To lay out a set of stair stringers from scratch requires a little math, but not much. Equally important is some quiet time to run the numbers and at the same time to think about the construction ...

Amateur carpenters who have laid out the cuts in a stair stringer (the zig-zag structural support for the steps) know the queasy feeling that bubbles up at the prospect of this job. There’s the simple ...

Picture a stair slope in your mind to estimate about a 40-degree slope and guess at a landing point. Rest any straight piece of deck lumber on the deck and level it over to the landing point. Measure ...

Simple stairs have just two components. The flat board that your foot steps on is called a tread. The treads connect to side stringers and sometimes to one that is in the middle of the stairs. The ...

DEAR TIM: I need to build some simple outdoor steps to replace ones that fell apart and rotted (even though they were made with treated lumber). I’m fairly handy and have a decent grasp of the math ...

Building a set of stairs is a tricky endeavor. Using a pair of brass stair gauges and a builder’s square to mark the stringer (the zigzag boards the steps and risers attach to) can make the job a ...

You probably give little thought to the stairs you go up or down to reach different levels of your home, deck or patio. I’ll wager that if I handed you a measuring tape, a framing square, a pencil and ...

I feel it’s important for you to understand the structure of a set of stairs before you get out your saw and framing square.