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Thread: Building steps for my deck
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2020-06-28, 09:57 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- right behind you
Building steps for my deck
We are looking to remodel our back deck and a question came up that I was curious about. Each step is made of three boards adding up to a step about 10-11 inches in total width. Is there a reason steps are built this way? Im seeing videos with 1 piece of wood per step or two pieces and was wondering if there was an official reason for it. To clarify in case im confusing people steps like this
with two boards as opposed to a single slat.Spoiler"Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."
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2020-06-28, 10:04 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2011
Re: Building steps for my deck
My guess is that's the particular width of wood that the contractor could get a good deal on.
The steps on my deck are made of two boards apiece, and this has led to problems because a person's weight often comes down on the outer board alone. I wish mine were a single slat apiece, but that's project #3479 on the home-repair list.
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2020-06-28, 12:18 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2007
- Location
- Manchester, UK
- Gender
Re: Building steps for my deck
Either that, or it's done purely for aesthetics. It's reasonable to assume that wood becomes more expensive the wider you get it, though, because wider planks obviously have to come from bigger trees and so there's a more limited supply of them.
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2020-06-28, 01:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2012
- Location
- UK
- Gender
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2020-06-28, 01:34 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2011
Re: Building steps for my deck
That's a thought, although I'm not sure if most contractors are thinking that far ahead.
But I've had a lot of bad experiences with contractors.
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2020-06-28, 02:18 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2012
- Location
- UK
- Gender
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2020-06-28, 02:28 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
- Location
- right behind you
Re: Building steps for my deck
So most likely a combo of cost and ease of replacement in the future? Thanks. I figured cost might factor into it but wasnt certain as I dont buy lots of lumber. :p The current steps are older than I am so no clue what they cost back 40 years ago or so.
"Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europae vincendarum"
Translation: "Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe."
"If you don't get those cameras out of my face, I'm gonna go 8.6 on the Richter scale with gastric emissions that'll clear this room."
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2020-06-29, 04:02 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2013
Re: Building steps for my deck
Since a friend of mine carpented together a table for his outdoors over weekend while I was visiting a curious thing came up.
He was making sure the planks, as ever so slighty curved, were placed with the curve upwards so water would tend to drain off. Be easier with smaller pieces.
Think we hit on most reason in thread, it's not going to be just one reason, it will be many small experiences over centuries of building decks and steps. I doubt average contractor knows them, but they will probably benefit from it indirectly if nothing else. Like you get your decklumber, well usually lumbermills sells it specifically as a type, so certain dimensions, certain qualities and so on. And you probably read up on how a deck is supposed to be made. The contractor might not think of why usually XXX is done, but if following a "traditional" style e.g. I bet someone's ahrdwon experience went into it.
Wood is a "living" material too, the larger the pieces the more you notice when it moves over seasons.
But if I had to guess one reason it's mainly price.
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2020-07-11, 09:19 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2009
- Gender
Re: Building steps for my deck
The two board horizontal allows for run off & quicker melting of snow/ice..?
Fools are made to suffer, not to be suffered
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2020-07-11, 02:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2007
- Location
- Tail of the Bellcurve
- Gender
Re: Building steps for my deck
The primary reason is almost sure to be cost. One board of width w is nearly always more expensive than two boards of width w/2, because the larger board has to be cut from a larger tree. Larger trees are rarer, and take longer to grow. They also require larger equipment to process. Since the stair isn't made significantly stronger by using a single piece tread, there's no reason to fork over the extra cash for a more expensive way to do exactly the same thing.
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.
Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman, 1906.