Stair rise and run table

Find your total rise and read off the stair: how many steps, how tall and deep each one is, how much floor it takes, and the stringer to cut.

Rules used for every row: the fewest risers that keep each at or under 7 1/2 in, 10 1/2 in treads, 1 in tread boards, 3/4 in riser boards and 2x12 stringers. The deck or upper floor is the top step, so there is one tread fewer than risers.

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Stringer spacing plan 3 stringers at 17 1/4 in o.c. 36 in stair width · 16 in max spacing

Tread & riser cut list 4 treads · exact rip width Full boards + back board rip width

Lumber shopping list 1 × 2x12 · 2 × 5/4x6 boards Est. material total: $184

Free: Open this 36″ layout & download the 1:1 printable template. Build Pack ($4.99 · 7-Day Pass): Multi-stringer cut list, tread rip widths, lumber shopping list & 1-page job sheet PDF.

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Stair layout for total rises from 12 to 150 inches
Total rise	Risers	Riser height	Treads	Total run	Pitch	Stringer cut	Board	Open
12 in	2	6″	1	10 1/2 in	29.7°	14 9/16 in	6 ft	Open
13 in	2	6 1/2″	1	10 1/2 in	31.8°	15 1/4 in	6 ft	Open
14 in	2	7″	1	10 1/2 in	33.7°	15 15/16 in	6 ft	Open
15 in	2	7 1/2″	1	10 1/2 in	35.5°	16 11/16 in	6 ft	Open
16 in	3	5 5/16″	2	21 in	26.9°	2 ft 1 1/2 in	6 ft	Open
17 in	3	5 11/16″	2	21 in	28.4°	2 ft 2 1/16 in	6 ft	Open
18 in	3	6″	2	21 in	29.7°	2 ft 2 11/16 in	6 ft	Open
19 in	3	6 5/16″	2	21 in	31.1°	2 ft 3 1/4 in	6 ft	Open
20 in	3	6 11/16″	2	21 in	32.4°	2 ft 3 15/16 in	6 ft	Open
21 in	3	7″	2	21 in	33.7°	2 ft 4 9/16 in	6 ft	Open
22 in	3	7 5/16″	2	21 in	34.9°	2 ft 5 1/4 in	6 ft	Open
23 in	4	5 3/4″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	28.7°	3 ft 2 3/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 0 in	4	6″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	29.7°	3 ft 2 3/4 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 1 in	4	6 1/4″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	30.8°	3 ft 3 5/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 2 in	4	6 1/2″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	31.8°	3 ft 3 15/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 3 in	4	6 3/4″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	32.7°	3 ft 4 9/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 4 in	4	7″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	33.7°	3 ft 5 3/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 5 in	4	7 1/4″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	34.6°	3 ft 5 13/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 6 in	4	7 1/2″	3	2 ft 7 1/2 in	35.5°	3 ft 6 1/2 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 7 in	5	6 3/16″	4	3 ft 6 in	30.6°	4 ft 3 7/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 8 in	5	6 3/8″	4	3 ft 6 in	31.4°	4 ft 4 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 9 in	5	6 5/8″	4	3 ft 6 in	32.2°	4 ft 4 9/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 10 in	5	6 13/16″	4	3 ft 6 in	32.9°	4 ft 5 3/16 in	6 ft	Open
2 ft 11 in	5	7″	4	3 ft 6 in	33.7°	4 ft 5 13/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 0 in	5	7 3/16″	4	3 ft 6 in	34.4°	4 ft 6 7/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 1 in	5	7 3/8″	4	3 ft 6 in	35.2°	4 ft 7 1/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 2 in	6	6 5/16″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	31.1°	5 ft 4 1/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 3 in	6	6 1/2″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	31.8°	5 ft 4 5/8 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 4 in	6	6 11/16″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	32.4°	5 ft 5 1/4 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 5 in	6	6 13/16″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	33.1°	5 ft 5 13/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 6 in	6	7″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	33.7°	5 ft 6 7/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 7 in	6	7 3/16″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	34.3°	5 ft 7 1/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 8 in	6	7 5/16″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	34.9°	5 ft 7 11/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 9 in	6	7 1/2″	5	4 ft 4 1/2 in	35.5°	5 ft 8 5/16 in	6 ft	Open
3 ft 10 in	7	6 9/16″	6	5 ft 3 in	32.0°	6 ft 5 1/4 in	8 ft	Open
