Rant: Stair stringer math bit me after 15 years in the trade

Last Tuesday I was laying out a set of open stringers for a deck rebuild near Topeka, and I trusted my speed square markings instead of double checking the rise and run on paper. Cut the first stringer, carried it over to the framing, and the top tread sat 3/4 of an inch low. Turns out I misread the level line off the ledger because the beam had a slight crown I didn't account for. I ended up ripping a thin shim piece and scribing a new pattern off the actual framing, which cost me about two hours and a lot of muttering. The homeowner watched the whole thing from the kitchen window, and I could feel him counting the money. I guess the lesson is old habits get complacent, but what do you do when a site condition throws your layout off mid-cut? Has anyone else had a stringer or rafter layout go sideways from a small framing error, and how do you catch it before the saw touches wood?

1 comments

1 Comment

vera_robinson3625d ago

Topeka's frost line can shift a ledger a full inch by spring, so always recheck that beam with a straight 2x4 before cutting.