"noxpurt" wrote in message
...
its not a stringer, but solid 18' length of 2 x 12 as a riser with nailing
blocks attached to it for the stairs to sit on.

Deck screws are not made to deal with lateral or shear stress and they
snap
pretty easily so Im concerned about using then to attach the nailing or
now
screwing blocks as they will carry the weight of anyone standing on the
step.

Nails would be much better in shear, but would, over time work loose with
the constant movement of foot use.

Lags would be best but even a 1/4 3" lag get pretty expensive when looking
at all the stairs I have.


Do you have any pictures you can post in the binary group? More than a
couple of us are not understanding what you are saying. Screws and nails
have been holding houses together for quite a while and unless there is
something very unique in what you're doing, I just can't understand all of
this concern over shear strength and nails backing out. You know what they
say - a picture is worth a thousand words.

--

-Mike-