Walk-out decks are very convenient and a great way to get double the square footage by using the upper deck as well as the area under the deck. This was the plan for this Aurora deck project: finish the deck for dining and cooking, and then use the area under the deck to chill in the shade.
As a deck builder who builds a lot of walk-out decks, we face the same obstacles with many of these projects. What do we do with the stairs? Being a walk-out deck, we are dealing with a nine foot drop so the stairs are quite large and bulky. Most of the time the basements are finished and have full size windows and the thought of obstructing those with a staircase causes most homeowners to want to vomit.
The good news is that a circular staircase that has a smaller footprint and is fairly transparent can be installed. This was the route we took in this scenario, so we could keep the view as non-obstructed as possible. I always tell our clients walking down a circular deck staircase is not the same as the traditional straight deck steps. They are more cumbersome, no doubt, but it’s a tradeoff that needs to be decided by the clients themselves. In a lot of walk-out basement situations, the homeowners use the inside of the house stairs to access the back yard, so the deck stairs get minimal use. That was the case here, so it made it a perfect solution.
The preferred material for spiral stairs is aluminum which has a powder coated finish for long lasting durability. Steel is also a product which is often used, but not our suggested material of choice due to the high maintenance.
