Sure building deck stairs can be tricky.
Build a deck box step.
Make sure the step is sturdy before allowing other people to use it.
Allow the treated lumber to dry thoroughly before priming and painting it.
But in this story we ll make it easy by showing you how to estimate step dimensions layout and cut stair stringers and assemble the stair parts.
The first step is to measure the height of the stairs to determine the number of stairs you need to build.
When building steps it is essential to build every step the same height as the others to prevent tripping.
Building a lengthy unit run is vital to the safety of your friends and family.
The deck surface is considered a step so if you have a 20 inch rise you will build one step and the deck will be your second step.
And you won t need any hard math to figure it out though your calculations must be accurate.
If you plan to paint the box however a more economical alternative would be to build it with pressure treated wood.
To do so substitute 1 x 6 treated boards for the tongue and groove cedar boards.
We show this deck box built from cedar with a stain finish.
Plans to build box steps for a deck by sarah tidwell.
Most deck builders use 2x6 material to frame the stair boxes and use 2 5 4x6 deck boards for each tread with a 1 2 overhang over the riser board.
Use nails possibly longer ones and a hammer to nail the box step to the deck.
Stairs on decks are typically wide and short.
This is for safety and ease of construction.
Decks can usually be accessed either from the main house or by stairs from the outside.
This is a very informative video that describes that standard method.
The maximum riser height is 8 and the minimum tread depth is 10.
The final measurement is the depth of each stair which is called the unit run.
The standard way to build steps is to cut stringers out of 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 lumber and to secure those to the deck or porch.
The specific placement of the nails will depend on the design of your steps and the deck.
The house deck is an ingenious way of extending the house and inexpensive when compared to the cost of an addition.
Attach the box step to the deck.
Decks are a relatively inexpensive way of extending houses and access to their entrance is usually made if you build deck steps box steps made on private property don t have to follow a specific dimension of course however if the steps are being constructed upon public property then it is important to check for applicable rules with the building and or the fire codes.
Instead i chose to build a series of modified boxes that stack one on top of the other.