CASE STUDY · DENVER, PA · 2 DAYS
Four Steps and a Landing: Treated Wood Stairs Near Denver
JOB CARD
The old steps at this side entrance near Denver had reached the stage where the family had unconsciously memorized which board not to trust. That is the stage right before somebody's ankle finds out the hard way, and it is exactly when a two day rebuild is cheap insurance.
New wood steps are carpentry at its most honest: geometry, good lumber and correct fasteners, visible to anyone who looks. Here is what correct looks like, because the difference between these stairs and a weekend improvisation is all in the numbers.
The geometry your feet already know
Your legs expect a stair rise around 7 inches and a run around 10 to 11, and they expect every step to match its neighbors within about a quarter inch. Uneven steps are how people fall on stairs that look perfectly fine in photos. We laid out new stringers to a consistent rise, which meant correcting the old layout that had drifted almost an inch between the top and bottom step.
The American Wood Council's DCA 6 guide is the reference we build exterior wood stairs against, and it is free reading for any homeowner who wants to check a builder's work. Stringer spans, fastener types and railing loads are all in there in plain tables.
Lumber that touches dirt is its own species
Where wood meets ground or concrete, standard treated lumber is not enough. Ground contact rated lumber carries roughly twice the preservative, and it is what our stringer bases and landing posts are cut from. The landing itself got a slight pitch away from the door, because water that cannot decide where to go always decides wrong.
Railings went on both sides at code height with graspable profiles. On stairs, a railing you cannot close your hand around is furniture, not safety equipment.
What two days buys
Step rebuilds like this run in the lower band of our porch and exterior repair pricing, and they remove the daily gamble a failing stair quietly runs on every trip to the car. If your steps have a board the family avoids by habit, that is the estimate trigger. Call us before the ankle does the scheduling.
SHOT ON SITE BY OUR CREW. NO STOCK, NO STAGING.