Stair Rise Calc
Answer Where every mark goes on the board, in the order you make them.

How to lay out a stair stringer

Set the square to 67/8in×11in
Risers
14
Board length
16ft
A framing square set to 6.857 inches on the tongue and 11.00 inches on the blade, stepped along the edge of the board with a mark at every setting — the first few of the 14 this stringer takes. The bottom cut is dropped 1.00 inches and the board is 16 feet. Square, rise67⁄8 in Square, run11 in Bottom cut1 in Board16 ft
Layout

Where every mark goes, in order

  1. Set the framing square: the riser height on the tongue, the tread run on the blade. Clamp a fence to both so the setting cannot creep.

    Riser heightTread run

  2. Lay the square on the crowned edge and step it along the board once per riser, marking the rise and the run at every setting.

    RisersOne step along the edge

  3. At the last riser, mark the top cut plumb — square to the run line, not to the board.

    RisersRiser height

  4. At the foot, mark the bottom cut level — square to the rise line, along the last tread run.

    Tread run

  5. Drop the bottom cut by one tread thickness before you saw, so the first riser finishes the same height as the rest once the treads are on.

    Bottom cut deductionTread thickness

  6. Cut to the waste side of every line and finish the inside corners with a handsaw. A circular saw run past the corner weakens the throat behind the notch.

    Marked length

  7. Stand the stringer in place and measure the first and last risers before you cut the second one. They are the two that move if the floor is out.

    Riser heightRisers

Cut list

The marks, bottom to top

Measured along the edge of the board from the foot, after the bottom cut.
Marked length
1811/2in181.472 in15 ft 1.47 in
One step along the edge
1215/16in
Bottom cut deduction
1in
Board length
16ft
Stringer length
1721/4in172.235 in14 ft 4.24 in
  1. 67/8in×11in 1215/16inFrom the foot
  2. 67/8in×11in 2515/16inFrom the foot
  3. 67/8in×11in 387/8inFrom the foot
  4. 67/8in×11in 517/8inFrom the foot
  5. 67/8in×11in 6413/16inFrom the foot
  6. 67/8in×11in 773/4inFrom the foot
  7. 67/8in×11in 903/4inFrom the foot
  8. 67/8in×11in 10311/16inFrom the foot
  9. 67/8in×11in 11611/16inFrom the foot
  10. 67/8in×11in 1295/8inFrom the foot
  11. 67/8in×11in 1429/16inFrom the foot
  12. 67/8in×11in 1559/16inFrom the foot
  13. 67/8in×11in 1681/2inFrom the foot
  14. 67/8in×11in 1811/2inFrom the foot
Asked about this

Questions people search for

What is the formula for figuring out stair stringers?
Riser count is the total rise divided by a target riser of 7.00 inches, rounded to a whole number; riser height is the total rise divided by that count; total run is one tread less than the riser count, times the tread run; and the marks step along the board by the diagonal of one riser and one tread. Every one of them is on this page.
Source

Where the limits come from

2 sources, with the date each was read

Building codes are adopted and amended locally. Confirm every figure with the code your jurisdiction has adopted before you cut.

Updated September 2026