Stair building made easy!
Twas the 1oth day before Christmas,
with the temps oh, so cold,
had the new puppy shivering
and not feeling that bold.
And, this is where I come into the story … my daughter had a sliding glass door installed this past year but there were no steps leading into the back yard. A new puppy, a LARGE new puppy, joined their family and they needed an easier way to get her into the backyard than to carry her. It is a Mastiff and heavier than any puppy I have ever held!
The joke in my family, is that my most favorite date, would be going to a home improvement store. The smell of wood makes me happy… What can I say?
I need to knock this out in one day so I went with the precut stringers. Thank you #Menards, for more than just having them available, as they so graciously cut the wood I needed so that it would fit in the back of my new car! It was also so very nice of them to find all the things I needed as the barn was super cold.
Did I tell you that it was 23°?! Brrr
I brought everything to my workshop (aka. outside on their picnic table) and assessed what I was working with in terms of how I was going to attach it to the house. As you can see, there is a vent (that is a fresh air intake to the furnace and I am sorry but I don’t have the time to move it right now) and cable for their TV. Since I am not moving the vent yet, I am not going to go through the trouble to move the cable. Let’s wait till it warms up!!!! Plans change … free standing stairs it is!
The stringers were placed against the house with care,
in hope that some stairs soon would be there.
Boring diagram below, I know, but it does show the elements that went into making this.
I also attached a 2×4 to the 4×4 posts at the bottom for stability. All the wood is green treated except for a piece that I used on top that will be replaced, again, as soon as it warms up!
The things we do for LOVE ♥
After making sure it was level (have you ever tried to level frozen ground with a shovel?!) I did have to add a board under the front left corner (as you are looking at it) until again, it warms up!
My feet are now frozen, no feeling in my toes,
everything is feeling cold including my nose.
I did want to share with you a trick to make it easier to attach the railing. I precut a piece of wood that I put in-between each rail to make it go quicker. I also pre drilled the holes so that I would not split the wood. (I learned that after I split 2. Ugh) And my sweet girl helped with the railings so things went quicker. My toes thank her.
Yay, the stairs are finished and in use right away.
I hear my mother, “Get your coat on girl!”
Hugs,
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