Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total 117-5/16"). Have a decent square and pair of gauges (clamps) that I acquired way back in the 60's. Question: If I am off only 1/16" per tread, and it's accumulative, I will be off an entire scary one inch. How do I conveniently measure total rise while the stringer is still on the saw horses, laid out but uncut? Don't care if any riser is off by 1/16", simply don't want it to accumulate.
Thank you for all replies. No, too inconvenient to put riser in place. Job is 26 miles away.
I sounds like you are more worried about the layout and cutting than the ma th. Yes?
We used an old steel square with masking tape on it to layout stair when I was a framer. Personally, I liked it better than the knobs you set to repe at your layout that they started selling. We also used a Swanson framing s quare from time to time. With careful cutting, careful layout with a thin lead pencil, and careful measurements to begin with, everything worked out fine. I would cut the stringers on one house and have one of my helpers co me get it to take to another house for installation. If your math is solid, you will be fine cutting them somewhere else.
As MIKE pointed out though, you need one more measurement. You need 1) the width of a tread or 2) the opening of the overall dimension in which the s tringer sits. You can backwards engineer to come up with your final number s that way.
So back to the "cumulative effect". Don't worry about it! If you are off, you will know when you lay it out. > If y ou make a determination that (for example) that your tread will be 8 1/2", then do a test layout on your stringer with your rise/run layout. (Remember to crown your stringers!)
If you cannot fit a whole tread at the last cut step then your run measurem ent is off. If you have some left over, same problem, other direction.
You cannot do exceptionally long runs on stairs anymore, but at one time yo u could have really long runs. I am saying this because I don't know what you have, but when I had to cut those, I simply cut the run in half, figure d that would be half the stringer and checked my layout at that point. If i t was off an 1/8" or 3/16", it didn't matter as I could take it out over a couple of stairs or simply leave it alone and start over on the second half of the stringer layout. Neither of those measurement will be apparent to a nyone, and when I was off 1/4" overall and I cut and installed it unless it had hardwood treads. For carpet treatment, you can be off 1/2" at the top and no one will ever see it. I have worked in houses that had all differen t sized treads all the way up, but since they were covered with carpet no o ne (including me) knew it until we took things apart.
Here's a good trick. Once you work your numbers out to your satisfaction, put the stringer with all your calculations and layouts aside and used the numbers you developed on a fresh stringer. Carefully lay it out, cut it, t hen use it as a pattern for the other stringers. I hate creaks, so even on houses that called for two stringers, since I had a pattern, I cut three w ith little more effort.
I use a fence on my framing square when I lay out stringers... I made the fence myself 30+ years ago. Something similar is at
formatting link
The fence helps overcome the variations found in the typical piece of framing lumber.
Another thing I do is calculate the overall length of the stringer (which is being well explored elsewhere ;~) ) and then mark off where each of the front tread/riser intersections should be on the edge of the stringer. I then use those marks to position the square to lay out the stringer.
This methodology has served me well over the years. I adopted it because the first set of stairs I built when I was a kid (utility stairs in a 2 story garage) had a low first step and it still bugs me nearly 40 years later.
I use a fence on my framing square when I lay out stringers... I made the fence myself 30+ years ago. Something similar is at
formatting link
The fence helps overcome the variations found in the typical piece of framing lumber.
Another thing I do is calculate the overall length of the stringer (which is being well explored elsewhere ;~) ) and then mark off where each of the front tread/riser intersections should be on the edge of the stringer. I then use those marks to position the square to lay out the stringer.
This methodology has served me well over the years. I adopted it because the first set of stairs I built when I was a kid (utility stairs in a 2 story garage) had a low first step and it still bugs me nearly 40 years later.
Yeah... one of the things that was difficult for me to wrap my head around for the first couple of steps was to calculate the top of the first tread. One builder I worked for used 2X12 treads on 2 stringers with a support wa ll underneath. Plenty sturdy. The other used 3/4 plywood on three stringe rs and stiff back under. Both sturdy, but worked well.
But for some reason while I was learning I had trouble with the height of t he first tread and the finishing height of the last tread, below the top la nding. I overthought it and confused myself, especially if there was a land ing that changed directions of the stair case halfway up.
I have been in a lot of houses that have a first and last step that don't m atch the stair steps!
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.