Deck stairs are stairs commonly built on decks. Since decks usually have low railings, the design of deck stairs is not very different from normal stairs in almost every way except that they need to be stronger than regular staircases. There are several precautions that you will need to take into account when building or installing deck stairs.
The Strength of the Stairs
The most important part of building deck steps is making sure that they’re actually strong enough for people to use them. If someone were to fall down these steps and be injured, it’s entirely possible that you could get slapped with a lawsuit if they can prove negligence on your part. While this may seem paranoid, lawsuits like this happen far more often than you might think, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility for someone to get injured on your deck steps.
Attach Them Properly
Along with making sure they’re actually safe, you also need to make sure that you attach the deck stairs properly. If they are not attached well enough, they could end up pulling away from the house or falling off completely. This would be an even worse situation than if someone fell down the steps because it would most likely result in injury to anyone who might happen to be standing on them at the time of their collapse.
Don’t Forget Railings!
And finally, what good are deck stairs without railings? You should never have a set of stairs without railings unless they are so short that no one would ever be in danger of falling off them. Remember, a deck stairway without railings is the same as an unprotected staircase, and just like a regular staircase, you should use guards at either end of the steps to prevent someone from going over the edge accidentally.
The strength of deck stairs is very important when building or installing them because it can affect how safe they are to use. It’s not enough to simply make sure that they’re strong enough to hold weight; if you fail to attach them properly they could come loose from the house and fall which could hurt someone on the way down or people nearby. Finally, while deck stairs don’t have handrails it’s never recommended that you build these stairs without railings for safety reasons.