Everyone will be Building Exterior Steps Like This Now (The "Never Rot" Method that adds 30+ Years)

Comments · 564

• TY

  @TysonSommer-DFWCP · 9 months ago (edited)

  Sooo grateful not only for online stair calculators, but also for the most excellent &quot;stairbuilding&quot; YouTube channel. I built a new deck over an old concrete driveway slab which acted as my stair landings. The slab graded downwards perpendicular to the path up/down the stairs. So the rise on the bottom step was shorter on one side than the other. Code allowed me to make the middle of the rise of that step equivalent to the rise on all the other steps. It was tricky to do, but ended up perfect thanks to all the online help I got.<br><br>Side note: I used stainless steel plates affixed with stainless steel screws to separate my lumber from my concrete. Never thought about using PVC. I think that might be a problem over time in this Texas heat (same reason I didn&apos;t use composite decking).

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• NI

  @nicklazzaretto6044 · 9 months ago

  Instead of the cutouts for the PVC you can just use 3 tab roofing. Much easier and maintains integrity of the stringer.

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• BL

  @Blaster-un1gi · 9 months ago

  Great work on figuring out the stringer layout. That is harder than most DIYers realize on their first attempt. &nbsp;On my stairs I made the stair footer MUCH bigger than the bottom of the stairs so it doubles as a paved, level landing at the bottom of the stairs.

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• 41

  @41sja · 2 days ago

  Very good tutorial for a 1st time deck/stringer builder like myself. Lots of helpful info in this, so thank you

• KE

  @Kebmoz · 8 months ago (edited)

  I use a flush cut bit on a small router, running it on a taping knife to trace out the trim on the stairs AND I usually miter and cap the ends of the 2 treads to in a sense picture frame each tread. &nbsp;I prefer to build these ahead of time in the shop. &nbsp;I think this looks better with a reveal over the stringer trim that is the same as the nosing on the front side.

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• SH

  @SHole-n7s · 6 months ago

  Excellent job. &nbsp;This is how im going to build exterior stairs from now on.

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• RA

  @randr10 · 9 months ago

  A lot of overkill here, which is good. One suggestion that I&apos;ll make, and this is something I did on my recent stair replacement project on my own deck, I put the last step flush with the deck surface. That way I didn&apos;t have any boards cantilevered below the outer plate on the deck. I screwed the stringers right to that plate through the back side. Most guys do the method you&apos;re doing here, but I feel like my method is stronger and will stay strong even as the wood shrinks and begins to decay, because gravity is on your side here. The stringers simply push into the plate and as long as the stairs are still attached to something solid at the bottom, everything should stay together. Even if it&apos;s not attached at the bottom, the shear strength of the fasteners will hold it up. With the cantilever method, the wood has to have integrity to hold the fastener in, which is not going to happen with age. With the other method, which the previous guy used and you show here, the wood began to decay and rot and the cantilevered piece began to pull out from the fasteners just like I mentioned above. I originally replaced the stairs because the stringers were rotten where the steps attach, but when I pulled the stringers off I noticed that this cantilevered piece was maybe days to weeks away from the whole set of stairs collapsing. You&apos;re already done with this job, so obviously this will be for next time, but food for thought.

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• MA

  @ManuelGarcia-hm9tx · 9 months ago

  After watching many videos on stair building, this is by far the best detailed one I have seen, thank you

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• JA

  @JacobEmerick-q1m1m · 3 months ago

  When it comes to installing the treads, I like the picture frame the outside and then fill in the middle piece. &nbsp;But you have to add additional blocking to your framing in order to picture frame it

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• DE

  @deepghetto8968 · 9 months ago

  All hail our mighty overlord POWER PRO!

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• MI

  @michaelorr430 · 7 months ago

  The clamp on brass rafter square stops are super helpful laying out stringers

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• TA

  @tarassu · 9 months ago

  These metal platoos at the end of handrails seem to be exceptionally good at creating pain.

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