Residential Precast Concrete Stair Treads And Risers

Precast Concrete Stair Treads

Precast concrete stair treads and risers are designed and fabricated to be designer grade and are the optimal product to create a durable and attractive transition between floors.

Unlike other materials, precast concrete step treads can be expected to withstand years of use and abuse and still maintain not only strength but color and surface finish. Softer materials, such as carpet, wood or vinyl products, are perfectly acceptable for normal traffic areas. Stairs concentrate the traffic as they are one of the only ways to travel between floors…more than that, they concentrate the traffic at the center of the tread. Very few areas will have the wear levels that exist in stairs. Precast concrete stair treads and risers have a much higher compressive strength and abrasion resistance, ensuring that even in these high traffic zones, they will hold up better than these other options.

In addition, precast concrete step treads are typically made to even higher strength than site-cast concrete, as it needs to not only service the client for years, but also must survive transport to the jobsite. Site-cast concrete is usually formulated in the 3000-4000psi range. When fabricating Precast concrete step treads for this same purpose, the precast concrete stairs manufacturers will frequently formulate in the 5000-8000psi range. While concrete made at 3000psi is far stronger than it needs to be to support a human in compression, such a concrete may not survive the tensile forces experience during transport. The added strength that precast concrete stair treads and risers need to have, also have the added benefit of increasing the wear resistance.

Design consistency is often the reason that many will choose precast concrete stair treads for a project. As polished concrete floors have become a popular and cost-efficient option, it is natural to want to extend the same look to the stair material, to create a consistent look. Once this decision has been made, there are really only two options: either precast concrete stair treads or site-cast concrete stair treads.

While site cast concrete stair treads give you the best chance to achieve a perfect color match, due to the nature of site cast concrete, it is much harder to achieve a high-grade edge detail or flatness across the surface, as these details are left to the skill of the person wielding the trowel. Precast concrete stairs manufacturers cast their products in a mold to achieve prefect edge details and flatness across the tread.  

Another challenge facing site-cast concrete stairs is wear-and-tear during the construction of the rest of the building. As buildings are being constructed, concrete is one of the first steps in the process, and in multistory buildings, the rough stairs are subject to months or years of damage, dirt and staining as the only access to upper floors for construction crews and all their equipment. In sharp contrast, precast concrete stair treads are typically installed with all the other finishes, often as one of the very last things prior to furnishing the space. This ensures that they are clean, undamaged and photo-ready when the home is ready for use.

Just because a residential setting doesn’t generate the same kind of traffic as a commercial setting, doesn’t mean that residential precast concrete stairs are not a great solution for the home. Residential precast concrete stairs are not only wonderfully durable and strong, but make a great addition to one of the few areas that most guests will see, the staircase.

This is why residential precast concrete stair treads set a project apart from others.