How To Build Deck Stairs With A Landing In The Middle
Deck stair construction varies but the general requirements are consistent.
How to build deck stairs with a landing in the middle. It s hard to say there s a best practice but the building code gives some guidance on good principles that should be followed to ensure a safe and long lasting set of exterior stairs. It applies to stair treads but a building official could consider the decking on a landing to be the equivalent of a tread. Pour cement into the hole to make a landing pad 4 inches thick. Then screw through the back of the deck rim into the skirts with three more deck screws.
For this deck the landing will be a pad on top of a 4 inch layer of gravel extending beyond the steps about 36 inches. Check your local code to be sure of specific requirements for your area. The total run is the overall horizontal distance traveled by the stringer. Dig out a 4 inch deep 4 x 4 foot hole and insert a matching wooden frame.
Tack the skirts to the rim with 3 in. The stair run will make a 90 degree turn at the landing to end on the 4 x 4 foot pad. Another common landing is a concrete pad. Scenario 2 level landings walkways between stairs in this scenario the horizontal distance between the lower level a and the upper level d is far apart making the tread depth in a typical stringer design uncomfortable for walking and.
The total rise is a stairway s overall change in height from the landing pad to the top of the deck s decking. For step by step instructions on building a concrete pad landing take a look at how to build a concrete pad. A stair rise is the vertical distance from the top of one tread to the top of the next tread. For more information about building stairs with landings visit building stairs and stair calculator.
We will teach you how to cut stair stringers to meet code for rise and run step limits. Some building officials may consider the landing to be part of the stairway however in which case there s a secondary load requirement irc table r301 5 minimum uniformly distributed live loads. When attaching stair stringers use a level to draw two plumb lines to mark the left and right positions for the skirts and horizontal lines to mark the top tread location. Building deck stairs are often the most challenging part of a diy deck project.
A stair tread is the width or depth of a single stair run.