Do you hate cutting stair stringers? While not particularly difficult, cutting stair stringers is a time consuming process that requires care and finesse.

A few months ago, I needed to prepare a set of stair stringers for a new construction project. I measured the overall span and calculated the rise and run for each tread. After this preparation work, I laid out a couple of 2 x 12’s on some sawhorses. Using my framing square and tape measure, I marked out all of the cuts need for both stringers

The old adage, measure twice, cut once, rings quite true here. After laying out all of my marks, I double-checked both them and my calculations for accuracy. A botched cut cannot be uncut, and can lead to a whole lot of wasted dollars. I was now prepared to cut the stringers.

I cut my stringers a little differently than most people. Many people will make the entire cut with a circular saw, overcutting by 1-1/4” to 1-1/2” on each mark so the entire cut is complete. I do not like doing this, as I feel it weakens the stringer. Generally, cutting a stringer from a 2 x 12 only leaves about 3” of dimensional lumber at the rear of each tread, and I do not like to cut into this. Instead, I will simply cut right up to the end of each mark with the circular saw and then I use my cordless band saw to finish the cuts. This leaves me with a nice square cut that maximizes the lumber at each tread.

I cut the first stringer without a problem. After cutting the stringer, I again double-checked the measurements, and everything was good. I moved on to cutting the second stringer. As things will sometimes happen, this stringer did not go so well. As I was halfway through my fourth cut, I hit a knot in the wood that I had failed to discover when I inspected the lumber prior to laying it out. When I hit the knot, the stringer split through, ruining the entire stringer. I had to get a new 2 x 12 and start over.

If I wasn’t clear earlier, I really hate cutting stair stringers. The stairs leading up to our attic were poorly built, simple 2 x 6 treads sitting on ledgers nailed to the sides of 2×4 risers. Tremendously steep and flimsily built, each tread deflects nearly two inches as I climb the stairs. I have put off replacing these stairs for the more than two years we have lived in the house, but no more. The other day, my three-year-old daughter fell as she was walking down these very stairs. Mixed in with the anger at whoever built the stairs and guilt for not fixing them earlier, I found a resolve to rebuild the stairs.

I called a friend of mine to come over and help me remove the old stairs. When he came, he brought me a product I had never seen before, Universal Forest Product’s Easy Riser®. The Easy Riser is an engineered product that one simply attaches to a standard 2 x 6 riser, no cutting or notching of the riser required. I bought a handful of Easy Risers, and began to build the risers.

I still had to figure the rise and run for the treads, but I didn’t need my framing square to lay out anything other than to mark and cut the top and bottom of the riser. After I cut the top and bottom of the riser, I placed each Easy Riser using the clearly labeled rise and run indicators and screwed them to the 2 x 6 riser using 1-1/2” wood screws. If I placed an Easy Riser wrong, I did not have to scrap the entire thing, I could simply back the screw out and replace the Easy Riser in the correct location.

The stairs to the attic are done. I love completing a project, especially a project that I have been putting off like this one. I still do not enjoy building stair risers, but thanks to Universal Forest Product’s Easy Riser, I no longer hate building stair risers because I no longer have to cut them. Another bonus: While the cost of a 2 x 6 and a set of Easy Risers might be marginally more expensive than a 2 x 12, the time savings more than offsets this additional cost (don’t forget about the cost of a scrapped 2 x 12 due to an unseen knot or a poor cut).
Disclaimer: While my daughter did fall down the stairs, she was not injured.

Check it out!
1. Easy Riser Features and Benefits
2. Buy NOW!
3. About Universal Forest Products