Exterior hardwood stairs

[Cealan]

Standard straight flight stairs! Made out of remu which is a nz hardwood (closest they have to a Teak). Routed 10mm in the string, open riser! Balustrade is a galvanised mesh! Im not a fan of the mesh & personally think it should have been painted black! Capping on side covers block wall & runs along the string to finish flush with top of the deck.

 

[cleatmr]

Very nice.
I agree about the mesh, it distracts from the staircase and looks a bit top heavy

 

[jmbfestool]

Looks nice

I agree shame about the mesh it ruins it

 

[flair woodworks]

Nice build.  I, too would prefer the mesh in black.

 

[mwahaha]

Very nice.

You sure thats NZ rimu though? It looks very red for NZ rimu. Can you post a close up of the grain? Have you oiled/stained it?

 

[Cealan]

Im pretty sure its rimu, but its my 1st time working with this timber! Heres a pic!! It bleeds & darkens over time & takes up a grey colour. No stain/oil although i think it should have been, maybe at a later date

 

[mwahaha]

Its hard to tell from your photo but it looks like it has dark streaks through it like this (excuse my dirty floor) I haven't seen it so red before. You are lucky to get your hands on some nice large pieces like that, its not easy to get because it takes so long to grow (think 100's of years, a few are still left that are over 1500 years).

I would oil it if I were you, and keep it oiled or it wont last, its exterior durability rating is 15-20 years. I don't know know how much oil will prolong its life but it should also help reduce cupping, twisting and splitting.

I often have to repair rimu window sills that have a little spot of rot showing, with the rest of the outside of the sill appearing and sounding to be fine, only to find the rot runs through the middle of the timber quite a long way which turns into a headache.