"Temporary" patio door stairs

[live4ever]

I have a patio door that currently leads to nowhere. I need to build a set of stairs that will be replaced with a full deck at a later date. They will be in use for a reasonable amount of time such that they need to be more than temporary construction steps - need to be to code and good enough that in the event the deck project doesn't happen, they can be left as a permanent solution.

The patio doors (72" wide) sit approximately 48" above ground. My understanding is I need a platform at the doors with a minimum depth of 36". My question is whether I need posts at the corners of the 72"x36" platform, or whether I can just hang joists off the ledger and support their other end lag-bolted to the stair stringers. I'd probably use 4 stringers.

Kind of a mini-deck vs "extended" stringer question...

Thanks

[Woodenfish]

Read the DCA 6 Prescriptive Residential Deck Construction Guide to learn code and proper building technique. Is there any room in the budget to make the deck a lil bigger if the stairs were a lil smaller?

An 8x8 mini deck will at least let you hang a BBQ out there. Maybe then you can use some of the post footings again in the later expansion saving you more money and time down the road.