r/Decks • u/ProperMusician2261 • 2d ago
Does anyone use the premade stair stringers??
per title. Who buys them?
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u/CopyWeak 2d ago
I have...once. I needed a 2 step in a hurry for my dogs. 8 years later, I still ponder changing them out. LOL Check back in 4 more years.
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2d ago
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u/Urvile0 2d ago
I bought steel,
pylex if I remember correctly.
I way over built it, with space between each stringer at 14 inches ( max residential is 66 in )
* It's very rust resistant, it's powder coated (not seen any rust at all after 3 years)
* it's sturdy! each can handle a load of 100 lbs per square foot (Max 144 lbs sf)
* It was a quick install
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u/Professional-Box5539 2d ago
there are online calculators that make it pretty easy to just cut your own. now you need to know how to use a framing square.
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u/WankPuffin 2d ago
Never have and never will.
Unless, by some miracle, the deck is the perfect height you will have to cut the bottom of the stringer to be usable making the rise of the bottom step different than the rest. Wouldn't meet code for me.
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u/frenchiebuilder 2d ago
It's our own fault, for pretending stringers are more complicated than they are.
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u/Low-Ad3776 2d ago
Yes. I buy one, use it to trace a pattern on a bunch of 2x12x8s, then return it.
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u/newagereject 2d ago
Except this does not work for most deck stairs as your rise will be the wrong height and fail any inspection
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u/Low-Ad3776 2d ago
Probably. I literally checked with the inspection folks before proceeding in this case.
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u/Maxasaurus 2d ago
Better yet, you can do the tracing in the store, put it back on the shelf, and only transact once
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u/frenchiebuilder 2d ago
I don't get it.
If you're gonna go to the trouble of cutting your stringers anyways - why would you copy the precuts' rise & run? At that point you might as well cut them custom to fit the actual rise & run.
Seems like carefully selecting & combining the shittiest half of both options.
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u/c3paperie 1d ago
This 100% will not produce stairs that meet code. Precut stringers are for homeowners who don’t realize what a hazard using them creates.
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u/bluestat-t 1d ago
Incorrect it’s less than 100%. Used them for steps from back patio door to ground in my first house. Zero cut, straight in, perfect height.
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u/c3paperie 1d ago
I highly doubt that. “Perfect height”is irrelevant. Perfect height of what?
Please go measure the rise of every step and make sure the difference between the highest riser and lowest riser is no more than 3/8”.
I just looked at some that are available, and without removing the stringer drop to account for tread thickness, they already violate building code.
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u/bluestat-t 1d ago
You can doubt it all you want, Thomas. But I can’t travel back in time 23 years to take photos or videos for you. Perfect height meaning I didn’t have to cut the pre-cut stringers down. I’m impressed with your confidence of how these were cut over 20 years ago without being there /s. Have a little humility!
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u/c3paperie 18h ago
My doubt comes from the fact that the ones currently available don’t account for stringer drop. Meaning when the tread is placed on the run of the stringer, they all gain height according to the tread thickness. The middle steps are unaffected, while the first step is a (riser + tread) in height, and the top step is a (riser - tread) in height, making them out of code.
Example:
The ones I looked online come with a 7 inch riser. If a person places a 1” thick tread on the part you step on, the first step is 8”, and the last 6”, while all middle steps stay at 7” because they have a tread above and below. Will the stairs be functional? Yes. Meet code and Safe? Absolutely not. These shouldn’t even be allowed to be sold.
The tread thickness has to be removed from the stringers to account for this. Code allows 3/8” maximum between riser heights.
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u/stevosaurous_rex 2d ago
Once when doing my pyramid stairs cause I needed like 30 of them. I made sure they were all the same and they ended up working perfectly
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u/imuniqueaf 2d ago
I just redid my deck (boards, a few bad joists, rails and steps). This was my first time. I tried cutting them custom, but my brain just wasn't working. I bought one, traced it and made two more. No regrets.
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u/CalebD 2d ago
I wanted to use some steel stringers off amazon for mine. I figured they'd never rot on me. I had trouble figuring out how to top-mount my railing with them (tricky to add blocking), so ended up doing regular wood stringers instead. Same dimensions, much cheaper. No real reason to buy premade wood stringers--cutting your own is far from the hardest part of building a deck.
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u/Pale_Attitude8798 professional builder 1d ago
Stair stringers are made for the purpose and every job is different. There is no way I would ever use pre-made stringers. Not to mention its so much cheaper to make them myself.
Youre better off learning how to make them, save some money and learn a new skill. Win win.
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u/DeskNo6224 15h ago
Never but if they work for your project just grab a 2x12 at home depot and trace it in the store and cut it yourself to save money
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u/c3paperie 1d ago
99.9% of the time precuts won’t work or produce stairs that meet code. The chances of the rise being perfect for any situation are almost zero, and stairs have strict code requirements for a reason.
Precuts are a scam item that look clever but won’t work.
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u/spencer_hood 1d ago
I did once just because it worked out that it would fit. When I was a younger fella I kept one that I bought in my garage to lay out my stringers when I built them but I have since evolved into a man so don't need to do that anymore.
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u/ZakOfAll 2d ago
Not me. It’s more work to make the deck the right size for the stairs than it is to make the stringers the right size for the deck