How to Run a Finished Open Stringer on a Set of Stairs

Stair construction, one of the more detailed aspects of home building, usually involves the use of stringers, long boards to which you attach the treads and risers. Many types stair designs use open stringers, boards cut in a zigzag pattern that allows them to accept the treads and risers without additional hardware. A closed stringer, by contrast, does not have any notches cut into it. You attach the steps to a closed stringer by placing them on metal supports nailed to the board.

Plywood
Hammer
Nails, 8d
Tape measure
Pencil
Level, 24-inch
Metal angle bracket
Drill

Instructions

- 1
  Cut a piece of plywood the width of two risers, usually about 14 inches, and long enough to cover the stairwell header or the rough framing to which the staircase will attach. Place the cut piece of plywood, called a hangerboard, and fasten it to the stairwell header with a hammer and 8d nails.
- 2
  Measure down from the top of the stairwell header the length of one riser, the vertical framing member for the steps, plus the thickness of the tread. Make a mark with a pencil.
- 3
  Draw a straight horizontal line across the hangerboard that intersects the mark using a 24-inch level.
- 4
  Position the stringer so that it rests on the horizontal line at the top and is flush with the floor at the bottom. Drive a nail through hangerboard so that it holds the stringer up, but do not hammer it in completely.
- 5
  Check for level at each step cutout on the stringers. Complete nailing the stringer to the hangerboard when the stringer is level.
- 6
  Take a metal angle bracket and place it on side on the floor and against the bottom of the stringer. Use a drill to fasten the bracket to both surfaces with screws.

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