Finally wrapped up the new steps for Mom’s house

I did somthing similar for my folks' place last summer, though thier house is more of a mid-century build. Dealing with those settling concrete pads is the worst part. I spent three hours just shimming the base of my stringers with composite pieces becuase the slab had dropped two inches on the left side. It’s a headache getting that 7-inch rise consistent when the ground won't cooperate.

I acutally went a diferent route than painting the framing. I used Joist Tape instead of a protective coat because I was worried about the wood trapping moisture under a layer of paint. I’ve seen some of those older pressure-treated boards rot from the inside out when the paint starts to flake and hold water against the grain. But if you used a high-quality sealer like Olympic or even some Copper Green on the cut ends, that shoud help a ton with the humidity. The wider footprint is the way to go. My mom has some trouble with her knees, so we bumped the treads out to 12 inches instead of the standard 10. It makes a massive difference for her balance. Those extra couple of inches give so much more peace of mind when she's carrying groceries in.

I actualy went a diferent route with the framing protection when I did a similar overhaul on my 1940s porch. Instead of painting, I used G-Tape on the tops of all my joists and the rim board. I’ve found that paint can eventually peel and hold moisture against the grain, whereas the butyl tape creates a permanent waterproof barrier. It realy helps when you're driving in those 3-inch deck screws becasue it seals around the threads.

For the landing, I skipped the wider footprint and stuck with a standard 4x4 size, but I swapped out the traditional wood railing for a Westbury aluminum system. It’s way easier for my mother to grip than a chunky 2x4 cap, and the thinner balusters make it easier for her to see who is pulling into the driveway. Since you’re still working on the trim, you might want to look into those pre-made aluminum kits; they save a lot of time on the finish work compared to custom cedar spindles.

Have you ruled out the paint trapping internal moisture? If those boards had any high moisture content when you coated them, sealing the surface can sometimes cause them to rot from the inside out since the wood can't breathe. Also, with a 75-year-old structure, did you look at the flashing where the ledger hits the house? I'd worry that the wider footprint might collect more debris or water against the old siding. It’d be a shame to have solid stringers but end up with a soft rim joist on the house side becasue of drainage issues.