...
But first where the stairs for your deck should go...
Location of Deck Stairs
To make your deck fully functional you most certainly will need to have some stairs. Where you locate a stairway depends on several considerations.
Take a moment to look at the plan of your deck (you do have a plan right? If not, learn about building plans.
Start thinking about where foot traffic is most likely to go. Where will the main sitting area be? It’s probably not a great idea to put stairs where traffic will have to constantly pass by when you are trying to relax or chat.
If you want to keep traffic close to the house, locate deck stairs along the deck perimeter.
If you would like to keep a large stairway out of view, try setting it off along an adjacent wall in a different direction. In that way, the deck is the focus from a frontal view, not a large staircase.
If you are joining different levels of a deck, the only choice you really have to make is whether the deck stairs will occupy the entire opening or be a small 3-4 foot wide stairway.
It’s a wise idea to build your stairs a bit wider than what you would normally find inside your home.
Deck stairs aren’t surrounded by interior walls and will likely have people carrying things like platters of food or other household items so build your stairs at least 42” wide or wider.
Just remember at around 48” you may need another stringer in the middle for support.
Building Code For Deck Stairs
The building code has something - many things actually - to say about how exterior stairs are constructed.
The specifications relate to maximum rise, minimum tread size, railing heights and spacing between balusters. There are also minimum standards for the size of actual hand rails.
Most do-it-yourself carpenters are unaware that to meet the building code, you actually have to have hand rails that can be easily gripped and held.
A standard top rail or even 2x6 or 2x4 on vertical edge will not suffice for outdoor stairs. More on this in the building code section for handrails.
Deck Stairs Layout
This is where you will have to do a little math to get things right. The first thing you must do is determine the total distance between the finished deck surface and the finished landing area. This is called the Total Rise.
Divide the Total Rise by 7” (which is a nice and gentle rise). This may give you an exact whole number (you’re in luck!) or you may get a fractional number.
For example if the Total Rise was 54” divided by 7, you would get 7.71 treads. Well, you can’t make .71 of a tread so you would have to round up to 8 treads.
Divide 54” by 8 (treads) and you will end up with 6.75” or approximately 6 3/4" per rise.
The next thing to do is determine the unit run of each step. The code usually says at least 9” but 10” or 11” is better.
Don’t confuse run with treads. They are not always the same. In fact, most treads are usually larger than the run of each step, allowing for an attractive and functional 1” or 2” nosing.
So if you are going to use two 2x6, which side by side are about 11”, consider including a nosing or overhang of 1”. Your actual run for this exercise would be 10”, 1” less than the tread.
Multiply 10 (run) by 8 (rises) and you will have 80” as your Total Run.
Now, in a perfect world your landing area will be perfectly flat and at the perfect distance from the top of your deck. But usually you have to do a bit of guessing. The best thing to do is measure from the deck surface to directly below. Now look outwards to where you expect the stairs to touch the finished landing.
Is it perfectly level with where you are?
If yes, your Total Rise remains unchanged. If not you must try to determine the elevation change by guessing with your eye (not the best), using a line level with an assistant (better) or using a transit (best).
Railings And Stairs
You can’t build stairs without railings, unless it’s only one or two steps. You can use any of the simple railing styles discussed in the deck railings section. The posts can be set on the outside or inside of the stringer to match the rest of the deck railing.
If your last post sits on the lowest tread remember to extend the top rail far enough that it overhangs to the end of the stringer.