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Chris Pembrook
03-09-2019, 5:58 PM
Should the riser sit on top of the treads? I've seen it mentioned either way: sitting on top of the previous tread or install riser and push tread up to it. If either works what's the pros and cons and I'm considering for a closed stair.

Mel Fulks
03-09-2019, 6:26 PM
Around here a dado is cut on the risers ,and a 3/8 toung is cut on the treads with a shaper. They are made into two piece units held by coated nails. We always kept the nails about 8 inches from the ends. That was so that it something was
off a little a mallet blow would knock the nose all the way into string boards.

Richard Jones
03-09-2019, 6:53 PM
Should the riser sit on top of the treads? I've seen it mentioned either way: sitting on top of the previous tread or install riser and push tread up to it. If either works what's the pros and cons and I'm considering for a closed stair.

I always did the install riser and push tread up to it. I know nothing of routed units, we always built them in place, although pre-built units are about all that I see on the job. It's pretty rare here to see a site constructed interior stair. A stair jig is quite a plus on a closed stair and easy to make.

Mel Fulks
03-09-2019, 7:09 PM
Nothing wrong with build in place. For clarity ,I was making them in a shop. We had a thick and level beam on the floor
and one directly above attached to shop roof framing. One string on the bottom beam, set the units in place, add other
stringer . Sticks were wedged to keep all together while adding the glue coated wedges. Long time ago

Bill Carey
03-09-2019, 8:57 PM
Hey Chris - unless there are aesthetic reasons prohibiting it, I always install the risers first, and then the treads. That way I can attach the riser to the back of the tread and this makes a stronger stair. It could be a dado as Mel suggests or just some screws.

Martin Siebert
03-09-2019, 11:09 PM
I have always started at the bottom of the stairs and installed the riser first, then the tread and then the next riser to sit on top of the previous tread and so on. If you do it the opposite then the tread will have to be cut to exact fit against its riser perfectly. Not that this cant be done, but why bother??? If the riser sits on top of the tread on the bottom and the tread has the typical bull nose with a slight lip {like 1/8" or so} then you don't have to be so exact, the bull nose of the tread or a small piece of trim going across will cover the gap.

Richard Jones
03-10-2019, 5:09 AM
I think the shop made units, built correctly, are superior to a field unit. Dados, wedges, glue, etc. are a bit more problematic to install in the field. I would like to see/try it one time. I really enjoyed doing stairways.

Richard Wolf
03-10-2019, 8:50 AM
30 years in the stair business and I have never seen a riser sit on top of a tread.

Tim Bueler
03-10-2019, 9:58 AM
30 years in the stair business and I have never seen a riser sit on top of a tread.

Sadly, I have. I think the "average" person wouldn't notice, although some might subliminally realize something isn't right. Same with crown molding installed upside down. Even sadder is when either mis-installation was installed by a so called professional.

West coast construction, stairs are generally site built. Finished treads/risers installed over framer cut stringers which were generally awful. Takes a lot of shimming. I've always attached the riser to the back of the tread and installed both as a unit. Keeps the most visible joint nice and tight.

I've always admired the closed (or housed is it?) stringer stairs. Used more on the east coast I think.

Andrew Nemeth
03-10-2019, 10:04 AM
Hi Chris,

i just built my first set of interior stairs. After much research, I put my risers behind each tread. If it makes a difference, it seems like the prefab treads are usually sized for this type of install. I built the stairs onsite and installed risers then treadsc as I worked my way up the stairs. I was always one riser ahead so I could screw and glue each riser into the back edge of the tread below. However, I would always cut and lay the tread above the riser in place to adjust the height of the riser below before lifting the upper tread out of the way to screw the the riser to the back of the tread below. I used a lot of glue and the stairs are rock solid. FWIW, dadoing the bottom of each tread to accept the riser below (with or without a rebate) sounds like a good idea. I may give that a try next time to help concele slight variations in the height of each step and lock everything together. All my risers are painted, so small gaps caused by slight variations were canceled with caulk and paint (although, I’m not even sure caulk was necessary as the gaps were tiny).

Good luck!

Tom M King
03-10-2019, 10:26 AM
I already had this picture stored here. These ( no spiders were harmed for taking the picture) are built on the job, with housed stringers, and no joined up boards, but then my houses had everything built on site, so not really typical. Picture was taken when they were 27 years old, and still look like that today. I've seen some of everything, working on old houses, but the good ones have the riser behind the tread.

Tom M King
03-10-2019, 10:28 AM
The old ones are in a 1798 house, so everything had to be done by hand. Interesting that they didn't use wedges in the housings. Last picture flipped for some odd reason.

Tom M King
03-10-2019, 10:34 AM
As seen in those photos, it's easy to get perfect fits with housed stringers, but that possibility approaches zero without.

Bill Carey
03-10-2019, 4:27 PM
30 years in the stair business and I have never seen a riser sit on top of a tread.

2nd that. except 40 years.

Kevin Jenness
03-10-2019, 5:36 PM
For what it is worth, I was shown a practical method of building closed stairs in place using housed stringers and glued, wedged treads and risers which is quite flexible, adaptable to tapered openings and feasible by one person unaided. I believe it is what Andrew Nemeth described above. It is probably quite common, but coming from a cabinet shop perspective where everything that can be is assembled in the shop it was a new and very useful approach.

The stringers are routed with tapered grooves allowing for 2 degree wedges below the treads and behind the risers. All the parts are cut oversize and prefinished. The stringers are scribed and secured, then the treads and risers are cut to fit and installed one by one from the bottom up. The first riser is cut just short of the distance from one stringer face to the bottom of the opposite housing so it can be slipped in without access from below. The treads can be dadoed to accept the risers if desired while the back of the tread butts to the riser face. Pocket screws secure the top of the risers to the treads and risers are face screwed through the bottom of the risers into the treads, with a minimal amount of construction adhesive.

This is a pretty slick method that allows for doglegs and winders where a pre-assembled stair would be difficult or impossible to install, and a much cleaner result than fitting treads and risers between unhoused stringers over rough carriages.405408405409405413

The first and third photos are a winder I built for my son's house. The blue tape is the layout for a built-in bookcase. The second photo is of a shop stair built by the fellow who showed me how.

To the original question, running the riser behind the tread makes the assembly stronger than hanging the tread below the riser. When the treads and risers are screwed and glue-blocked together as shown they make a series of interlocking beams that can be quite wide without needing support from a center stringer.

Patrick Walsh
03-10-2019, 6:00 PM
I also have never seen tread first.

Well maybe outside on some deck clearly built by a homeowner or someone that did not know better. I have not built many stair cases but the few, I have seen many built and all have been riser with a dado and tread with a tongue.

Chris Pembrook
03-10-2019, 6:03 PM
Thanks everyone for the feedback l. Definitely know which way to proceed. Riser then tread! I'll be starting next weekend wish me luck!