What You Need To Know About Fixing Stairs
The stairs to our aboveground pool are splintery and loose. I want to replace them, but is there anything I should be worried about?-JOE R., LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA
Roy: Anyone with a little carpentry experience should be able to build a small set of exterior stairs. There are plenty of resources online, but many of them overlook errors that first-time stair builders tend to make. (I've made those mistakes, so I know.)
First, don't skimp on the lumber. From there it's all about precision. The main features of any stair are the treads (what you step on), the risers (the vertical wood between the treads), and the stringers (foundational support pieces). When you mark off the stringer, do it accurately and consistently. Each riser and tread need to meet at a 90-degree corner. Ensure this by making a plywood template shaped like a triangle. One leg corresponds to the tread, the other to the riser. Trace it and then move down and trace the next step. Add a center stringer to support the tread in the middle of its span, where it's most likely to bow. When you cut out the stringer, don't overcut. It looks sloppy. More important, it weakens the stair. And don't forget to use corrosion-resistant screws, lag screws, and bolts. These fasteners must be stainless steel, dipped in molten zinc (known as hot-dipped galvanized), or have a rust-resistant coating rated specifically for pressure-treated lumber. Finally, the entry point to any pool should be protected by a gate. Is yours? If not, add that to your construction project.
This story appears in the June 2016 issue of Popular Mechanics.
