My deck stairs cracked right down the middle after 3 winters

I built a set of stairs off my back deck about 4 years ago. Used pressure treated pine and thought I had it all figured out. But last week I noticed a crack running right down the center of the bottom step. I went to put weight on it and it split clean in half. Turns out I didn't leave any gaps between the boards for drainage. Water sat there and froze over and over until the wood gave out. Now I gotta rip out the whole stringer setup and rebuild. Anyone else had stairs fail from ice buildup in colder months?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert641mo ago

I used timberlok screws on mine and they sheared off from the freeze-thaw cycle, so the stringers separated from the rim joist while the treads stayed intact.

andrew6931mo ago

Man that sucks. I feel you @robert64, same thing happened to me a few years back on a back deck I built. I used those structural screws thinking I was doing it right but the freeze-thaw did a number on them too, sheared clean off like they were made of glass. Ended up having to tear the whole stringer setup apart and redo it with some through bolts and big washers, which was a pain but at least I know it'll hold now. Really makes you wonder how many other folks are going to find their stairs falling apart one day.