The last time I built a stair (Big Wheels Bike Shop on Capitol Hill, housed on one side, open mitered returns on the other, 25 years ago…sigh) base was 1x with an ogee cap, so working the skirt board into the baseboard was simple….
Now I’m getting ready to build a little three step stair for a friend, and base is all one piece, 5/8 with a profile on top….
Most new builds use this sort of base, so…how do you folks who do this all the time handle the transition from skirt to base thses days?
“old fogey needs help….”
Replies
Typically the skirts are 3/4" material and we finish with a plumb cut for the 5/8" base to die into. Figure out where the base plane and skirt plane meet and mark the skirt for cutting aprrox. 1/2"-3/4" above top of base. I have also seen detailing where the base continues up and over the top of the skirt board. The skirts were cut to approximately 2" above the stair nosings and the base just mitered and capped the skirt.
Hope this helps
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Yeah, that's the downside to "speed base" as the guys I work with call it. The best solution I've seen is to rip the profile off the skirt boards, do it the old fashioned way, then brad nail the profile back on. Not exactly "speedy" but looks right.
Mike
do you mean rip the profile off the speed base & then brad it to the skirt board?
Yup, unless you can find a stock basecap that matches your speedbase. And don't actually brad it to the skirt board, just brad is to the wall as if you were installing regular basecap.
I've seen it done like the other poster suggested, dying the basecap into the stair skirt, but I think it looks better to run the basecap (or profile part of the speedbase) up the stair skirt too.
Mike
The profiled skirt detail is a nice touch, not one for your cookie-cutter crank outs, but absolutely for a friend...You can get 5/8 MDF at places like Blackstock (western or 15th or so) to do the skirt and it won't leave you planing 1x or fudging at the terminus. Wish I worked for people who noticed things like that more....