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Wayne Whitney Wayne Whitney is offline
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Default Questions on exterior stair construction

Hello,

I'm rebuilding my wooden porch stairs, which aren't covered, so I'm
thinking about the details for proper shedding of rain water. A
couple questions:

Is there any problem with sloping the stair treads 1% downward from
back to front? I'm wondering if that would be a safety issue, as far
as people slipping off the stairs. Sloping side to side doesn't work
for me, as stairs are captive between a knee wall and the house.

Second, what's the best way to handle the tread/riser intersection to
avoid trapping water? I've been thinking of running each riser behind
the tread in front of it, and then leaving an 1/8" horizontal gap
between the tread and the riser. Not sure if this is a good idea.

Here's a couple more details, in case they are important. Beneath the
porch and stairs is a ventilated crawl space interconnected with the
house crawl space. The porch is surrounded by knee walls and the house
on three sides, so the porch deck is sloped 1% towards the stairs for
drainage.

Thanks,
Wayne