building decks stairs for composite
decks is similar to building wood stairs
with just a few slight differences
here's how to build a set of composite
steps for our deck we added our decking
and railings before building the stairs
see all the steps in the previous video
it's common to build the framing with
treated lumber and use composite surface
material which is what we'll do with
these steps composite deck stairs are
typically made from two by twelve
stringers spaced about 8 to 16 inches
apart they rest on a solid foundation
and are attached to the deck with
hangers they have risers also called toe
kicks treads and railings stairs should
be at least 36 inches wide you can build
your own custom stringers or get pre-cut
ones at Lowe's whichever you choose
always make sure you follow building
codes to start determine the location of
your bottom step set a straight board or
level on top of the decking and measure
the height where you want your steps to
end for example 55 inches divide this
measurement by 7 the ideal height for
each step round to the nearest whole
number to get the number of risers in
this case it's 8 now divide 55 by 8 to
get the actual height of the risers for
us in six and seven-eighths inches if
your steps are too short for your
comfort reduce the number of risers by
one and calculate again since we're
using the deck itself for the top riser
we'll subtract one step for our treads
we're using composite decking planks
making the run about 11 inches along
with wood and composite toe kicks on the
back
you can use the total run length to
determine where to build your landing
support one common landing is a concrete
pad it has a four inch layer of gravel
underneath and extends beyond the steps
about 36 inches another option is to
install concrete footers to locate them
use the total length of the run also
mark where the steps will attach to the
deck the posts and footers should be in
line with the two outer marks you can
make the footers even with the ground
check out our posts and framing video
for steps on setting posts when you have
your footers installed and the rise and
run determined mark the steps on the
stringers with a framing square set
stair gauges at the height of the rise
and the length of the run hold the
square at the corner of the plank and
mark the top run slide the square along
the plank and Mark both rise and run
continue marking until you have your
number of steps
at the top step subtract the thickness
of the toe kick and strike a
perpendicular line this is where the
stairs attach to the deck and there is
no toe kick at the bottom step mark the
thickness of the tread to ship the
entire set of stairs down when the
treads are installed this will make the
bottom step the same height as the
others cut the stringer with a circular
saw and finish with a hand saw use this
stringer as a template to mark and cut
the others next install a two by eight
below the joist to attach the stringers
brace it to the joist or beam behind
attach the posts to the footers like you
did for the deck frame now hold the
stringers and hangers flush with the top
of the 2 by 8 and Mark nail the hangers
to the 2 by 8 and attach the outer
stringers at the bottom screw them to
the posts and attach the bottom toe kick
then install the other stringers next
secure posts at the bottom of the stairs
with bracing anchors and carriage bolts
now cut all the toe kicks out of wood
and composite
also cut the treads
attach the toe kicks first
then the treads with matching colored
screws leave a small gap between the
treads for a cleaner look we cut extra
composite stringers and covered the wood
stringers
after the treads are in place you can
finish with the railings slide on the
post sleeves and glue the collars in
place hold the bottom rail against the
posts hole centered mark the angle at
each end and cut the rail align the
holes with the top rail transfer the
angles then cut the top rail
slide the brackets on the bottom rail
and mark the bracket location on the
post drill pilot holes and secure with
screws
to install the balusters use a tea bevel
to get the angle mark the balusters and
cut next place balusters inserts in the
holes and attach the balusters now
position the top rail and secure in
place with screws finish the railings
with post caps then fill in around the
footers with gravel and now your
composite deck is finished next make
your deck stand out with accessories see
how to add the finishing touches in the
next video to learn about each step of
deck installation
go to lowes.com/howto