| You can apply the
same principle for cutting plywood or oriented strand board risers, to
your stair treads. If you're going to use plywood or oriented strand
board, simply create one stair tread, to use as a pattern, to lay out
and mark the rest of them.
After you have finished installing your stair stringers, all you need to
do is measure the width and length of the stair treads, to get the exact
measurements you will need, to cut and install them.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to cut one stair tread and place it on the
finished stairway, to make sure that it fits properly and doesn't need
to be adjusted. This takes us back to the measure twice, but cut once,
mindset.
By placing the stair tread on the stairway, after your risers have been
attached correctly, you will get a better idea, what the finished
staircase is going to look like.
Attention Stair Builders: If you have a better
method for any step I've mentioned so far, then use it. There is no way
that I could cover every single method, for stair building, in this free
how to build stairs section of the website.
2 X 12 Stair Treads
If you're going to use 2 x 12 for your stair treads, you will need to
cut one and place it on the stairway, to make sure that it's going to
work correctly. The biggest problem I have with 2 x 12 stair treads is
that they are 11 1/2 inches wide and most of the time, all I need is 11
inches.
If you run into a situation where the 2 x 12 is too wide, you can always
use a circular saw or table saw to make the necessary adjustments.
Simply rip the boards down to the desired width, before permanently
installing them.
Some beginners will actually cut and install one riser and one tread at
a time, to make sure that there aren't going to be any problems. Even
though this method will take longer, it could reduce wasted materials
and wasted time, if you only made one mistake.
Back To>
How To Build Stairs
Next>Building The Stairs
- Installing Stair Stringers
- Line Up And Straighten
Stringers |
