Hey guys I am new here but I wanted to ask and get an opinion on this as we aren’t very handy ourselves.
My fiancée and I are finishing a lofted apartment area above a garage. We hired a family friend’s husband as our contractor and so far we haven’t made it far into the process.
He has torn down the old deck and put up a new extended one, which looks okay from what I can tell. However there are a few points on the stairs, especially the bottom step, that have splits in the wood. I am concerned that this may lead to loose boards or repairs needed later on.
Based on my one wood shop class in high school, I didn’t think this looked good, but like I said I am not very handy so I want a second opinion. Is this something I should have them fix or is this to be expected?
Would this still require removing the treads to apply or can you apply it underneath somehow?
@DietCanesSauce @merde
You’d still have to remove the treads.
To be clear, stairs have been built for a long, long time without a membrane, which I’m pretty sure is a somewhat new practice.
I wouldn’t do it as a retrofit unless it was only a few steps. I did it on mine after my last stringers rotted.
in my experience, you don’t need to disassemble. Apply generously and the oil would be absorbed in a couple of hours. You can put on a 2nd layer to be sure.
Paint protects from the outside and water seeps through its openings. Linseed oil saturates the wood to keep water out (it helps with insects too).