stair stringers

[Tom M King]

Out on our dog porch, I built the steps down from the dog room to the paver outside floor with 5" rise and 13" run. People who have probably never walked steps close to that dimension go up and down without noticing any difference. The rise and run is of course exact all the way, as well as a nice straight diagonal line. I built them with 5" rise so little puppies can negotiate them, and it worked out nicely to plan. As the riser height gets lower, I will increase the run a wee bit on the 17-1/2, and go the other way if more rise.

[Tom M King]

I keep thinking of something else to add. The total rise needs to be measured from where the steps start, and not at the edge of the porch. If the land is falling away, it will not work out. I often use a 78" level, with a vertical steadying stick (anything on the site) for that. Mark the stick, and that's the total rise.

[Mel Fulks]

The old books cite 5 and 1/2 by 12 but I won't argue with someone clearly ahead of the too steep stairs common even today's extremely expensive homes. Walking a stair in that range is quite different from climbing a stair. Anything GOOD that is not a hot ticket with designers is a tough sell.

[Walter Plummer]

The architects and designers don't want to give up the floor space for a comfortable stair. If the stairs get longer suddenly the 4' cased opening to the living room is only a 3' cased opening. This is also why you will hardly ever see one straight run anymore. They are half turn to "save" space.