Do you notice any wear and tear in the stairs on your patio deck? Maybe a loose panel here or a shaky tread. Perhaps the stringer has warped or come off loose? Maybe it is just becoming too dangerous and you are considering replacing your patio stairs. Or even, it is because the deck stairs have become too old or you recently upgraded your deck and you want a new one that compliments your deck better, and what’s been holding you back? The costs of getting a professional carpenter in this economy are high and might be discouraging. You can easily accomplish all of this work yourself and can save a hefty amount in labor.
All that you require are a set of deck stairs that you think goes best with the style of your deck. Be sure to check in with the local building code to see if these comply with the safety regulations. You can purchase these stairs prefabricated or if you want to DIY and make one for yourself then that would also be easy to accomplish. This would also mean that you would need some carpentry skills. The biggest plus of this approach is the fact that you would not need to follow anyone else’s ideas but you can make your own vision come to life and the satisfaction you receive from something that is your own toil and labor is another huge plus. All you really need is the right plan, some tools, and a little guidance.
For any task to be successful the first step to it lies in planning and making stairs from your patio deck is no exception to this rule. Take a close look at the design that you have so that you can utilize it better for the sake of your patio deck. Make sure to take notes, and draw them out on a notepad. Be sure that your measurements are correct especially if you are working in a tight space otherwise your stairs might not even fit on your indoor or outdoor deck. Feel free to look up Indoor or outdoor deck designs on the internet to make sure that you can find the right inspiration or possibly even a how-to build it yourself. Once you create preliminary sketches it is important to finalize the blueprint design. This would make deck building much easier for you.
You can follow the below process to create this plan. Do note that this is a general plan that fits all sizes, make sure to factor in any other variables such as the terrain, the height of your deck, and the type of your decking.
1- Position
The first and the most essential thing to do is to decide where you want to put your stairs. This decides how accessible your deck is and how convenient it is. If your door is on the other side of it is an outdoor deck and your stairs are on the opposite side of the deck then it only creates an unwanted inconvenience. You also don’t want the stairs themselves to be a convenience i.e in the way of where people usually walk as this creates a tripping hazard. Take accessibility, convenience, and other factors into consideration when working on the positioning of your deck,try to find a spot that is not usually used.
2- Step Width
The decision for the width of your steps is completely dependent on where it is to be placed but also another factor that comes in is the overall traffic that the deck would be receiving. Also, keep in mind that the wider the step the more support it would need, meaning more stringers in the middle apart from the outer stringers to actually bear the load of any coming traffic. If your family is large then make sure your steps are wide enough for 2 people side by side. If you have a floating deck, one that isn’t more than 3 feet above the ground then you can definitely go for really wide stairs that occupy one-third or two-thirds of your deck. It all depends on your personal preferences and design choices
3- Number of Steps
This decision requires you to balance practicality, safety, and aesthetics as the length of your risers definitely give it a different taste when it comes to aesthetics. This leads your decision to become more complicated involving mathematical decisions as regardless of the length of the deck the steps need to be evenly spaced as uneven spacing causes a tripping hazard. You should measure the overall height of the stairs and work it out mathematically. For example, if the height of the deck from the ground is 48 inches then you could have eight steps with a six-inch gap between individual steps.
4- Space between steps
This goes hand in hand with step 3 as explained before, you have to make a conscious choice between aesthetics and practicality for some designs smaller spaces between steps may look more aesthetically pleasing however if the deck is at a larger height then the space between your steps being less would make climbing to the top very uncomfortable and tiring. In general, the smaller spacing would create a much more smoother up and down movement whereas larger steps make it less smooth but somewhat safer as smaller steps can cause stumbling.
These are some things to consider in general which will help you in planning and building your own useful and sturdy stairs for patio decks. You can improve further on the appearance of your deck by making additions such as attractive railings or by painting them.
