Tips for Building Stairs without the Stress

I have a cousin who’s supposedly a real whiz when it comes to carpentry, so I had him build some stairs for me. I was unhappy with the job he did, unfortunately. I really didn’t want to say something that would make him feel bad or embarrassed, but really! In the end I had to take down what he made and learn the art of building stairs myself.

And since I’d paid my cousin to do the job, I didn’t have the money to get a professional. Here are my tips based on what I learned.

- Before you start building stairs or any other addition to your home for that matter, check the local requirements and codes. My cousin did not do this, and luckily, I didn’t see any problems in this area.

I think this is the only part I didn’t have problems with, but you never know, it could simply be because the code inspector never saw the stairs. Had he seen them, a whole new section may have been written!

- I am no expert, but I believe in quality materials. My cousin, on the other hand, worked with the cheapest stuff he could get. His reasoning was that since we’d be covering the stairs with carpet, it would be unnecessary to get ‘fancy.’

Well, I learned that cheap wood with knots and imperfections are more likely to crack sooner than other woods. Since I have children, I can’t gamble on something like that.

- One of the most helpful things I learned with building stairs is that drawing up a blue print can really help you get organized and focused. This way you’ll get to see how the end result should look and how everything adds up.

I hope you find my tips helpful when you build your stairs the right way– without any setbacks! No glitches means no spending more money than you have to. By the way, don’t hire family to build them for you!

Working on a new stair project? Visit Build Stairs and discover How To Build Stairs quickly and easily without the headaches. We even cover Pull Down Attic Stairs!

- Christine Julianne


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