Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total 117-5/16").
Have a decent square and pair of gauges (clamps) that I acquired way back in the 60's.
Question: If I am off only 1/16" per tread, and it's accumulative, I will be off an entire scary one inch.
How do I conveniently measure total rise while the stringer is still on the saw horses, laid out but uncut?
Don't care if any riser is off by 1/16", simply don't want it to accumulate.

Thank you for all replies. No, too inconvenient to put riser in place. Job is 26 miles away.

Ivan Vegvary

On 3/27/17 9:44 AM, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total 117-5/16").
Have a decent square and pair of gauges (clamps) that I acquired way back in the 60's.
Question: If I am off only 1/16" per tread, and it's accumulative, I will be off an entire scary one inch.
How do I conveniently measure total rise while the stringer is still on the saw horses, laid out but uncut?
Don't care if any riser is off by 1/16", simply don't want it to accumulate.

Thank you for all replies. No, too inconvenient to put riser in place. Job is 26 miles away.

Ivan Vegvary


If you know the rise AND run, you can figure out the hypotenuse.
Pythagorean Theorem: A2+B2=C2
http://www.mathplanet.com/education/pre-algebra/right-triangles-and-algebra/the-pythagorean-theorem

You can mark each rise/run intersection using the length of the
hypotenuse.
Or just google: stair calculator. :-)


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Monday, March 27, 2017 at 9:45:01 AM UTC-5, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total 117-5/16").
Have a decent square and pair of gauges (clamps) that I acquired way back in the 60's.
Question: If I am off only 1/16" per tread, and it's accumulative, I will be off an entire scary one inch.
How do I conveniently measure total rise while the stringer is still on the saw horses, laid out but uncut?
Don't care if any riser is off by 1/16", simply don't want it to accumulate.

Thank you for all replies. No, too inconvenient to put riser in place. Job is 26 miles away.

Ivan Vegvary

I sounds like you are more worried about the layout and cutting than the math. Yes?

We used an old steel square with masking tape on it to layout stair when I was a framer. Personally, I liked it better than the knobs you set to repeat your layout that they started selling. We also used a Swanson framing square from time to time. With careful cutting, careful layout with a thin lead pencil, and careful measurements to begin with, everything worked out fine. I would cut the stringers on one house and have one of my helpers come get it to take to another house for installation. If your math is solid, you will be fine cutting them somewhere else.

As MIKE pointed out though, you need one more measurement. You need 1) the width of a tread or 2) the opening of the overall dimension in which the stringer sits. You can backwards engineer to come up with your final numbers that way.

So back to the "cumulative effect". Don't worry about it! If you are off, you will know when you lay it out. The tread will tell the tale. If you make a determination that (for example) that your tread will be 8 1/2", then do a test layout on your stringer with your rise/run layout. (Remember to crown your stringers!)

If you cannot fit a whole tread at the last cut step then your run measurement is off. If you have some left over, same problem, other direction.

You cannot do exceptionally long runs on stairs anymore, but at one time you could have really long runs. I am saying this because I don't know what you have, but when I had to cut those, I simply cut the run in half, figured that would be half the stringer and checked my layout at that point. If it was off an 1/8" or 3/16", it didn't matter as I could take it out over a couple of stairs or simply leave it alone and start over on the second half of the stringer layout. Neither of those measurement will be apparent to anyone, and when I was off 1/4" overall and I cut and installed it unless it had hardwood treads. For carpet treatment, you can be off 1/2" at the top and no one will ever see it. I have worked in houses that had all different sized treads all the way up, but since they were covered with carpet no one (including me) knew it until we took things apart.

Here's a good trick. Once you work your numbers out to your satisfaction, put the stringer with all your calculations and layouts aside and used the numbers you developed on a fresh stringer. Carefully lay it out, cut it, then use it as a pattern for the other stringers. I hate creaks, so even on houses that called for two stringers, since I had a pattern, I cut three with little more effort.

Hope that helps.

Robert

On 03/27/2017 10:10 AM, -MIKE- wrote:
....

If you know the rise AND run, you can figure out the hypotenuse.
Pythagorean Theorem: A2+B2=C2
....

That's

A^2+B^2=C^2

to be clear (any superscript if in original didn't make it across the
ether)...

--

On 3/27/17 6:34 PM, dpb wrote:
On 03/27/2017 10:10 AM, -MIKE- wrote:
...

If you know the rise AND run, you can figure out the hypotenuse.
Pythagorean Theorem: A2+B2=C2
...

That's

A^2+B^2=C^2

to be clear (any superscript if in original didn't make it across the
ether)...

--


Yeah, I sort of took for granted that he would google it or click my link.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

Or as some say A**2 + B**2 = C**2

Martin

On 3/27/2017 6:34 PM, dpb wrote:
On 03/27/2017 10:10 AM, -MIKE- wrote:
...

