# Best way to join staircase riser and trim board



## JustinD (Jul 28, 2011)

How does one accomplish this look?

http://www.stairsandtrim.com/images/phocagallery/thumbs/phoca_thumb_l_c148.jpg

Does the edge of the riser show on the side of the trim board? the trim board show on the face of the riser? or did they somehow bevel the edge of each to keep the seem at the corner?

If they are beveled, whats the best way to bevel the one edge of the trim board?

Could you achieve this look without beveling by using wood filler, sanding and paint.

Thanks.


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

JustinD said:


> How does one accomplish this look?
> 
> http://www.stairsandtrim.com/images/phocagallery/thumbs/phoca_thumb_l_c148.jpg
> 
> ...


What your wanting to do is one of the hardest things to accomplish. What you have to do is make the outside skirt board with the proper angles and fitted at the top and bottom of the stairs then you temporarily attach it to the side of the stairs and mark each tread and riser on the back side, remove and then cut with a skil saw.

The skirt board and riser are mitered at the corner. I've done several of these and have it down but for a newbie it won't be easy. 

Here is a picture of the last one I did back in February.


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## JustinD (Jul 28, 2011)

Big Dave said:


> What your wanting to do is one of the hardest things to accomplish. What you have to do is make the outside skirt board with the proper angles and fitted at the top and bottom of the stairs then you temporarily attach it to the side of the stairs and mark each tread and riser on the back side, remove and then cut with a skil saw.
> 
> The skirt board and riser are mitered at the corner. I've done several of these and have it down but for a newbie it won't be easy.
> 
> Here is a picture of the last one I did back in February.


That looks fantastic, nice work. 

What I plan to do is paint the riser and skirtboard, and stain the oak treads. 

That said, what are your thought on running the riser to the outer edge of the skirt board, applying a thin layer of filler, sanding, and painting?


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

JustinD said:


> That looks fantastic, nice work.
> 
> What I plan to do is paint the riser and skirtboard, and stain the oak treads.
> 
> That said, what are your thought on running the riser to the outer edge of the skirt board, applying a thin layer of filler, sanding, and painting?


 
I think it will look bad. I'm not trying to knock your ability but I don't think you will be happy with the results. I've never seen a butt joint like that, even filled and sanded, that didn't look crappy. 

You might want to just take a couple of scrap boards like what your going to use and make a right angle on your work bench, fill and sand and put some paint on it to see how it comes out. If your happy with the results then go for it.


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## Big Dave (Sep 16, 2006)

One other thing to keep in mind is that the tread needs to have a return cut into the end so you don't have visible end grain. Here is a link to a picture that will show what I mean.

http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-24714807101718_2167_43305774


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## JustinD (Jul 28, 2011)

Big Dave said:


> I think it will look bad. I'm not trying to knock your ability but I don't think you will be happy with the results. I've never seen a butt joint like that, even filled and sanded, that didn't look crappy.
> 
> You might want to just take a couple of scrap boards like what your going to use and make a right angle on your work bench, fill and sand and put some paint on it to see how it comes out. If your happy with the results then go for it.


 
Thats really all I need to hear to convince me its not worth the shortcut.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

If you were to run the skirt board then install the riser like you were talking about squared with the raw end showing, you will see that you will have to cut the skirt board dead accurate or chances are you will have a gap between the skirt and the back of the riser. 

You need to cut both the skirt and the riser at a 45° angle to get the look Big Dave is showing. One thing about cutting the 45° angle on the skirt board, if your skirt is on the left side of the stairs you will need a left hand saw to 45 it. A regular saw won't 45 that side. A skirt on the right side of the stairs will take a right hand saw to 45. 

Also just a little tip for you, when you mark the skirt board, move the mark about a good 1/16 toward the front so you will have a slight amount of play when nailing the riser to the skirt, any overlap of the angle edges are easily sanded off. The reason I say that is it is hard to get the skirt exactly perfect when marking and by sliding the mark forward toward the front it will give you just a little more to work with.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

jiju1943 said:


> If you were to run the skirt board then install the riser like you were talking about squared with the raw end showing, you will see that you will have to cut the skirt board dead accurate or chances are you will have a gap between the skirt and the back of the riser.
> 
> You need to cut both the skirt and the riser at a 45° angle to get the look Big Dave is showing. One thing about cutting the 45° angle on the skirt board, if your skirt is on the left side of the stairs you will need a left hand saw to 45 it. A regular saw won't 45 that side. A skirt on the right side of the stairs will take a right hand saw to 45.
> 
> Also just a little tip for you, when you mark the skirt board, move the mark about a good 1/16 toward the front so you will have a slight amount of play when nailing the riser to the skirt, any overlap of the angle edges are easily sanded off. The reason I say that is it is hard to get the skirt exactly perfect when marking and by sliding the mark forward toward the front it will give you just a little more to work with.


+1. I cut what bevels I can on the TS. A shop made jig can be used. The cut is held short, and finished with a handsaw. This is the same procedure as cutting miters on a toe kick when the ends go to the floor.












 







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## Keith Mathewson (Sep 23, 2010)

This isn't really too hard to do depending on what tools you have at your disposal. If you have a track saw or a sliding chopsaw which will bevel to either side it is pretty straight forward. If your existing stairs are well made you can mark out by using a calculator, if not you can take the skirtboard and tack to the stair at the angle of the stair the take a piece of wood the same thickness as the riser material and cut a U-shaped section out so you can put the "riser" in place and have a portion of it touching the outside of the skirt. Mark the outside edge for each riser location, then with either saw set the bevel angle to 45 and cut leaving the line. This would be the 1/16" Jiju1943 refered to. Cut the tread cuts square and install.


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