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 ...

The idea of building stairs, even if it is just a few steps up to a deck or porch, is enough to instill fear in most do-it-yourselfers. There are just so many things that can go wrong. The hard thing ...

Here is a picture of the side of a staircase. It’s called a stair stringer. Calculate the area of the side of the stringer that is facing you. Look for repeated shapes in it. Rhys has 8 of these ...