Used to eyeball every stair stringer, now I cut a story pole first and it saves me 20 minutes a flight

Noah Black · 2026-09-30T02:25:03.292402+00:00

For 6 years I laid out stringers by marking risers right on the 2x12 with a framing square, and about 1 in 4 came out a hair off at the top step. Last month a guy on a deck job in Tacoma showed me his story pole method, where you clamp a straight stick and mark every tread and riser once, then just transfer it to the stringer. How many of you cut a story pole, or do you still mark each stringer by hand?

The Design Community Hub

Loading…

Used to eyeball every stair stringer, now I cut a story pole first and it saves me 20 minutes a flight | Carpenters - The Design Community Hub