STAIR STRINGER
DESIGN CALCULATOR - PROFESSIONAL
If you've ever cut a stair stringer you know
what a pain it is. There are multiple
measurements and dimensions to consider.
It's not really all that complicated, it's just
a pain. And if you decide you want to
change the number of treads in your design you
have to calculate everything all over again.
There are hand-held construction calculators
for this, but they cost much more, don't show
you a picture, don't figure out and correct for
upperdeck overhang, and you usually can't print
out the final design. For less than the
price of a ruined 2x12 you can save yourself
several hours of 'head scratching' and drawing
on graph paper and get it right the first time
with this specialty spreadsheet for stair
building and basic wood stairs, such as basement
stairs and deck stairs.
I've been using MS Excel every day for the last
couple of decades, and so for my last set of
stringers I decided it was time to get the
computer to do all the work. That way, it
would be possible to try out a number of
settings and see how the staircase looked before
finalizing the design. I spent several
days and put it in a spreadsheet. It made
the job much easier. I tried a few
staircase designs, picked one, and cut my
stringers. It worked like a champ.
A friend wanted to use my spreadsheet, and I
had to walk him through it, and explain
everything. So I spent another 100 hours
getting my rough spreadsheet ready for anyone to
use, with instructions, help and explanations
included.
I simplified and color-coded the main diagram
of the staircase, added a scroll bar to allow
super-easy changing of the number of treads,
color-coded the treads and the stringer, added a
diagram of the stringer all by itself with
measurements, and made a nice neat list of
points to mark on the stringer stock with clear
step-by-step instructions. I also cleaned
up the printing so you just print out your
diagrams and your cut list, and you don't have
to take your laptop down to where you are
working.
To
design your stringers, just type in your
measurements:
Upper Floor
Thickness
Upper Floor Bullnose Extension (if any)
Upper Floor Bullnose Thickness
Total Rise
Total Run
Tread Thickness
Tread Depth (width)
Stringer Stock Width
You will see all your settings make a picture
of your staircase. It calculates what the
Rise/Run diagonal should be, so you can
double-check your measurements, if you want.
Next,
click on the number of treads (increase or
decrease) and the diagram is instantly redrawn
so you can see your results. There is also
a list of important calculations (with suggested
values) that tell you:
Angle of the
Staircase (in degrees)
Rise per Step
Run per Step
Overhang of the Treads
Amount of Stringer Stock Width left uncut (to
make sure you have enough strength)
How much Stringer Stock contacts the Upper Deck
How much the staircase has been adjusted out so
you don't have to trim the top tread
Stringer Stock Length you need to buy
This spreadsheet even figures out non-90-degree
cuts if your treads are smaller than the Run per
Step, which eliminates the stringer stock
weakening by deep square cuts. You might
use this if you want temporary stairs or
lightweight stairs, say, to a boat.
You can even put in a zero for the tread
thickness and make forms to pour concrete
steps.
Even if you build stairs fairly often you will
still find it easier to use this spreadsheet
than figuring it out manually every time, and
the diagrams and graphics will impress your
customers. And if you don't want to take
your computer with you to the job site, you can
just call the measurements into someone with the
spreadsheet at the office, and have them read
the measurement back to you over your cell
phone.
You
must have Microsoft Excel to use this
spreadsheet. It works in Excel
97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, and Excel XP.
It does not work in Excel 95.
One carpenter didn't have Excel, and tried it in
OpenOffice 2.0. He said it displayed
decimals instead of fractions, and one of the
diagrams was missing some lines, but he could
still use it. He bought a measuring tape
that reads in 1/10ths.
Let your computer do all the figuring for
you. You won't have to buy a framing
square or buttons, or dig up your trigonometry
book. Just
enter your measurements, click to adjust the
number of treads, print out the instructions,
mark your wood, and cut.
As situations and needs vary with every job,
this spreadsheet does not give guidance on how
to attach the stingers to the upper deck.
That is up to you. Jim Self has a
discussion of attachment methods at his site: http://jself.com/stair/straight/Stringer.htm
as well as other tips on how to build stairs,
and information on building a spiral staircase.
This spreadsheet calculates only staircases
that use the upper deck as the top step, and
does not handle staircases that have the top
tread on the same level as the upper deck
(they're not too common anyway).
This spreadsheet does not handle or design
risers but they can be easily figured in by
adding them to the depth of the treads.
This spreadsheet is sold 'protected' with a
password so you can't accidentally delete or
overwrite anything, and to protect the
formulas. All the cells for entering your
measurements are unlocked of course, and you can
save your settings if you want.
Note: stair building requires a minimum level
of skill, if you have never used a circular saw,
and don't know what "plumb" and "level" mean,
this may be a bit much for you.
This is a digital download. There is no physical shipment and no shipping costs.
You will be able to download it and design your staircase in just a few minutes.
2019 !! The downloader has broken for the last time.
Instead, I will email the files to you manually. I check email every day.
DON'T CALL PAYPAL, you will just delay things.
$12.99.
30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee
Immediately after payment you will be taken to a download page,
As a backup procedure, you are also immediately emailed a download link.
I will manually email the files to you.
If you catch me online it'll be quick, but give me a day.
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The first reaction of most people to the
spreadsheet is "WOW! THAT'S COOL",
and here are some comments from happy stair
builders (many from eBay) ...
I am very impressed with it's workings. It has
figured out things that I hadn't thought of.
--JMcCaus
Very easy transaction & nice spreadsheet
--chrisrosenb
This is one of the best spreadsheets I have
seen. Highly recommended --nhicam
Great Seller-Incredibly well made - Worth the
money! --vonwooster
MOST EXCELLENT....EASY TO USE --russellm360
Excellent Seller, One of the Best on Ebay
AAAAAAA+++++++++ --730waters
Great program, Simple to use and incredibly
accurate - Must have for builders I hope sales
of your program go well, it is a very good and
easy program to use. I can print out the layout
points and have helpers cut the stringers and it
saves me alot of my time to do other things on
the project. --Follow-up by 730waters
Seamless transaction, excellent product!
--hermoso
Very nice and simple little program-very useful
A++ --dondo101
Great product, FAST transaction. Worth a lot
more than the selling price!
--jonesker
Good transaction, communication, product!! Who
could ask for more? ++++ Thanks!!
--59speedster
How did you get Excel to do that?! Pretty
cool! --tonyap
Wow, I bet that took some time ... putting
that spreadsheet together!! --ginop
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click here
for SCREENSHOTS
thanks,
Quintin
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