# Stairway skirt board template - easy



## Richo

In exchange for the great advice I've received on this board, I'd like to offer a simple procedure for anyone looking to cut a skirt board around an existing stairway.

After notching out the treads to the thickness of the skirt board I started by cutting 2 pieces of plywood 3 inches wide and fastened them on the ends to create a 12' long board. Then I placed this board into the stairway and screwed it in place with a temporary fastener.









I cut 12 pieces of cardboard (one for each step) 10" wide by 6.5" which is the height of each riser. Then I aligned each piece of cardboard to each step and stapled it to the plywood.










Once all of the pieces of cardboard are in place, remove the template, trim off the excess cardboard and there you have it, a perfect skirt board template, and it took less than an hour to do.










Hope this comes in handy for someone taking on this project!


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## Just Bill

Particle board treads????????????


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## Richo

I didn't put in the treads....they're going to be carpeted.


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## Willie T

Very clever! I'm a great believer in lightweight templates like that.


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## Mike in Arkansas

Thanks for the idea. Looking to refinish my stairway and that's another tool in the arsenal of ideas.


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## CrossWorks

Mike in Arkansas said:


> Thanks for the idea. Looking to refinish my stairway and that's another tool in the arsenal of ideas.


Well share some Mike!!

Thanks Richo, THAT is cool


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## Mop in Hand

How about a pic of the finished product? Great tip, btw.


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## Richo

Sure, once it's done I'll post a pic. That won't be for a while though. Right now it's a lot of mudding and taping, then texturing, painting, carpeting, and hanging doors, before the finish carpentry starts.... there goes the summer :whistling2:


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## Richo

Well, the stairway is finished.... here are a couple pics...


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## CVGFir

Nice job on the skirts!. I've seen professionals struggle with this. I've attached some pics of how I tackle this situation which could save you rounding up some cardboard and a 1x4. 

Instead of tacking a 1x4 to the wall, tack your skirt board instead. Then cut a block of wood that is your tread width and desired riser height. Set that on each step and mark your rise and run. After all the steps are marked, pull the board off and cut.


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## SNC

Ive never understood the why of this method. I always place a 1x more if the sheetrock is not up yet between my stringer and the wall to slide a full board in later. 
But your method is clever and I will try to remeber it.
I figure ever cut is another potential for error.


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## CVGFir

Yes SNC, the correct way is to leave a space for the skirt to slide down into but I still use this method to mark my cuts for the top floor and bottom floor in those situations. Occasionally I come across a set of stairs where there is no slot, or others didn't leave me quite enough room to slide the board down so I then resort to this method.


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## mscavone

Thanks. This made the project much easier.
--mscavone


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## mrgins

CVGFir said:


> Nice job on the skirts!. I've seen professionals struggle with this. I've attached some pics of how I tackle this situation which could save you rounding up some cardboard and a 1x4.
> 
> Instead of tacking a 1x4 to the wall, tack your skirt board instead. Then cut a block of wood that is your tread width and desired riser height. Set that on each step and mark your rise and run. After all the steps are marked, pull the board off and cut.


This is how I've always done it with little or no error, but the simplicity of the other way is great.
To make the transfer of marks from the cardboard to the skirtboard easier, I'd suggest TWO 3" strips of plywood, placed on edge one above the other. The cardboard/hardboard pieces would need to be bigger and tacked only to the top strip. When you remove the template, the lower strip of plywood would be discarded, and the cardboard would them be flat against the new skirt with the upper piece of plywood as an edge guide. 
There's no such thing as a new idea, just variations of existing ones!


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## buckybadger

I just did something similar to this after seeing this post. I used sheets of tag board taped together and then taped up between the stairs and wall. Any roll of drafting paper or whatever would work for this, too. For older stairs that are out of square this worked pretty well.


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