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Old House Remodeling:
Building New Porch
Steps -
Installing Posts And Stringers
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| In
This Article:
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Related Articles:
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| Skill Level:
3-4 (Moderate to Advanced) |
Time Taken:
6 Hours |
By
Bruce W. Maki,
Editor
We wanted to build a durable set of porch stairs with a handrail.
Many exterior stair stringers simply rest on concrete pads set on
the ground, as in this
example. My experience is that such stairs tend to shift up and
down over time, which may not be a problem for a short flight of
steps with no handrail. But we wanted to make sure that our handrail
never worked loose, so we decided to graft the newel posts to
pressure treated 4x4 posts set deep in the ground, below the frost
line.
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I laid the cedar newel post against the pressure
treated 4x4 post to mark the location of the notch.
When two notched posts are properly connected together they
can be as strong as a solid, one-piece post. |
These cedar newel posts were too long to match the original
handrail height, so I cut them shorter by 6 inches and re-cut the
notches, as seen in this article.
| To keep the two lower newel posts aligned, I
made a cross-piece from a pressure-treated 2x6. I drilled
counterbored holes to allow me to bolt the cross-piece to each
post. |
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The counterbore has to be big enough in diameter
to allow a washer to fit in the recess. This counterbore needs
to be drilled deeper.
A socket wrench should also fit, and this is
commonly the factor that decides the size of spade bit to
use. |
| After the counterbore, I drilled a clearance
hole, slightly larger than the bolt shank diameter.
The counterbore must be drilled first or else the spade bit
will not have any wood to guide its point. |
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 |
The cedar newel post (on the right) overlapped
the treated 4x4 post quite well. These cuts were made with only
a circular saw and hand saw. |
| I painted the inside of the notches with
oil-based primer to discourage water from getting into the wood. |
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I carefully aligned the sections of post and
attached them with 3-inch deck screws.
But this is not the primary means of connecting the two
sections. |
Making The Big "H" Frame:
| Using a long drill bit (the diameter was smaller
than the desired hole, but that's okay) I drilled through the
cross-piece and the notch-joint of the posts. |
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Using the exit hole as a guide, I drilled
counterbores on the back of the two-part post. Then I drilled
5/16" clearance holes to fit the bolts. |
| With the cross-piece carefully positioned, I
installed a pair of 5/16" diameter bolts, 6" long, to attach the
cross-piece to the newel posts. |
 |
 |
Using a socket and a box-end wrench I tightened
the bolts and nuts. Each nut had a lock-washer and a flat washer
beneath it.
Washers are necessary to spread out the clamping forces.
Otherwise the wood fibers will get crushed and the bolts
will lose their holding ability in a few months.
|
| While the newel-post-and-cross-piece assembly
was laying on saw horses, I gave the cedar newels a coating of
oil-based primer. |
 |
 |
This is an inexpensive anchor used for holding
deck posts and fence posts into concrete footings. |
| I clamped the anchor to the post and secured it
with Simpson Strong-Drive screws. |
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Installing
The Lower Newel Posts:
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The site just before installation of the lower
newel posts. I dug a pair of holes with post-hole diggers, to a
depth of about 4 feet. |
| I attached a treated 2x6 to the deck posts, so
the stair stringers would have a sturdy vertical surface to lean
against |
 |
 |
To help hold the stair stringers, I screwed a
pair of 2x4 cleats to the above-mentioned 2x6. |
| The red arrows show the cleats.
I installed the outer stringers (I used 4 stringers total),
attaching them with 3" deck screws.
I placed concrete blocks under the stringers to make them
level.
|
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Here the newel post assembly lies on the
driveway, just before installation.
The holes had to be dug carefully to ensure that the large
"H"-shaped assembly would fit without interference from the
dirt.
|
| I set the "H"-section in place. The cross-piece
rested on a pair of thin concrete patio stones. |
 |
 |
I checked the cross-piece for level.
I placed a block of wood (arrow) under the cross-piece to
raise up one side. Then I clamped the post to the stringer.
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| I used some shims (arrow) to precisely plumb the
posts, then I fastened the stringers to the newel posts with 3"
deck screws. |
 |
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At this point the newel posts are positioned
perfectly and secured to the stringers |
| I prepared a bag of concrete mix and
dumped about half of it into each post hole, enough to engulf
the post anchor.
When this concrete had begun to harden, I filled in the
holes with gravel. I used gravel instead of dirt because it
will help water to drain away from the wood, thus prolonging
its life. |
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After the post holes were filled in I installed
the other two stringers. This set of stairs is four feet wide,
and the stringers are 16" on center.
We wanted wide stairs so people could sit on them and
others could still get past easily.
|
What appears to be cement around the base of the post is actually
just mortar, left over from another project. I wanted to direct
water away from the post. It wouldn't hurt to make a 2" thick cap of
concrete here, sloped to shed water.
| The inner stringers were screwed to the cleat,
as well as to the board behind. |
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 |
The cross-piece was screwed to the inner
stringers with 3" deck screws. |
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Tools
Used:
- Cordless Drill/Driver
- Post-Hole Diggers
- 2-Foot Level
- Socket Wrenches
- Circular Saw
- Basic Carpentry Tools
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Materials Used:
- Pre-cut Stair Stringers
- Treated 4x4 Posts
- Treated 2x6
- Misc. Treated Lumber
- 3" Deck Screws
- Concrete Bag Mix
- Steel Post Anchors
- 8"x16" Econo Concrete
Pavers
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