Building Stairs (For Pros by Pros) (ISBN 156158892X)

Excellent Manual:
This book covers every aspect of stair building very thoroughly. Some of the topics covered are both open & housed stair construction, winders, handrailing, & exterior stairs. Much attention is paid to detail. There are literally hundreds of excellent photos & clear, concise drawings. The text is easy to follow & along the way the author shares plenty of tips & techniques for building beautiful, durable stairs. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned carpenter, you'll find plenty of good information here. A great addition to my library!

Just What I Needed:
I am a serious DIYer, and when I decided to tackle a stair construction project in a two-story addition, I looked through my collection of books, downloaded stair building codes, and found whatever else I could on the internet. I also had back issues of Fine Homebuilding Magazine, where I found various articles, including the March 1998 issue which has an article by Mr. Engel, "Bulding Finish Stairs." Despite having these resources, I still lacked the confidence to tackle the project, and I wanted a better book. I bought this book based on the excellent reviews, and I haven't been disappointed. If you need to build some stairs, indoor or outdoor, this book has everything you need to start the job, provided you already own a shop full of tools and know how to use them. The book fully explains the trade-offs between various types of construction and details how to accomplish the job with illustrated clearly-written text. As an example, I located a local source for engineered stringer lumber after going to a URL listed in the book. I had some initial confusion as to whether I should buy this book since there is another book by almost the same name, "Building Stairs (For Pros by Pros) by Fine Homebuilding Editors", that received horrible reviews. That book appears to be a loose collection of former Fine Homebuilding articles, including the previously mentioned March 1998 article. I have a collection of similar books from Fine Homebuilding, and they are of somewhat limited value.

A terrific resource:
A nicely organized and well laid-out manual that covers everything from stairbuilding basics up to complex railing and finishing details. Written in an easy-to-read casual tone with clear photos and drawings, helpful sidebars and useful appendices. Definitely recommended.

Everything Stairways!:
This is truly a well-written book on how to build stairs! Mr. Engel explores every aspect of stairbuilding and describes each step in the process in great detail. I highly recommend this book for the novice and the expert, alike. There's always something new to be learned by any of us and this book is chock full of new and interesting methods and tips on how one can build a stair the right way and without error! Well worth the price to purchase!

Good for pros & diy-ers:
There are a lot of books on stair building available and it's overwhelming to choose the right one. I am a carpenter who builds stairs once in a while--meaning I usually forget the things I learned from the last experience. This book is like my cheat sheet, reminding me of all the things I really wished I had remembered. Reading it is like working next to a top notch carpenter. A lot of stair building books are very high-minded (with good reason because the geometry can be complex). This book simplifies but doesn't dumb down the process. It simplifies it in the way only an experienced carpenter can simplify it. I particularly liked the section on doing easings on over-the-post handrails (176-177), which have caused me trouble in the past. I've seen a lot of very elaborate jigs made up for this, but this author simplifies it beautifully. I think if you've never built a set of stairs before or installed handrails and balusters, going just from this book should work out fine, though it's hard to work only from books. It's the only one I'd recommend, honestly. If you're a carpenter, put it on your bookshelf and keep it handy if you only do stairs once in a while, you'll be glad you did. This is one book that will not be "lent out" to friends. They will need to buy their own.