What should deck stairs rest on

Furthermore, homeowners naturally assume that structures will last for years. Unless a contractor informs a homeowner that their deck has a limited lifespan, that the posts may rot and should be maintained, a homeowner will never attend to that maintenance. If you use a post base connector with fasteners bolts or nails that drive through the post, these fasteners may interfere with the DTT2Z bolts. In either case, the Deck Tension Tie can then be attached to the riser or blocking under the steps to resist lateral or outward force.

See the DTT technical bulletin for more information. Jim Mailey is the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic market-training manager for Simpson Strong-Tie—a company that, for more than 56 years, has developed structural products to help people build safer and stronger homes, buildings, and decks.

Jim joined Simpson Strong-Tie in and he has given hundreds of presentations to more than 25, design professionals, building officials, builders, contractors and dealers. He has developed numerous programs designed to educate industry professionals about how to install Simpson Strong-Tie products, as well as how these products meet various building code requirements. Jim is considered an expert in safe, outdoor wood deck construction and he provides economical product solutions to satisfy structural code requirements.

He has written articles about deck safety and has been quoted in deck contractor and home inspector publications. Jim earned a B. Simpson Strong-Tie is committed to helping customers succeed by providing exceptional products, full-service engineering and field support, product testing and training. Great detail. I really like the addition of the Simpson hardware. I have been doing something similar to this for years. I use a double 2x header in back of the second riser and hang my intermediate stringers with joist hangers.

I frame the first riser as a box. This way I only use footings at the side stringers. He covers the deck code requirements and feasible solutions. The program is about 6 hours long and very thorough. I use details similar to the one shown in the drawings.

One uses a threaded rod that reaches from one post to the other. It takes the place of the 4 DTT connectors and like them, is located at the upper fastener position. It works up to stairs about 4 ft wide. On stairs wider than 4 ft where the post is mounted outside the stringers, I use DTTs the same way shown on the drawing post, stringer, block with DTTs, stringer. But since there are multiple stringers between inside stringers that the DTTs are bolted to, I just install solid blocking between the intermediate stringers with structural screws.

Basically you install double blocking between the outside stringer and first inboard stringer AND double blocking between the first and second inboard stringers. If the stairs are resting on a concrete slab or a patio then the slab or patio should also be built with a similar foundation to resist frost movement. The residential building code does not mandate that you have frost footings for the stair rail newel posts or that the landing be built to withstand annual frost up and down movement.

If you choose to build this way, fine. It is way beyond what is required but would surely be indestructable. There is no reason why setting the stairs on a landing which moves marginally over the seasons is a problem. Yes, a hinge moment is created at the stair case connection to the ledger. But other than temporarily generating some stress on the joint that consists of numerous bolts and backing boards it is not about to give way.

But if you feel the need, go ahead and install frost footings. Just don't worry that your deck is at risk if you do not do so. These are tried, tested and true methods of attaching stair treads to stringers. You have a few styles you can use depending on the look you prefer.

Why Sign Up? Read Archives. Replacing my southeast MI year-old deck, was hoping just to replace the surface boards but many of the posts were set too deep and rotted at ground. Read More. I am looking to install privacy screens on my concrete patio.

I just want to put up two 6x6 posts with Titan Wood Post Anchors, either 35 or 70 apart,. I am building a 10'x12'deck not attached to a ledger board. My plan was to pour concrete footings, then run doubled up 2x8 beams setting on the footings. Concrete Volumes. Beam Spans. Joist Spans. Colder climates will require deeper footings.

Once you have your footings, a concrete lintel or pressure-treated base plate is used to secure the steps to the footings. If your backyard is extremely flat, the code will allow you to forgo a landing pad. Footings go beneath the landing pad. Generally, footings are concrete and poured into long cardboard tubes.

These tubes go beneath load bearing points in your structure. On your deck, they support wooden posts that hold up beams. Footings are necessary because they negate the effects of frost heave. If the lowest point of a footing is below the frost line, it will not be susceptible to the shifting of water freezing and thawing in the soil. Just as decks are susceptible to frost heave, so are stairs.

Building codes are now requiring deck stair footings to minimize stair movement over time. Now that you know you need footings, what are your stairs going to sit on? Several options include:. The length of the landing should be similar, for both practical and aesthetic purposes.

Your stair stringers will rest on your landing pad, but you should include a base plate. This block will rest on the footings or concrete pad. It adds structural support to your steps and ensures the width of the steps are evenly spaced and level.

A concrete landing pad is the sturdiest option. However, it is also the most labor-intensive. Wood landing pads are easier to build. The stringers will still rest on the footings; you will just build your box around the last step.