hi everyone, installing a set of cellar stairs ,resting on cement floor(bottom),will have 3/4″ oak floor at the top,using 3/4″treads,question? when dropping last riser (cutting off 3/4″) so all risers are equal do you have divide the missing3/4″to all the other risers to make up for making the drop . it seem’s if you don’t the top step will be 3/4″ to high.hope this is clear .thank you
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George,
You seem to have an error in there somewhere. Im just a student of stairs, not a master.
The height of the rise should be equal on every stair. If the bottom is concrete, and always will be, that is your finish floor.
Yesterday, I thought you were talking about cutting your carraiges and it was accumulated error, today I noticed I was reading it wrong.
Make a story pole, finish floor to finish floor. Mark off every finish height and subtread if you are using them. Then, you cant make a mistake. Dont let the height of the one riser confuse you. If the story pole, and the basement floor to top of first finish tread, and last step to the upper floor measure correctly then you cant do it wrong.
If you are still confused, or think you have a different problem, keep writing, we'll figure it out. Dont fudge your stairs, even if you have to recut the carriages.
-zen
thanks zendo, i went back and remeasured ,i didn't include the finish floor when i took the first measurment,s, thank,s for getting me back on track .george
george... total rise / # of risers = each riser height
only shorten your bottom riser (- thickness of tread )... ( cut this off the BOTTOM of the stringer )... in your case tread = 3/4
this will automatically drop your horse 3/4" , then when you put your treads on , evrything will be back like it should..
draw it out to scale so you can visualize this
mike ,thank you for answering, i remeasured and everything worked out, george
Figure out the finished floor height and the basement floor height. Usually, this means measuring up from the concrete in the basement to the subfloor surface and adding 3/4", in your case.
Divide that distance in inches by 7.5 inches.
The whole number you end up with (neglect the fraction) should be the number of risers.
Let's say thirteen, for example.
Take the fractional part of that number and divide it by the number of risers (13). Add the result to each stair. That will be the finished distance between each riser surface.
Now you have to calculate how thick your treads will be and whether or not you will have carpet on them.
Also, I assume you will put a 1.5" plate under the bottom of the stringers.
Draw the whole thing out to the original dimensions based upon the height difference between the finished floor above and the concrete in the basement.
Adjust for the PT plate on the bottom and then for the treads and for the finished floor above.
If you have some type of floor covering in the basement, that will be a tricky change in this formula, but you can work it out.
The attached drawing will show some of the things you have to consider.