Deck Stair Footing Size
In warmer climates you can use premade footings.
Deck stair footing size. We will teach you how to determine the code compliant size of your footings based on the soil type and tributary loads. What you will notice from this checklist is that there is not really a specific deck building code per se. 10 x10 square 12 diameter. Building deck stairs are often the most challenging part of a diy deck project.
Attaching deck stairs to footings. 12 mimimum or to frost line. Learn everything you need to know about installing concrete footings to support your deck. Of course you can get a 24 base size and it will spread weight over an even greater surface area.
Many deck stairs land directly on a concrete patio or even on a chunk of flagstone and in most cases these simple landings are free to rise and fall with frost movement. A good size for a common backyard deck is a 10 or 12 diameter for the sonotube and a 20 base diameter. One of the easiest ways to attach deck stair footings to concrete is through the base plate. Steel other footing options.
We will teach you how to cut stair stringers to meet code for rise and run step limits. However some jurisdictions are now requiring the bottoms of stringers for deck stairs to be supported by frost footings. Always backfill under posts or footings with gravel for proper drainage. If no concrete pier is used the post should bear on the footing and stringers should bear on 2x4 blocking fastened to 4x4 posts with 8x3 1 2 screws or 16d nails.
Circular footings on the other hand need to be 23 inches in diameter. Most decks are wood it s simple to work with and easy to fix mistakes while being the more affordable choice. Check out our deck footing frost map to help you understand how deep your footings will need to be excavated. As mentioned above the base plate is the horizontal piece of wood usually a 2 4 that connects the stringers at the base of the stairs.
The footing sizes also depend on the load bearing capacity of the soil and the live load the deck must support. For example if you are building a 10x10 deck attached to a house with two footings on the corners you could calculate the loads for the footings in the following way. Check with your local code enforcement agency for specifics. First draw a line dividing the deck into two halves between the house and the footings.
These 17 articles will also cover how to build stair landings and ada ramps.