Project Safe Stairs
by
Andrew
Recently, around six months ago, these stairs began to really start becoming a problem for anyone entering the house at the side door. The house has three other entrances but the one where these stairs are is the most convenient since they lead from the driveway to the main floor of the house.
As ugly as they are right now I am still open to keeping some of the iron structure which is decorative and attractive in some parts. Also, it could look okay with other materials but I would only consider doing this if I was sure the new set of stairs will be safe.
I want to do this as inexpensively as possible, so nothing extravagant. I want stairs that will be durable enough to last many years and also be an upgrade aesthetically. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of room to extend the stairs further out so I will have to live with the steep angle. With good, stable and wide stairs, possibly equipped with some anti-slip material I'm fairly certain they'll be fine.
*My motivation to do this project:
I am just basically concerned with the possibility of someone, including myself, slipping or falling on them and getting injured. I am young so that helps when "traversing" them but I am far from invincible. The stairs are also very visible from the street so I would like to have something more attractive leading to the side of the house. I was told by someone they look like old fire-escape stairs and they were right, that's exactly what they look like.
Advice:
I have a lot left on this project to do and therefore learn. I have had work done on decks and helped in a minor role build a couple of decks before but I'm sure there are still plenty of aspects I'm going to need expertise on.
Up to this point in the process I can say that it would be a good idea to attack a problem which poses a safety concern quickly, but that you will also be happy you made sure to get good deals on materials and labor. I have talked to different professionals as well as looked at a lot of materials and have found that prices can very significantly. Usually, there is a trade-off with quality for price obviously but it's hard to settle on more expensive prices especially when you didn't expect to have to deal with this problem as soon as you have now. Talk to people you know who have also done similar projects and get recommendations of contractors from them too.
As ugly as they are right now I am still open to keeping some of the iron structure which is decorative and attractive in some parts. Also, it could look okay with other materials but I would only consider doing this if I was sure the new set of stairs will be safe.
I want to do this as inexpensively as possible, so nothing extravagant. I want stairs that will be durable enough to last many years and also be an upgrade aesthetically. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of room to extend the stairs further out so I will have to live with the steep angle. With good, stable and wide stairs, possibly equipped with some anti-slip material I'm fairly certain they'll be fine.
*My motivation to do this project:
I am just basically concerned with the possibility of someone, including myself, slipping or falling on them and getting injured. I am young so that helps when "traversing" them but I am far from invincible. The stairs are also very visible from the street so I would like to have something more attractive leading to the side of the house. I was told by someone they look like old fire-escape stairs and they were right, that's exactly what they look like.
Advice:
I have a lot left on this project to do and therefore learn. I have had work done on decks and helped in a minor role build a couple of decks before but I'm sure there are still plenty of aspects I'm going to need expertise on.
Up to this point in the process I can say that it would be a good idea to attack a problem which poses a safety concern quickly, but that you will also be happy you made sure to get good deals on materials and labor. I have talked to different professionals as well as looked at a lot of materials and have found that prices can very significantly. Usually, there is a trade-off with quality for price obviously but it's hard to settle on more expensive prices especially when you didn't expect to have to deal with this problem as soon as you have now. Talk to people you know who have also done similar projects and get recommendations of contractors from them too.
The stairs leading up to the side door.
Comments
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2 of 12 comments
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Hi Andrew! How is your progress on this project? Do you have photos of the end resullt or do you need some words of encouragement? Either way, I am not a huge fan of stair building, but unfortunatly have had my share of experience. You can also purchase this type of pre fabed stairway at a moble home park retailer. The have used them on moble and modular homes and are not so expensive pre built. Let Me know. Thanks.
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It looks like the stair pans (that are bent or giving) were too thin for the width of the steps - there should have been another support welded underneath down the center. Depending on how bad they are and how many of them need to be done, this is a very simple and relatively inexpensive project. Overall, the stairs look to be in great shape, just the pans need to be replaced. And to answer another comment that these would be better in wood, I definitely disagree - wood will rot. We are called to replace wood stairs with iron ALL the time. I wouldn't recommend going from iron to wood.
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