stairs

Steps at a friends cottage was in disrepair.  The wood had rotted to the point where the steps fell apart underneath me when I visited.  With the stringers  over 24 feet in length, and the tread now over 20 inches deep, I created a new set of steps that is safe and should last another 50 years.

You can see some of the original wood in the foreground that had rotted and the steps dropping out underneath me as I am getting to the top of the hill.	Also, the original steps had a narrow tread and a wide gap from step to step.  This is dangerous.  If anyone would slip, they could fall in-between the steps.
I went to the lumber yard and got a top quality, pressure treated lumber to construct the new steps.	I developed a template for my router to allow me to reproduce a recess for my tread to fit into while maintaining the proper stair pitch.
Once all the tread positions were routed into the stringers...	Each tread, and kick plate were glued, clamped and nailed to the stringers.  The stairs were loaded and secured onto my trailer.
Bringing the stairs to her cottage home were tricky. The road is narrow, the stairs are long and heavy.	With the old stairs cleared, I was able to put the new stairs in place.
To get the stairs into place, a bar was put through the stringers and then attached to the front of a Jeep Wrangler.	The stairs teetered over the edge, and slowly lowered into position with the Jeep.
With steps into position, overgrowth was cleared and steel posts were driven into the ground.	Railings were secured into the footings and stringers and lighting was added to both sides of the stairs.  A well constructed, solid, safe set of stairs to last years to come.
.	.
.	.
.	.
.	.