"You can absolutely cut a stair stringer if only you only knew the way the math works," my dad once said to me. So, long before I ever had a geometry class, I knew the math behind determining a slope.

Deck stairs look simple until you cut your first stringer wrong. I have done that, and one bad cut can waste a whole board. Building deck stairs is one of the most useful DIY projects you can take on.

A practical look at marking and cutting stair stringers for a building project. Focused on the process, tools, and step-by-step craftsmanship. How do you approach stair layout?

DIY expert April Wilkerson builds a large outdoor staircase with stringers, risers, and railing.

A stairway goes up to nowhere in a woodshop. No grand foyer at the bottom, no upper floor waiting at the top—just a ...

You may be like most folks. I’m guessing you give very little thought to the stairs you go up and down on a regular basis. They might be constructed from wood, steel, or concrete. The vast majority of ...

You probably give little thought to the stairs you go up or down to reach different levels of your home, deck or patio. I’ll wager that if I handed you a measuring tape, a framing square, a pencil and ...

Dear James: My old wood deck is deteriorating and the stairs could be hazardous. What is the easiest way to install new ones for an inexperienced DIY-er? Dear Shantell: You are correct to worry about ...