Building stairs correctly requires knowledge of the building code as well as the ability to incorporate that information when executing your build. In this example, we tackle a front porch stair rebuild that posed multiple challenges.

One of the primary challenges was the inadequate rise and run of the existing stairs. (We are still left wondering how this passed code at the time the home was built!) Knowing that the run on our new stair stringers would be deeper, we realized the existing concrete landing would not meet current code in our area. There are some less involved ways to address this issue, but the homeowner (Brandon) decided to widen the driveway, which immediately took care of our concerns.

Getting started

Once the concrete work was wrapped up, we were able to firm up our material and tool lists, and confirm a project start date. On day one, we started by doing the demo work on the existing stairs and railing, and the deck boards on the porch entry section. As this was happening, our project lead (Joel) noticed a few other challenges we would need to address: The existing railings terminated into the columns supporting the porch roof. At that point, a person would still be standing on an upper stair tread (not the porch) when the railing ended, which also did not meet code. This required reframing (extending the porch), so that when completed, the new railing would meet code. While we were at it, we added additional framing and blocking so we could “picture frame” the new decking.

Porch decking install

Before installing the porch decking, Joel used the power planer to knock down a few high spots in our framing, and then treated those areas with end-cut solution. Working from the front edge of the porch back towards the house, we installed as many of the grooved deck boards as we could. (Extending the porch framing left us a few deck boards short.) We were able to let these decking boards “run long” on both sides as they would ultimately be trimmed off for the placement of our picture frame border pieces. To avoid a safety issue, we used a couple of the “old” decking boards to temporarily fill the gap at the house where we came up short.

Planning for new railing

The other decision we needed to make was how to attach the new railing to the stairs. The old railing had posts at the bottom of the stairs that were poured into the existing concrete and were positioned on the outside edges of the stairs. We cut these flush with the concrete during demolition and then soaked the remaining post material with treatment. 

We quickly decided we wanted to widen the stairs to have the new railing mount to the surface of the bottom step. Making this choice allowed the new railing to terminate into the roof support columns as before, and helped hide the original bottom railing posts mentioned above. This decision required a trip to the lumber yard for more material.

Sorting material for stair stringers

The first thing we did when it was time to make our new stair stringers was to check each piece of two-by-twelve for “crown”—meaning that when you sight down the edges of the board, is there a natural curve (crown) one way or the other? The goal in this case was to go through all our two-by-twelve lumber, identify the crown, and create a single pile with all the crowns facing the same direction. 

As you straighten up your stack of two-by-twelve boards, pay attention to any pieces that don’t seem to mirror the general shape of the pile. Those pieces can make the job more difficult when you get to installing stair tread and riser material, especially if you are using manufactured decking. The idea being to cut and install all the new stringers with the crown facing up.

Cutting new stair stringers

When it came time to cut our new stair stringers, we deferred to Joel, our most experienced craftsman, knowing that clean, consistent cuts would significantly benefit our finished project. See how to frame stair stringers in this video. 

Before cutting, Joel chose one of the two-by-twelves and marked out the layout we would need for this project. Once he cut that first stair stringer, we checked it for fit against the porch and concrete. We then made sure to use that same piece as a template when marking all the others before cutting.

Once Joel started cutting using his circular saw, we realized he was stopping short of his marks so we could finish the cuts with a jigsaw and not risk “over-cutting” the stair stringer material. We noticed on the old stringers that they had not followed this best practice and almost every stringer had saw cuts past where they should have been. This can significantly reduce the overall strength of the stair framing.

Once we had all the stair stringers cut, it was time to start installing them. We first installed the two stringers that would be just inside of our left and right outside stringers using Simpson Strong-Tie reinforcing angle brackets. At that point, we measured for level to see if we were going to need to do any shimming or trimming when installing the rest of the stringers. Fortunately for us, the concrete was almost dead-level from side to side, so we were able to avoid any additional adjustments to each individual stringer. 

We installed the rest of the inside stair stringers using our reinforcing angle brackets and then made sure to use our end-cut solution treatment on all the cut edges. 

It was then time to install our bottom rim board to tie those stringers together. When calculating the length of the rim piece, we needed to account for the fact that we wanted to add two more stringers to widen our stairs so our railing could mount to the surface of the bottom step, and also terminate into the support columns of the porch roof. Once we calculated the length of our rim piece, we mirrored the layout we used at the top and started fastening stringers to our rim board.

Squaring and anchoring stair framing

Before anchoring our stair framing to the concrete, we used our framing square to make sure we were 90 degrees to our porch landing. 

Once we had marked where we wanted to be, we cut some pieces of flat blocking and attached them between our stair stringers in a few strategic locations. Installing this flat blocking allowed us to drill holes through the blocking and into the concrete below. 

Once that was done, we hammered rawl pins (a type of concrete anchor) into our holes to anchor the stair framing in place. Our last step before moving on to fascia, risers, and stair treads was to install the blocking we would need for our new railing system. 

Note: Code for attaching stairs to concrete landings may vary by jurisdiction, so be sure to check with your local building department. 

Adding fascia and risers to stair stringers

For this project, we chose to install matching fascia to the outside stair stringers and the perimeter of the porch. Similar to our method for cutting the stair stringers, we used the same stair stringer template to mark the layout for the two pieces of fascia for the risers. 

Once these were installed, we ripped a piece of fascia to match the height of our rim board at the bottom of the stairs. We then cut that piece to length and fastened it off. 

Our next step was to identify the length we wanted to cut our riser boards to. Once the risers were cut to length, we ripped them to a height that was slightly less than the rise of the stringers. This would allow us to slide them in more easily and we would just hold them up tight to the bottom of the front stair tread when we installed them.

Installing stair tread material

Given our short timeline for this project, our railing supplier was coming to inspect and measure the framing in the afternoon of day one. This dictated that we start installing the stair treads on our bottom step first. 

After taking a number of measurements, Joel decided on a tread length that would work for every step. When finished cutting the tread material for each step, he would take a few minutes and use a small wood rasp to ease the top cut edges ever so slightly. It is amazing how this small detail softens the visual appearance and makes your workmanship look even more accurate. 

Before fastening the treads, Joel confirmed the length our finished riser boards would need to be. We used one of these pieces to keep our outside stair stringers where we wanted them, as well as make sure our finished risers met the fascia on the outside stringers in a pleasing manner.

Involving the riser piece also allowed us to properly calculate the overhang of the front tread. This measurement is dictated by code requirements and one that you always want to pay attention to. Once we had a couple fasteners holding our outside stringers in place, we could focus on installing the rest of them. We found that using a speed square allowed us to keep our fasteners in a straight line and keep consistent spacing by referencing the measurements on the tool. 

When the time came, we were mindful to pull our risers snug up against the bottom of the front tread before fastening them.

Wrapping up final details

We were able to get enough work done for the railing company to come back on day two and install the new railings. Due to the changes in the depth of the porch and the width of the new stairs, we did not have enough decking and fascia material to finish the project. Given we were working with a special-order color, we had to come back a week later to wrap things up. 

Once back on the job, we cut the fascia boards to length, then ripped them to our riser height and fastened them in place. We then installed the square edge deck board at the front edge of the porch. Fortunately for us, Joel had left us some template pieces with the exact angles and notches needed for a good fit around the porch support columns. 

Next, we removed the “old” pieces of decking on the porch that were acting as placeholders and replaced them with the new material. That left us needing to fill the remaining space with a piece of decking that we had to rip to width and then modify the underside in order for it to lay parallel with the rest of the porch.

Doing work on a porch, deck, or stairs? Check out more of our helpful posts and videos focused on decks and railings here.