How to Install Stair Skirting or Stringers

Stringers

• 1

  Mark where the stringers will attach to the floor with a pencil. Typically stringers sit 36 inches apart, although the dimensions may vary depending on the plans of your home.

• 2

  Position a stair stringer against a pencil mark. Hammer a nail through the floor and into the end of the stringer, if possible. If you cannot access under the floor, nail at an angle into the stringer, ensuring that the nail penetrates the floor.

• 3

  Use the nail gun to securely fasten the stringer in position. Again, go from the underside of the floor into the end of the stringer if possible.

• 4

  Repeat for as many stringers as you need to complete the staircase.

Skirting

• 5

  Make a pencil mark on the wall however high above the topmost tread on the stairs you want your skirting to be. Using a carpenter’s level will ensure that the mark is plumb. Repeat on the lowermost tread.

• 6

  Snap a chalk line between these two marks to signal the line of the skirting.

• 7

  Measure the height of the riser and the depth of tread and count the number of treads.

• 8

  Mark up your skirting board with the required number of right-angled areas (the height of the riser and depth of the tread) that you will cut out so the board fits over the stairs. You may find it easier to tack up tracing paper to the wall above the stairs and mark the areas on that before transferring to the board.

• 9

  Use a handsaw to cut out the right angles that will fit over the stairs. Sandpaper the edges to make them smooth.

• 10

  Slip the board into place over the stairs and check the fit. Use sandpaper to make any necessary adjustments.

• 11

  Use a drill and 2-inch screws to secure the skirt to the wall.

• 12

  Cover the screw heads with putty so they match the board. When the putty is set, use sandpaper to make it flush with the board. Paint the skirting if desired.