Housed Stringer for Stairway

[Jim Foster]

I am building a stairway with 6 steps and using a housed stringer on one side. I have a book on building stairs and the author suggests using a 1-3/8" thick piece of hardwood, but does not suggest how deep to mortise in the treads. I was thinking 1/2." Does anyone have experience in making housed stringers that can offer feedback on how thick they make the stringer and how deep they typically mortise in the treads?

[David Helm]

Is the stair indoor or outdoor? If outdoor, housed stringers are a bad idea. The housing holds water and ultimately will rot the tread. If indoor, I would go at least 3/4 inch.

[Mel Fulks]

Many of the interior stairs with 3/4 inch string boards are only routed 3/8 inch. But the treads and risers are held in with glued wedges and coated headed nails through stringer into treads.

[Bradley Gray]

I route 1/2" deep. With wedges and glue it is solid.

Are you mitering the other side?

[Jim Foster]

I am mitering the other side. It will be wedged and glued as well. How thick do you make your housed stringer?


I route 1/2" deep. With wedges and glue it is solid. Are you mitering the other side?

[Tom M King]

I built these in 1991. White Oak stringers 1"thick, 1/2" deep mortises with shop made template. Picture is recent. Balusters extend down beside stringer, and pieces seen between balusters are fillers.

[Bradley Gray]

If the housed stringer is hardwood 1 1/8". Softwood 1 1/4 - 1 1/2". I also use lots of glue blocks. I'm not sure how you could use wedges on the mitered stringer.

[Jim Foster]

I might have been using the wrong terminology. The side opposite the housed stringer is open and will have the riser's mitered to the skirt board.
If the housed stringer is hardwood 1 1/8". Softwood 1 1/4 - 1 1/2". I also use lots of glue blocks. I'm not sure how you could use wedges on the mitered stringer.

[Mel Fulks]

Jim,there are two ways of doing the mitre. You can make the risers with a rabbet big enough to receive the string board,and leaving about 1/4 inch with a 45 on end to mitre a trim scroll 1/4 thick . The other way is to mitre risers with no rabbet and handsaw a mitre on the string board, that is more difficult but is useful on small radius circle stairs to avoid a cluttered look with small scrolls, or where a simpler look without scrolls or any end grain is needed. In either case you use glue blocks for strength.

[Jim Foster]

It must have been beginners luck, but I cut a pine mitered skirt (mitered to the risers) about 15 years ago and it came out perfect. I remember being extremely surprised at how it fit.


Jim,there are two ways of doing the mitre. You can make the risers with a rabbet big enough to receive the string board,and leaving about 1/4 inch with a 45 on end to mitre a trim scroll 1/4 thick . The other way is to mitre risers with no rabbet and handsaw a mitre on the string board, that is more difficult but is useful on small radius circle stairs to avoid a cluttered look with small scrolls, or where a simpler look without scrolls or any end grain is needed. In either case you use glue blocks for strength.