Deck Building. Finishing the Flight of Stairs

One of the most popular posts I ever put up was building the frame for the flight of stairs that runs from the decking down to the lawn area. Well now that the top decking has been completed, it's time to deck the stairs. We're getting close and the end is in now sight. The last piece of this grand puzzle to be completed is literally a puzzle!

As I've gone to so much effort to deck everything, I wasn't prepared to leave any of that treated pine from the stair stringers showing. Adding to the complexity however is the whole "nail free" concept. The Deck Master system wasn't going to be much use on the steps as the treads are only three boards across, and to top it off I had run out of the Deck Master slotted timber! 

So the plan I came up with was to use the wood plugs which I thought (at the time!) would be less fiddly. Rather than use the Deck-Max plugs though as I was going to need hundreds of these things, I decided to make my own to save some money! 

I sniffed around online and came up with a vendor in Sydney called "The Wood Works" that sells a plug cutter and counterbore set. This consists of two drill bits in the set; one for cutting the 10mm wood plugs, and the other to counterbore the 10mm holes that the wood plugs fit into. Sounds simple.

Image courtesy "The Wood Works"

To use the plug cutter you need a drill press (or a plunge router) to hold the cutting bit perfectly vertical so that the plug comes out straight. Be prepared for this as it's a bit of a chore! 

It's a 4 step process:

1. Turn on the drill and place the timber
2. Slowly drop the drill press to cut the plug and then raise it once the cut is finished
3. Turn off the drill press
4. Using a small screwdriver, knock out the plug from the centre of the drill bit

Go back to step 1, and repeat 850 times! I had plenty of scrap off-cuts to work with from which the plugs are cut. 

Eventually you'll end up with a bag full of wooden plugs, but it doesn't stop there. To make the 10mm plugs easier to fit into the 10mm holes, you have the chamfer them on one end with a sander. For this I taped up my fingers (or else the sander will eventually go through your fingernail as I found out) and loaded the sander in a vice. Phew, this is a lot of effort for a finish! Maybe it would have been easier to buy these, but where's the satisfaction in that?

Eventually I was ready to go. The plan was to start with the top edge of the outside stringers, then infill the treads and risers, and finally veneer the outside stringers to match and knit in with the horizontal boards on the front side of the deck. Just like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle!

Below shows the beginning of setting the boards onto the top edge of the left hand stringer. They have to be lined up such that the boards on the risers and treads sit will sit flush when fitted, but also line up with the horizontal facing boards on the deck!

Bring on the mitre joins. Starting out with the first boards.

I'd first cut the board to fit, make sure everything lines up and is level, then glue the underside with "liquid nails" and clamp it in place. Next, using the 10mm counterbore tool I would drill the hole, then fix a decking screw into the hole, lastly when the piece is glued and screwed, I'd glue and bang in my pre-cut wood plugs. When it's all dried you then cut off the excess with a vibrating multi-tool and give it a sand to finish. No nails showing!

Below shows the progress down the left hand side which is about 3/4 complete.

Fair progress down the left hand side

Cut, fit, glue, clamp, drill, screw and plug, over and over. Eventually as shown below I reached the bottom of the left hand side. Like a jigsaw I found it very therapeutic and relaxing work!

Left had side completed

Once the left was completed, I moved across to the right hand side and finished it to match.

Right hand side completed

Now both sides were done I could start putting down the treads, and then finally and hopefully, walk down the stairs for the first time!

Looking at both sides

Once I had the outside edges of the two side stringers completed, I started on the top stair tread sizing up the boards and riser as you can see below. Measure twice, cut once!

Sizing up the boards for the first step

Below shows the first step and riser completed and fixed in place and I can finally stand on the top step! Note the notch I had to cut into the rise on the centre stringer.

First step boards fixed down

The notch on the nose of the centre stringer is to accommodate the step lighting. I'm using the same lights to match the landing steps, with four of them to fit, one on every 2nd step.

Cutting the centre stringer to allow for the step light

Fitting the lights was easier than on the landing, as here I only had to deal with a single board whereas on the landing I had to fit the light in between two boards. 

Essentially I just found the centre of the board, marked out the square where the light will fit, then cut it out with a drill and jigsaw.

Sizing up the boards with the step light fitted

So three steps down with the first light fitted and it's looking pretty good. The extra effort in making sure the stringers were spot on when I was building the frame has paid off as everything is dead level.

Top 3 steps done

Below shows fitting the riser board in to make sure the gaps are uniform. I had some thin timber offcuts that I used to wedge around the board, and then used a large flat blade screwdriver to level it all in place nice and square. Finally I then drill the holes for the screws and plugs.

Wedging up the riser board to make sure it's centred

So here is the completed stair with all the treads and riser boards in place. I left all the wiring tied and hanging just behind the holes so I can now fit the rest of the stair lights in.

Putting in the risers to finish up the bottom steps

Job done as you can see below, with all the lights fitted in. Now there's just a matter of plugging a few hundred holes!

Steps completed

With the steps and deck front now completed, I can start the jigsaw puzzle down the side of the steps. Starting at the top left of the stair I carefully measure and cut the timbers to fit around the top edge boards to give it a 'continuous' look. 

Then like any other piece it gets glued, clamped, screwed and plugged. Each piece of timber is a unique cut to suit that step, so there's no mass production here!

Commencing the jigsaw puzzle

Below is a closer look to how I cut, clamp and space each piece of timber to fit. Using the left over Deck-Max biscuits from building the side deck gives me a perfect 3mm gap. I then use the clamps to hold in place while I glued and screw. Once it's set I just prize out the biscuits with a pair of multi-grips, ready to use again on the next piece.

Next step

So here you can see I have finished the timber puzzle on the left side of the stairs all the way to the bottom. 

Left hand side done

It's a bit of effort to go through to cut and round off each piece of unique timber, but I think it looks so much nicer than bare treated pine. Below is the right hand side plugged and polished.

The right hand side puzzle completed

Below shows the deck step lights on and working. They really give it a nice professional finish, and they're also very practical on a dark night!

Light it up!

So here is the deck showing both sets of stairs completed (well almost completed, there's still the matter of plugging a couple of hundred holes).

Stairs completed

So that's it, job done, steps completed. I can tell you I've walked up and down them many times now, and they work as designed. There's not an ounce of bounce! Rock solid baby.

Worth the effort

So now the deck construction is completed! Time for a well earned beer. 

Next post we'll look at landscaping around the deck to incorporate it into the rest of the yard, as well as cleaning and applying a finish.