3 ft 11 in	7	6 11/16″	6	5 ft 3 in	32.6°	6 ft 5 7/8 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 0 in	7	6 7/8″	6	5 ft 3 in	33.1°	6 ft 6 7/16 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 1 in	7	7″	6	5 ft 3 in	33.7°	6 ft 7 1/16 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 2 in	7	7 1/8″	6	5 ft 3 in	34.2°	6 ft 7 5/8 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 3 in	7	7 5/16″	6	5 ft 3 in	34.8°	6 ft 8 1/4 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 4 in	7	7 7/16″	6	5 ft 3 in	35.3°	6 ft 8 7/8 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 5 in	8	6 5/8″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	32.2°	7 ft 5 15/16 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 6 in	8	6 3/4″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	32.7°	7 ft 6 1/2 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 7 in	8	6 7/8″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	33.2°	7 ft 7 1/16 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 8 in	8	7″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	33.7°	7 ft 7 11/16 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 9 in	8	7 1/8″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	34.2°	7 ft 8 1/4 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 10 in	8	7 1/4″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	34.6°	7 ft 8 7/8 in	8 ft	Open
4 ft 11 in	8	7 3/8″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	35.1°	7 ft 9 1/2 in	8 ft	Open
5 ft 0 in	8	7 1/2″	7	6 ft 1 1/2 in	35.5°	7 ft 10 1/8 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 1 in	9	6 3/4″	8	7 ft 0 in	32.8°	8 ft 7 1/8 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 2 in	9	6 7/8″	8	7 ft 0 in	33.3°	8 ft 7 11/16 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 3 in	9	7″	8	7 ft 0 in	33.7°	8 ft 8 5/16 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 4 in	9	7 1/8″	8	7 ft 0 in	34.1°	8 ft 8 7/8 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 5 in	9	7 1/4″	8	7 ft 0 in	34.5°	8 ft 9 1/2 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 6 in	9	7 5/16″	8	7 ft 0 in	34.9°	8 ft 10 1/16 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 7 in	9	7 7/16″	8	7 ft 0 in	35.3°	8 ft 10 11/16 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 8 in	10	6 13/16″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	32.9°	9 ft 7 3/4 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 9 in	10	6 7/8″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	33.3°	9 ft 8 5/16 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 10 in	10	7″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	33.7°	9 ft 8 7/8 in	10 ft	Open
5 ft 11 in	10	7 1/8″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	34.1°	9 ft 9 1/2 in	10 ft	Open
6 ft 0 in	10	7 3/16″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	34.4°	9 ft 10 1/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 1 in	10	7 5/16″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	34.8°	9 ft 10 11/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 2 in	10	7 3/8″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	35.2°	9 ft 11 5/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 3 in	10	7 1/2″	9	7 ft 10 1/2 in	35.5°	9 ft 11 15/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 4 in	11	6 15/16″	10	8 ft 9 in	33.3°	10 ft 8 15/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 5 in	11	7″	10	8 ft 9 in	33.7°	10 ft 9 1/2 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 6 in	11	7 1/16″	10	8 ft 9 in	34.0°	10 ft 10 1/8 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 7 in	11	7 3/16″	10	8 ft 9 in	34.4°	10 ft 10 11/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 8 in	11	7 1/4″	10	8 ft 9 in	34.7°	10 ft 11 5/16 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 9 in	11	7 3/8″	10	8 ft 9 in	35.0°	10 ft 11 7/8 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 10 in	11	7 7/16″	10	8 ft 9 in	35.4°	11 ft 1/2 in	12 ft	Open
6 ft 11 in	12	6 15/16″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	33.4°	11 ft 9 9/16 in	12 ft	Open
7 ft 0 in	12	7″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	33.7°	11 ft 10 1/8 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 1 in	12	7 1/16″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	34.0°	11 ft 10 3/4 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 2 in	12	7 3/16″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	34.3°	11 ft 11 5/16 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 3 in	12	7 1/4″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	34.6°	11 ft 11 15/16 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 4 in	12	7 5/16″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	34.9°	12 ft 1/2 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 5 in	12	7 7/16″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	35.2°	12 ft 1 1/8 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 6 in	12	7 1/2″	11	9 ft 7 1/2 in	35.5°	12 ft 1 11/16 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 7 in	13	7″	12	10 ft 6 in	33.7°	12 ft 10 3/4 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 8 in	13	7 1/16″	12	10 ft 6 in	34.0°	12 ft 11 5/16 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 9 in	13	7 1/8″	12	10 ft 6 in	34.3°	12 ft 11 15/16 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 10 in	13	7 1/4″	12	10 ft 6 in	34.6°	13 ft 1/2 in	14 ft	Open
7 ft 11 in	13	7 5/16″	12	10 ft 6 in	34.8°	13 ft 1 1/8 in	14 ft	Open
