Plywood Stair Treads
Plywood makes a fantastic stair tread and if I was going to build a set of stairs today, that's exactly what I would use. Of course, I'm talking about a set of stairs that's going to get carpeted or covered with some type of material. The picture below provides you with the ideal example of plywood stair treads and risers.
Plywood Stair Tread Recommended Thickness
When I first started working in construction, all we used was 5/8"
plywood for our stair treads and risers. Eventually it went to 3/4"
plywood for our stair treads and risers. However, each job you work on
today, could be completely different, than the one you worked on
previously.
The stairway in the picture above used 1 - 1/8 inch plywood for the
stair treads. Even though the building department, architect and
engineer approved a 3/4" plywood. However, the contractor I was working
with, chose to use a thicker material. You can usually increase the
thickness of your plywood stair treads, but you can't decrease it, if a
particular size or thickness is called out on the
building plans or
blueprints.
The thickness of your plywood stair treads will also vary, according to
your stair stringer layout. If you're building a stairway that's 48
inches wide and you're only going to use three stair stringers, you
would need to use a thicker plywood for your stair tread.
However, if you were going to use four stair stringers, you could reduce
the thickness. The spacing between three stair stringers on a 48 inch
wide stairway will be about 21 inches. If we add another stair stringer,
the distance will be reduced to 14 inches and that's why we can use
thinner plywood, for our stair treads and risers.
Large tract home builders who build hundreds or thousands of homes each
year, understand and use this concept, to save money. If you're planning
on building a room addition or your own custom home, I would recommend
using thicker plywood, to reduce squeaks and create a stronger stairway.
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