Hi, and welcome to our Deck Builders Salem Oregon page. I will be posting images below that describe the condition of the previous deck and the steps we took to correct the condition.

Ultimately, the entire deck was rebuilt from the ground up. The previous deck was in dire condition and we were happy to “rebuild” a brand new one with all the latest materials and hardware.

Enjoy the content! If you are happy with the information, please feel free to share it and comment on it or ask questions if you’d like. Thank you for visiting my page!

For me, and obviously for many others – I’m sure… To explain this in layman’s terms, we can’t buy these pre-cut! They each have to be cut – one by “painstakingly” one. You have to create one template and use that to cut out the rest…

SO, I’m like – Yeah sure “No Problem”… I got this… NOT! Man-O-man was this a doosy. They don’t make a super machine you can use to cut these out. They have to be cut with a “Skill Saw”.  And I’ll tell you something! They didn’t call it a “Skill Saw” for nothing!

The Big Issue Cutting These Deck Stair Risers With A Skill Saw Was…

The previous risers fell apart when disassembling the steps. SO…. I had to use a small section of about 3 risers – or so, and fabricate the rest with the cut-out  triangle pieces left over from the new cut.

These triangle cut out pieces were used for most of the rest of the 2″ thick X 12″ wide X 16′ long PT (PT = pressure treated) incised beams that were purchased at Parr Lumber in Salem, OR. But, after getting one beam cut, I used it as a template for the other 3 risers.

SO, the first thing I want you to notice in this image is the number of risers. (Risers are the steps, or cutouts that form steps). You’ll notice that this OLD deck had 3 risers.

Unfortunately, the deck was wobbly (according to the owners) which I learned was a condition it suffered very early. Wrong lumber was used so, it was also rotting away.

I guess the previous builder didn’t understand the mechanics of the correct way to keep this from happening. Fortunately, I received some good advice from the material supplier about building these steps and he recommended 4 risers. Which I was not thrilled to hear!

If you look closely, the steps required an extra support to be built or added-on to keep it from wobbling. The owner even asked me “what about the stair framing” and why I hadn’t built a new one.

Simple,

1. With 4 risers, there is no way it would wobble as the amount of wood used in close proximity like this prevented it from moving.
2. 16 screws per step on the Trex Boards to solidify it, which didn’t happen before.
3. I also used concrete anchors on the bottom 4X4’s as well, which were not present before.
4. Finally, the 2×2’s  used along both sides, 4″ apart or so, with 4 screws per board..

There was no way for it to “move”. We went through about 100 LBS of screws!