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Tricks of the Trade Cutting Deck Stairs

Cutting deck stairs really doesn’t take a lot of time, but it can get complicated in the sense that you have to calculate the rise and run, or the slope of the stairs. Deck stairs are usually built for outdoor decks, porches and gazebos. There are construction calculators to make calculating the measurements easier, but many people prefer to use old fashioned paper and pencil. The basic ingredients of deck stairs are few, but the cutting and assembly must be fairly precise.

Deck stairs require stringers, treads, risers, posts and concrete. Often the risers are omitted, because they can result in water collecting where the risers and tread meet. Stringers are simply the boards that hold the treads. There are two of them for every slope. If you have a landing between stair rises, there would be more than one left and right set of stringers.

Cutting Deck Stairs

Making the stringers is probably the most complicated step in cutting deck stairs. Most of the time you can cut one stringer and the second stringer is identical. Every now and then, the stringers can’t be cut the same, because the ground where the stringers will set is uneven. In that case you must calculate each stringer measurement. Otherwise you layout the first stringer and then duplicate it for the second stringer.

The steps for cutting deck stairs are as follows.

Pour pads for bottom stringers
Figure your stringer length
Calculate the first stringer
Cut the left and right stringers
Position the posts
Dig the postholes
Attach the stringers to the deck
Attach the stringers to the pads
Install risers (if using)
Attach rail posts
Install treads
Pour concrete around rail posts

The commercial and residential building code says that the maximum stair height should be 1 ½ inches and the standard stair tread depth is 10 inches. You can make tread wider if you want.

The pads you pour for the bottom of the risers serve two main purposes- They level the ground, but they also protect the risers from moisture damage. It’s also much easier to seal the risers, treads and risers with deck sealer before you assemble the stairs. You should use weather resistant wood of course, but it still needs to be sealed.