Free-Standing Stairs, Attached to Concrete Pad, Not House

Oct 02, 2008 6 Replies

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wrldruler 17 years ago

Converting garage into family room. Contractor cut a hole in the back and installed a sliding glass door. Door sits on top of existing foundation. I now need to build stairs to make the 15" drop from patio door to grade.

Inspector has come over. Says because my drop is only 15", I do not need a landing or railings. It will be the door, 7.75" drop to one tread, 7.75" drop to a concrete pad. This is meant to be temporary, until I can build a full deck next spring/summer. Inspector has approved.

I was planning on installing a ledger board to the house, and building stairs like I did with my existing deck. Just joice hangers off the ledger. But inspector says he is worried my concrete pad will heave and damage the building.

Inspector recommends building stairs that do NOT attach to the house. Instead, they would be attached only to the concrete pad.

So I need advice on how to build a set of free standing stairs, that are attached to a concrete pad, but do not get attached to the house. I am thinking 2 4x4 posts, buried in concrete, ledger across those two posts, attach stairs from there.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

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DerbyDad03 17 years ago

"2 4x4 posts, buried in concrete" for a temporary set of stairs?

Why not build a free standing unit, with 4 x 4's resting on the pad and a PT stretcher between them, also resting on the pad. Drill through the stretcher and use TapCons or bolts with lead anchors in the pad to keep the unit in place.

Add a bolted down stretcher across the front of the bottom step (behind the riser if there is one) for even more stability.

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dpb 17 years ago

wrldruler wrote: ..

...

... That's pretty heavy for "temporary".

You really don't have a "set of stairs"; just a single step/tread.

I'd just set a tuba-whatever(1) on a few bricks or similar to keep of the ground and add a stretcher front and rear. A couple angle brackets into the existing slab could be added if they're actually not heavy enough on their own to stay in place.

(1) Field-dimension to get proper height including tread...

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DerbyDad03 17 years ago

I didn't even catch the fact that it's really just a single step.

Heck, build a box and fill it will bricks or dirt or whatever to keep from moving.

If the inspector insists, bolt it to the pad.

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Chris 17 years ago

I saw at my local hardware store some pre-built concrete steps in different sizes, from a single step up to 3 I believe.

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aemeijers 17 years ago

I was going to suggest that too, till I saw the part about it being a single step. I'd just get some solid 8" concrete block and set them in a row- they won't go anywhere. If inspector gets anal, mortar them to the slab- they'll pop right off with a few whacks from a BFH when the time comes, and can be used for other things around the yard.

-- aem sends...

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Blattus Slafaly 17 years ago

Just put a big rock or piece of granite there for now.

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