Thought I could eyeball a staircase stringer and it cost me a whole weekend

Had to build a set of three steps for a back porch in Asheville, figured I'd just mark and cut without a calculator. Ended up with treads that were off by almost an inch, so I had to scrap the 2x12 and start over. That simple job took me 8 hours instead of two. Anyone have a go-to method for quick step math they actually trust?

3 comments

3 Comments

kellyj232mo ago

My grandpa taught me to just use a framing square with those little stair gauges clamped on. Lets you mark the whole stringer in one shot without any math at all.

lee_barnes702mo ago

Wait, you can mark the whole stringer without any math? That sounds like some kind of carpenter magic. I've always been hunched over with a calculator trying to remember rise over run. So you just clamp those little gauges on the square once and then walk it down the board? My grandpa never showed me that trick.

emmar759d ago

And honestly, @lee_barnes70, the best part nobody talks about is that those gauges also stop your square from slipping. So you're not just saving time on math, you're getting way cleaner cuts too. Have you ever tried it yet?