Stiffener - Stairway Reinforcement

Stiffeners are used to provide structural reinforcement for any parts that are used to build stairs. In the illustration below, a 2 x 6 has been nailed to a stair stringer to provide it with additional strength. This is a good example of one type of stiffener that you can use, in the construction industry.

Using Stiffeners For Structural Repairs

If you have a cracked or damaged stair stringer, you could either replace the stair stringer or add a stiffener. Carpenters often refer to this as scabbing or installing a nailer to provide additional strength or fix something that was damaged.

For Example: Someone was moving a large refrigerator down a stairway and one of the stair stringer's cracked. Even though the stairway is still standing, it isn't safe to use.

If the damage isn't too bad, you could go underneath the stairway, find the broken stair stringer and fix it. The first thing you need to do is reposition the stair stringer, into its original position and this could be done by using a jack.

After it has been repositioned, you can add one 2 x 6 to each side of the stair stringer, sandwiching the damaged stair stringer, in the middle and then drill a few holes through all three of the boards.

After that's done, you can install a few nuts and bolts and tighten them up, slowly compressing the three pieces of wood together. Once this is done, you can remove the jack that was used to reposition the stringer and you're done.

I probably made it sounds easier than it is, but the main point would be to fix the damage as soon as possible. You can also use stiffeners for a variety of other structural home repairs, like roof rafters and floor joist.

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