Need help sourcing non standard stair risers.

[hozjo]

So I'm replacing the stairs to my front porch with some trex composite boarding I bought. I noticed for the first time during demo that my stairs are each an inch taller than standard stairs. This means I need 6.5" fascia/risers/kickplate.

Now what the builders did, and I'm trying to avoid was use a standard 1*6 at 5.5 inches and a piece of 1 inch trim, the problem is when they nailed the one inch trim in, the nails were too close to the to of the stringers and they split and were severely damaged and unsalvageable. So instead of cutting the 4 stringers I thought I'd need to add to support trex stairs, I'm cutting 7. FUN.

I really don't want to have to rip larger boards down to size myself So I'm looking to find some place that either sells custom width boards of pvc or wood, or will rip the boards for me. Problem is most standard lumber yards don't rip boards, and the people that do only sell premium wood that costs a lot more a foot.

Now I'm doing this project myself in the hope of saving money, and already had to buy a new saw. But I don't mind paying a reasonable fee to save myself this hassle. I only need 5 of these 6.5 inch risers, so it's not enough to make a custom order at most places either.

 

[Maggiemaeodie]

Cut new stringers.

 

[hozjo]

Cut new stringers.

I thought about adding a step to lower their individual heights but there are two problems, first the property is on a hill where after the concrete stair landing it gets steep, if the stairs were extended the concrete landing would have to be expanded to meet code and that would be an issue. The other problem is the railings are fixed and hard to alter. If I was add a stair the railings/bannisters would also have to change.

 

[MegaFan]

Never knew there was such a thing as "standard stairs" and I've built a few houses. Guess I can throw my framing square away after almost 40 years of use.

 

[jeep78]

Use step brackets, they work fine and you can set them wherever you want.

 

[BIKER13]

get somebody to rip em for you. 5 of em? any cabinet shop should be able

 

[wwboater]

Hell I’d do it but the drive would suck.

 

[DADI03]

Just leave a gap at the kicks. Split it half and half. That's what I did on mine. Leave a litte more gap at the top, it doesn't really show because the tread over hangs. A little gab at the bottom helps for cleaning as well. Doesn't really stand out.

I've never known any trex boards to be bigger/wider than a standard deck board. But @crippen should know a little about this

 

[moosensquirrel]

You could also "pilot drill" the holes for the trim so it does not split as you mentioned.

 

[Gaffer1968]

You could also "pilot drill" the holes for the trim so it does not split as you mentioned.

Yep...just slightly smaller diameter than the finish nail. Other tricks include staggering offset in the grain line along the length of the piece to keep them from wedge-splitting the piece. The field trick I saw old carpenters use on the fly was to turn the nail point upwards on a block or something and blunt the tip of the nail so that it 'crushes' the grain instead of splitting it.