I recently had a contractor rebuild my basement stairs, which are structurally sound but I'm worried that he made some mistakes with the fasteners he used. The stairs sit directly on the concrete, which is fine by me, but my biggest concern is that it looks like he only used roofing nails and deck screws to secure the top of the stairs to the floor joist. The Simpson strong tie straps seem to be misapplied too, only contacting a small part of the joist. I don't want to accuse him outright because he's been great on past projects, so how should I approach him about this? Should I send him pictures and ask him to fix it or is it better to look for someone more experienced? Can anyone confirm if these fasteners are indeed wrong?
3 Answers
You should check out the Simpson strong-tie website for the correct fasteners needed. Once you’ve done that, ask your contractor which fasteners he actually used to make sure you’re getting the right fix.
Definitely talk to your contractor about your concerns. You don’t have to jump right in accusing him of incompetence! Just ask some specific questions about the fasteners he used. Show him pictures and ask what type of nails and screws he installed—if they really look like roofing nails, that’s not good.
That makes sense, I’ll definitely ask him for clarification on those fasteners.
Honestly, he used the wrong fasteners. Roofing nails are not suitable for holding up stairs, and you'll want to ask him to replace them with the proper Simpson structural screws. It’s a straightforward fix, and you should be firm about it—don’t just ask if he’s willing, tell him it needs to be corrected.
Great advice! I agree, it’s not an option to leave it as is.
Make sure to get his take on it; could lead to a good discussion.