If you know the rise AND run, you can figure out the hypotenuse.
Pythagorean Theorem: A2+B2=C2
...

That's

A^2+B^2=C^2

to be clear (any superscript if in original didn't make it across the
ether)...

--

On Monday, March 27, 2017 at 10:17:34 PM UTC-5, Martin Eastburn wrote:
Or as some say A**2 + B**2 = C**2

Martin

That's

A^2+B^2=C^2

to be clear (any superscript if in original didn't make it across the
ether)...

Another option is use keyboard shortcuts. Just memorize a few you may use most often.
http://www.nouilles.info/keyboard_shortcuts.html

Sonny

Martin Eastburn wrote:

Or as some say A**2 + B**2 = C**2

A²+B²=C²
or
(A×A)+(B×B)=C×C

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...

Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total
117-5/16").
Have a decent square and pair of gauges (clamps) that I acquired way back
in the 60's.
Question: If I am off only 1/16" per tread, and it's accumulative, I will
be off an entire scary one inch.
How do I conveniently measure total rise while the stringer is still on the
saw horses, laid out but uncut?
Don't care if any riser is off by 1/16", simply don't want it to
accumulate.

I use a fence on my framing square when I lay out stringers... I made the
fence myself 30+ years ago. Something similar is at

http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/f...g-square-32621

The fence helps overcome the variations found in the typical piece of
framing lumber.

Another thing I do is calculate the overall length of the stringer (which is
being well explored elsewhere ;~) ) and then mark off where each of the
front tread/riser intersections should be on the edge of the stringer. I
then use those marks to position the square to lay out the stringer.

This methodology has served me well over the years. I adopted it because the
first set of stairs I built when I was a kid (utility stairs in a 2 story
garage) had a low first step and it still bugs me nearly 40 years later.

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...

Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total
117-5/16").
Have a decent square and pair of gauges (clamps) that I acquired way back
in the 60's.
Question: If I am off only 1/16" per tread, and it's accumulative, I will
be off an entire scary one inch.
How do I conveniently measure total rise while the stringer is still on the
saw horses, laid out but uncut?
Don't care if any riser is off by 1/16", simply don't want it to
accumulate.

I use a fence on my framing square when I lay out stringers... I made the
fence myself 30+ years ago. Something similar is at

http://www.homemadetools.net/forum/f...g-square-32621

The fence helps overcome the variations found in the typical piece of
framing lumber.

Another thing I do is calculate the overall length of the stringer (which is
being well explored elsewhere ;~) ) and then mark off where each of the
front tread/riser intersections should be on the edge of the stringer. I
then use those marks to position the square to lay out the stringer.

This methodology has served me well over the years. I adopted it because the
first set of stairs I built when I was a kid (utility stairs in a 2 story
garage) had a low first step and it still bugs me nearly 40 years later.

Spalted Walt wrote in
:


A²+B²=C²
or
(A×A)+(B×B)=C×C

Just as an FYI, but Usenet will mangle the characters
you're trying to use. Usenet doesn't reliably support
anything but basic ASCII.

John

On Wednesday, March 29, 2017 at 7:24:21 AM UTC-5, John Grossbohlin wrote:

This methodology has served me well over the years. I adopted it because the
first set of stairs I built when I was a kid (utility stairs in a 2 story
garage) had a low first step and it still bugs me nearly 40 years later.

Yeah... one of the things that was difficult for me to wrap my head around for the first couple of steps was to calculate the top of the first tread. One builder I worked for used 2X12 treads on 2 stringers with a support wall underneath. Plenty sturdy. The other used 3/4 plywood on three stringers and stiff back under. Both sturdy, but worked well.

But for some reason while I was learning I had trouble with the height of the first tread and the finishing height of the last tread, below the top landing. I overthought it and confused myself, especially if there was a landing that changed directions of the stair case halfway up.

I have been in a lot of houses that have a first and last step that don't match the stair steps!

Robert

Robert

John McCoy wrote:

A²+B²=C²
or
(A×A)+(B×B)=C×C

Just as an FYI, but Usenet will mangle the characters
you're trying to use.

Usenet mangled absolutely nothing.

Usenet doesn't reliably support anything but basic ASCII.

Don't blame "Usenet" because your chosen newsreader/font chokes on
8-bit ASCII.

wrote in message
...

I have been in a lot of houses that have a first and last step that don't
match the stair steps!

Me too... In some cases it was due to changes in the flooring over time but
in many it was bad stair design and layout!

On Mon, 27 Mar 2017 07:41:18 -0700 (PDT) wrote:

Need to cut stringer with 16 risers, each at 7.33 inches. (total

is there a sturdy wall on one side of the stair case

if so do a cantilever stair

eliminate a stringer

but yes there is more to a cantilever than conventional