Expert: Dan Griffin - 1/13/2008

Question
QUESTION: I wish I could send you a photo but will try to give you a good description.  We are having added about 1,000 sq ft to our home basically a large kitchen over a new garage.  Off the kitchen is a small porch for the grill with brick stairs down to the yard.  Something is not right and whether our contractor knows or not he will not admit it but is agreeing to have them redone at no cost (Which makes me think something isn't right).

Anyway, My question to you is there a typical width/height for brick stairs?  Ours are, as of today, 11" wide with 6 3/4" riser.  There are roughly 20 steps, fairly high, and something just doesn't look right and we can't put our finger on it.  One friend said they are too shallow of a step and you either will want take "baby" steps up or down or two steps at a time.  

Any thoughts/advice or suggestions on who else to look at them?  It is just driving me crazy and I don't know who to ask.

thanks so much

ANSWER: I can't imagine a contractor offering to rip it out for no cost.  A standard tread/riser pattern is 7" rise with 11" tread.  It sounds as if you are well within range.  Another old rule of thumb is 2 risers + 1 tread should equal 25. Your example 6 3/4 x 2 = 13 1/2 + 11 = 24 1/2, just about perfect.

Code does not allow a riser over 7 1/4 as I recall.  I am not aware of any minimum.  I don't know your age, but my old tired fat body just doesn't want anything more than a 7.  I recognize the baby step reference, but I don't get that feeling until the rise is down in the 3 to 5 inch range.  YOu have a total rise of 135" if you have (20) 6.75 risers.  You could reduce the number of risers to (19) which would give you a 7 1/8" rise which is still normal and acceptable.

Each exterior tread should have a very slight pitch toward the riser to shed water.  Commercial code requires risers to have a back slope where the lead edge of the riser is farther forward than the back of the tread below it.  I don't think this is required in residential, but I point it out in case that is what is throwing your eye.  I'm not sure whether your complaint is just visual or is physical.

This sounds like a major undertaking.  If I were the contractor, I would not do it for free.  I would also want some assurance that win, lose, or draw the rework would be deemed acceptable.  The customer is always right as long as the customer pays the bills.

You must have a local inspector who could be asked to look at the situation, but it sounds as if he won't see anything wrong.  Who did draw up the plan?  If there is/was a(n) architect, engineer, designer involved perhaps they could offer input.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: It's a long story on why he is agreeing to redo the stairs at his cost.   He used the wrong pavers and 5 of the steps are 1/2" or more higher than the others, not to mention water is trapped under most of the steps as they were bricked during the rain?  He knows the brick folks messed up and since our foreman wasn't supervising he is doing a lot now to correct his mistakes and make us happy.  

Another example, our addition was bricked and our architect came over to check on progress and asked us why we changed the plans.  We didn't realize the pilasters, etc didn't go on top of brick as we aren't the builder.  Oooops!!  We went ahead and let the brick stay and eliminate the pilasters b/c we didn't want to go through all the tear out, etc. so believe me, we have been extremely patient with our contractor and his mistakes. He's a good person but some of the mistakes/oversights his folks have made are huge and so every little thing that is done now we are extremely nervous.

But......your answer helped a lot and I'm thinking once they are rebuilt with the right pavers, etc and the wrought iron hand rails are installed they will look great.  

I hope, lol.

Answer
I knew there must be something more to the story.

Another stair related code issue is that all risers must be the same height with the exception of the bottom one.  They must be the same height within an 1/8 as I recall.  You should be able to stand at the top of any stairway and look down the stair noses and see them all in plane.  You should be able to lay a straightedge down the noses and have it touch them all.

I hope that things work out well on your remodel and that you and your contractor can part friends.