I am looking for some help on finding the angle to cut the skirtboards when they meet the top riser board and the floor. My boss measures out 12 in. from the back of tread on the approximate angle of the skirtboard at the top and bottom treads then he chaulk a line and then he plumb up from the nosing then he takes speed square to get angle. Then he removes treads and installs skirtboards a few times before the angles fit good. Another of the crew worked on the skirts today it took him three tries to get it close. I know there is a more accurate way and easier then this any help I will greatly appreciate I usally just do base and windows but on an occasion I will work with another crew member on stairs I would like to be able to do them myself. My boss work values differ greatly from mine, he believes in caulk I believe in good tight fit . thanks for any information TYoung
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Check the Q&A section of Fine Homebuilding #142 (Nov. 2001).
The technique uses a big bevel square, a scrap of plywood with a factory edge, and a compass. The angle between floor and the skirt board is measured with the bevel square and is transferred to the plywood scrap, then the angle is bisected using the compass. The bisected angle is the angle used on the miter cut. Hope this helps.
In a perfect world with stairs that are perfectly level and all identical... but this is rarely the case and is complicated by the multiple angles angles involved. Skirt boards on standard stairs normally run between 39 to 44 degrees. The easiest way to find it is with an angle finder.
like this: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=32584&category=1,43513&ccurrency=2&SID=
Turtleneck
Its not a smile- its a cramp
Edited 4/27/2003 2:57:51 AM ET by Turtleneck
Ty: A quick way to get the angle is to place a stick 12 inches long and put one end at the back of the stairhorse tread notch. You know..right where the riser and tread cuts meet. At the second tread down..draw an arc on the wall. Go to the bottom of the stairs and from the second tread/riser notch..draw another arc. Now the line that touches these two arcs...{a line tangent to these}, will be the top of your 1 x 12 skirtboard. Works everytime,,unless the stairhorses are really cut wild.