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 ...

In this video of building a large staircase, I show you how I layout a stringer. It's simple math and if you use the right tools, it is quite easy. There are also some other tips and techniques I show ...

"You can absolutely cut a stair stringer if only you only knew the way the math works," my dad once said to me. So, long before I ever had a geometry class, I knew the math behind determining a slope.

Building a set of stairs is a tricky endeavor. Using a pair of brass stair gauges and a builder’s square to mark the stringer (the zigzag boards the steps and risers attach to) can make the job a ...

DEAR TIM: I need to build some simple outdoor steps to replace ones that fell apart and rotted (even though they were made with treated lumber). I’m fairly handy and have a decent grasp of the math ...

You probably give little thought to the stairs you go up or down to reach different levels of your home, deck or patio. I’ll wager that if I handed you a measuring tape, a framing square, a pencil and ...