Building stringers - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

aardvark · 02-27-2008, 09:19 PM

I am having a bit of a problem with stringers. My deck section is 12' wide from the house. The stairs are 60" wide. The deck is sloped slightly (more than I expected) in the 60" there is an 1 1/4" slope. The next section of deck that it connects to is level. At the house the rise is 6.25" for each of the 2 steps 3 risers. The lower deck being the bottom. (3 risers 18.75"). On the far left the 3 risers total 17.5". I can reduce the slope slightly by lowering the post near the house 12" from the brick wall or raising the one out at 10'. I can add a slope to the lower deck.
I can have the rise on the left 5 7/8 and the stringers in the middle adjust from incrementally to the 6.25 stringers aprox. 12" apart. By the way the deck is level along the house and at 12' out there is about a 1/2" slope toward this end over 20'.

What do you think I should do?

deckman22 · 02-27-2008, 09:26 PM

Only a handyman would slope a deck.

nywoodwizard · 02-28-2008, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deckman22

Only a handyman would slope a deck.

Sure you don't mean Handyhackbutcherman ?

Greg Di · 02-28-2008, 05:01 PM

Who built the deck?

If you did, then go back and make it level. If you didn't, go back and make it level.

The ground may not be level. You either pour a new pad that is level and use dirt to feather it or you'll have to scribe your stringers to make the treads level.

This is decking building 101....

al10fred1081 · 02-28-2008, 05:02 PM

either level the deck or keep your stringers consistent except make up the difference on the bottom. like you've got 6" rise for three risers then on the bottom make it 5 3/4 on one side and 6 1/2 on the other. you'll see it at the bottom tread but I've found in this situation it works the best for me... unless you wanna unbolt the deck, jack it up, shim the post notch (assuming it was notched and not just bolted together) and re bolt it... then you can have a level deck to work with. all depends on what the HO wants to pay for I guess.

Alex

aardvark · 02-28-2008, 07:23 PM

I was hoping to not go through all the work of leveling but I will. I will lower the end at the house and change a post or 2 on the other side.

Thanks for your help

reveivl · 02-28-2008, 09:14 PM

I built a 6' deck off a bedroom a few years back, the BI wanted a 2" slope on it, (it was getting vinyl) I managed to talk him down to 1", and then when I built the stairs up to the end of it (from the plans) he initially failed me because the final rise was different from one side of the flight to the other! I asked him what I was supposed to do with this beyond getting into 4-dimensions or carrying the slope all the way to the ground on each tread (!), and he thought about it for a bit and then we 'moved on'.