The front landing stairs of this Victorian house were terribly rotted and waiting for someone to get hurt. The rails were only 30″ high, and the balusters were spaced about 12″ apart.
The posts and frame for the landing and stairs are pressure-treated and just needed joist hangers under the deck. This made the job considerably less expensive and less time-consuming than a total replacement. I replaced the risers with PVC trim board and the treads with Centurion Paramount PVC decking. To get the correct rail heights, I screwed 4″ x 4″ pressure-treated blocks to the tops of the posts. After sanding, priming, and caulking, I added PVC molding to cover the joints. Before priming and painting the new fir rails and balusters, I soaked the ends and coated the surfaces with Woodlife classic Above Ground preservative. All woodwork other than the molding is installed with GRK fin/trim fasteners.
Gordon Harris 