Cutting a stair stringer in a tight attic space went sideways

I was fitting a new set of stairs in a 1920s house in Tacoma last fall, working alone in a cramped attic. I measured for the stringer three times, but when I made the first cut with my circular saw, the angle was off by a full degree because the floor was uneven. The board was a 12-foot piece of clear fir, so I couldn't just scrap it. I had to stop, shim my saw guide perfectly level, and recut the notch, which set me back almost two hours. Anyone else messed up a critical cut in a spot where you couldn't just grab a new board?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_parker1mo ago

A full degree off on clear fir in an attic? That's the stuff of nightmares. I'd be sweating more from panic than the heat up there. How did you even get a 12-foot board into that space to begin with?

rubyk861mo ago

Used to think you could eyeball a level in a tight spot until I ruined a piece of oak trim on a van conversion. Now I always use a digital angle finder clamped right to the saw base, even if it takes an extra minute to set up.

bailey.anna1mo ago

Yeah, after @rubyk86's story I started using a cheap magnetic one from the hardware store, total game changer for weird angles.