Basic Stairbuilding: For Pros by Pros

Basic Stairbuilding, by Scott Schuttner, has proven to be a good, "How-to" book. Mr. Schuttner explains in substantial detail the steps necessary to build a basic staircase, which can appear to be a daunting task indeed! If you're just replacing the entry stairs on a dwelling; building a grand, intricate staircase in a new home; or just building a form for concrete stairs; consulting this book can help prevent you from making common mistakes, such as not adding the thickness of the treads when cutting the stringers. Whether you're an experienced carpenter, a "Weekend-Warrior" DIY person, or someone that is unsure of the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver, you will find this book to be like a wonderful accessory for your toolbelt. As for me, I relearned some building practices I was exposed to back during my childhood.Sometimes, Mr. Schuttner gets a little long-winded when explaining some things; yet, I would rather have more information than woefully not enough. Building a good set of stairs isn't something a person would want to decide to attempt flippantly. As it says in the introduction, "Unlike other finish work," ... "stairs require detailed planning early on. A staircase isn't easy to upgrade later when more time and money are available;" ... "each step from framing to moulding must be considered well ahead of time."To summarize, I found this book to be a great help!

An excellent book on basic stairbuilding. Will allow the reader to install a basic staircase in any garage or simple home application, etc. However I *strongly* recommend finding a copy of the video which originally was available for this book. It is MUCH quicker to come to speed watching the video ... and then, using the book as reference is a breeze. The video is basically the exact content of the book, and in fact, throughout the video the corresponding page reference (for the book) are displayed on-screen.But the book would suffice on it's own. Illustrations are clear and plentiful. Descriptions are clear though technical.

Very thorough book with lots of key things to look at for both the beginner and the expert. It was well laid out with good graphics and pictures. I highly recommend it for the person who wants to challenge himself and take on a stair case or deck stair for the first time by him or her self. It has all the knowledge you need with the exception of local codes. And again it points out in places when you should check your local codes.Book was received in better condition than advertised.

I was looking for a book that would help me both deign and eventually build a set of stairs for our new home...the book is very helpful, I really liked the photographs that showed the real situation, and the line drawings were accurate. The pictures are in black and white only, but that is not really a problem as they are clear. Several styles are described from very simple to more elaborate rebated/housed designs.If you have some idea of what you are doing then this will definately clarfiy a few things for you

This book helped me quite a bit when rebuilding my existing staircase. It has tons of the basics (rise + run, etc), but I wish there was a little more about baluster placement and handrail angles. Overall, it helped me get the job done so I do recommend it.There is a video associated with the book, which I was able to find at my library. It was even more helpful to me than the book.

I had never built stairs before and found this book and the related video on YouTube. My staircase turned out as perfect as I could have hoped for. The only thing I would say is to use LVL instead of 2x12s for the stringers which is a hint I picked up from another book. Otherwise, everything I did was directly from this book and the video.

I'm a competent home handyman who has experience in restoring a New Mexico pueblo-style home, a late Victorian cottage, and now, a semi timberframe mountain home. The latter needed the old stairs completely tore out and rebuilt. I had never tackled a stair project before and really didn't have any idea how to do it. This book gave clear, detailed instructions and fantastic illustrations that guided me through the entire building process. Highly recommended.

Used this for building my oak stairway. Very helpful.

This book is what it claims to be BASIC information on basic stairs. I would say if you want to build a straight flight of stairs without having too much prior knowledge this book should help you achieve your goal. It's a book that just about anyone can get to grips with from novice DIY or Pro. If you are an advanced woodworker you might want something which covers the subject in greater depth. It's not too complicated to read so won't put you off and is just fine for building your first straight flight.

although the product was incomplete the way in which the seller dealt with the problem was excellent and that is as important as the item itself.

Excellent book , Easy to understand, If you have any question needed to be answered this book will go a long way in finding what you need to know.

Excellent on time as stated in their brief and delivered to the door without a hassle or a worry well done. Cheers

Great book though the photos (1998 or earlier) are getting a bit dated. Contains a wealth of practical hands on how to info on building stairs. Great job Scott!