new wooden door step - fixing and finishing

[EP]

jkn wrote:

>Hi all
>    I'm considering having a go at replacing the wooden door step to
>our back door. The original is loose and rotting.
>
>I'm sure some of this will be clearer when I remove the (metal) door
>frame - how is such a step fixed? Vertical frame fixings?
>
>Also, any suggestions for treating/finishing such an item, subject to
>heavy use, to prevent future rot? I was wondering about treating it
>wilth liberal amounts of Teak Oil or similar...
>
>    Thanks
>    Jon N
>
>  
>
Jon,

Wood rots so no matter how you build it you are going to find yourself 
arm deep in the framing wiedling nails and wood shims in the future.  
The important thing is that you develop a proper level of documentation 
and incorporate it right into your new steps.  If the original builder 
had done this you would not now be asking these questions.

Good working documentation can be easily achieved by writing comments 
right onto the workings beneath the steps, however these comments need 
to be meaningful; an over abundance of obvious comments ("Nail goes 
here!") will actually make future rework harder.

If you have practiced proper documentation on your other projects, 
you'll do fine when you employ it here building your new steps.  Don't 
even think about teak oil until you have documented a well designed 
framework.  And remember, you're working in wood, you are going to need 
to tweak things here and there in the future

I might also recommend an object oriented approach, but I guess that's 
obvious.

Happy hammering!