If you are planning to build deck stairs for your house, you need to be ready to make a lot of decisions and calculations before proceeding with the plan. You need to pick a spot for building the stairs, choose what type of material to use, calculate stair dimensions and finally estimate the cost of the project.
The most common material types used to build deck stairs are wood and concrete. When wood is the material of choice, the whole deck is usually made out of wood while concrete may require a certain finishing material like a stone or a tile. Of course, the look of the deck stairs is important because it is often installed by the front door, so anyone coming in and out of the house will definitely notice it. On the other hand, the practicality of the stairs is also very important.
Depending on your intentions, it is likely that you want your deck stairs to look good and function properly for as long as possible. That is where you need to find a balance between the aesthetics and the viability of your deck stairs design.
Many people in the US with single-family homes that have a front porch or some kind of patio-like area prefer to build it out of wood. The choice of wood for these types of projects comes from the fact that US households have been working with wood for a long time, so it is easier, cheaper, and more convenient to keep the tradition going. On the other hand, an increasing number of modern-style houses try to avoid wood and prefer working with concrete and stone instead. There is no clear answer to what material is best because the choice is truly yours. Even though it is up to you to decide what material you want to proceed with, there are three factors to consider before choosing what material to go with.
Stair Safety
Safety of the stairs is an important factor to consider especially for single-family households with kids. One of the reasons why indoor stairs tend to be wooden or even covered with carpet is safety. Accidents happen, and some people may fall down the stairs. There are even set guidelines for building deck stairs to minimize the number and severity of accidents.
Concrete is much harder than wood, so falling down the wooden stairs is much less prone to serious injuries. When it comes to deck stairs, they tend to be quite short with an average elevation of about a meter. This means that even if the stairs are made out of hard materials such as concrete, they will not present too much of a hazard. Even though concrete deck stairs don’t tend to be too hazardous, it is up to you to make the final decision. If you don’t want to take any risks, then you might be better off choosing wood as the material for the stairs.
Expected Lifespan
Deck stairs tend to have quite a bit of traffic daily. This traffic may lead to faster than normal wear and tear damages. In addition to that, deck stairs are located outside of the house, so they are exposed to humidity, sunlight, and occasional rain and snow. Water can easily damage wood while it doesn’t affect concrete too much.
Nowadays, there is a special coating available that allows you to preserve wood even in the least favorable conditions for this type of material. Even though it does protect the material, constant wear and tear may lead to a short lifespan of wooden stairs. In this case, concrete stairs are much more practical because it will take a long time for them to wear out. Of course, both stairs will do their job for a very long time, but you will see that wooden stairs will start to look worse much sooner than concrete stairs.
Building and Maintenance Costs
Another important factor for any project is how much it will cost to build and maintain these types of stairs. Wooden stairs tend to be the most economical and easiest to build because they do not require as much material and labor. Most of the time, wooden stairs have a skeleton that supports the construction, but for the most part, the wooden stairs are hollow. The fact that they are hollow inside means that you do not need to overspend on materials to complete the project. Wooden stairs will require maintenance if you want them to last for as long as possible. Usually, maintenance includes a coating that will protect wooden stairs from water damage and excessive wear and tear. One important characteristic of wooden stairs is that if one part is damaged that is not detrimental to the whole construction, it can be replaced, which may save you money by not requiring you to build a new set of stairs.
When it comes to concrete stairs, they tend to be sturdier and require much less maintenance over their lifespan. On the other hand, they tend to be more expensive to build because they are usually solid throughout the structure. This means that you will need to purchase much more material for concrete stairs than for wooden stairs. In addition to that, concrete tends to be more expensive than wood. Even though the cost of building concrete stairs is higher, you should not expect too much of a difference. Concrete stairs do not need a lot of maintenance even if you finish them with stone. Both concrete and stone are very sturdy and cannot be damaged easily. They do not need to be maintained although an occasional inspection will help you spot construction defects such as cracks at an early stage. It is almost impossible to damage concrete stairs unintentionally as it requires a lot of force. If you manage to break a part of concrete stairs, you will likely have to rebuild the stairs from scratch.
What Material Should You Choose?
Both materials have their advantages and disadvantages, and none of them is ultimately better than the other. The best way for you to choose what material to use is to think about what matters to you. If you are looking for a safe and cheap staircase that you are willing to maintain, then you should consider building wooden stairs. On the other hand, if you are willing to invest a little bit more money and not worry about maintenance as much, concrete stairs would be a safer bet. Both materials are great for stairs, so you might even prioritize aesthetics over practicality because as sturdy as the stairs may be, no one wants an ugly staircase in front of their house.