8 ft 0 in	13	7 3/8″	12	10 ft 6 in	35.1°	13 ft 1 11/16 in	14 ft	Open
8 ft 1 in	13	7 7/16″	12	10 ft 6 in	35.4°	13 ft 2 5/16 in	14 ft	Open
8 ft 2 in	14	7″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	33.7°	13 ft 11 3/8 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 3 in	14	7 1/16″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	34.0°	13 ft 11 15/16 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 4 in	14	7 1/8″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	34.2°	14 ft 9/16 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 5 in	14	7 3/16″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	34.5°	14 ft 1 1/8 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 6 in	14	7 5/16″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	34.8°	14 ft 1 3/4 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 7 in	14	7 3/8″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	35.0°	14 ft 2 5/16 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 8 in	14	7 7/16″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	35.3°	14 ft 2 15/16 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 9 in	14	7 1/2″	13	11 ft 4 1/2 in	35.5°	14 ft 3 1/2 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 10 in	15	7 1/16″	14	12 ft 3 in	33.9°	15 ft 9/16 in	16 ft	Open
8 ft 11 in	15	7 1/8″	14	12 ft 3 in	34.2°	15 ft 1 3/16 in	16 ft	Open
9 ft 0 in	15	7 3/16″	14	12 ft 3 in	34.4°	15 ft 1 3/4 in	16 ft	Open
9 ft 1 in	15	7 1/4″	14	12 ft 3 in	34.7°	15 ft 2 5/16 in	16 ft	Open
9 ft 2 in	15	7 5/16″	14	12 ft 3 in	34.9°	15 ft 2 15/16 in	16 ft	Open
9 ft 3 in	15	7 3/8″	14	12 ft 3 in	35.2°	15 ft 3 1/2 in	16 ft	Open
9 ft 4 in	15	7 7/16″	14	12 ft 3 in	35.4°	15 ft 4 1/8 in	16 ft	Open
9 ft 5 in	16	7 1/16″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	33.9°	16 ft 1 3/16 in	18 ft	Open
9 ft 6 in	16	7 1/8″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	34.2°	16 ft 1 3/4 in	18 ft	Open
9 ft 7 in	16	7 3/16″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	34.4°	16 ft 2 3/8 in	18 ft	Open
9 ft 8 in	16	7 1/4″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	34.6°	16 ft 2 15/16 in	18 ft	Open
9 ft 9 in	16	7 5/16″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	34.9°	16 ft 3 9/16 in	18 ft	Open
9 ft 10 in	16	7 3/8″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	35.1°	16 ft 4 1/8 in	18 ft	Open
9 ft 11 in	16	7 7/16″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	35.3°	16 ft 4 3/4 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 0 in	16	7 1/2″	15	13 ft 1 1/2 in	35.5°	16 ft 5 5/16 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 1 in	17	7 1/8″	16	14 ft 0 in	34.1°	17 ft 2 3/8 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 2 in	17	7 3/16″	16	14 ft 0 in	34.4°	17 ft 3 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 3 in	17	7 1/4″	16	14 ft 0 in	34.6°	17 ft 3 9/16 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 4 in	17	7 5/16″	16	14 ft 0 in	34.8°	17 ft 4 1/8 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 5 in	17	7 3/8″	16	14 ft 0 in	35.0°	17 ft 4 3/4 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 6 in	17	7 7/16″	16	14 ft 0 in	35.2°	17 ft 5 5/16 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 7 in	17	7 1/2″	16	14 ft 0 in	35.4°	17 ft 5 15/16 in	18 ft	Open
10 ft 8 in	18	7 1/8″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	34.1°	18 ft 3 in	20 ft	Open
10 ft 9 in	18	7 3/16″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	34.3°	18 ft 3 9/16 in	20 ft	Open
10 ft 10 in	18	7 1/4″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	34.5°	18 ft 4 3/16 in	20 ft	Open
10 ft 11 in	18	7 1/4″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	34.7°	18 ft 4 3/4 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 0 in	18	7 5/16″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	34.9°	18 ft 5 3/8 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 1 in	18	7 3/8″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	35.1°	18 ft 5 15/16 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 2 in	18	7 7/16″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	35.3°	18 ft 6 9/16 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 3 in	18	7 1/2″	17	14 ft 10 1/2 in	35.5°	18 ft 7 1/8 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 4 in	19	7 3/16″	18	15 ft 9 in	34.3°	19 ft 4 3/16 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 5 in	19	7 3/16″	18	15 ft 9 in	34.5°	19 ft 4 13/16 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 6 in	19	7 1/4″	18	15 ft 9 in	34.7°	19 ft 5 3/8 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 7 in	19	7 5/16″	18	15 ft 9 in	34.9°	19 ft 5 15/16 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 8 in	19	7 3/8″	18	15 ft 9 in	35.1°	19 ft 6 9/16 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 9 in	19	7 7/16″	18	15 ft 9 in	35.3°	19 ft 7 1/8 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 10 in	19	7 1/2″	18	15 ft 9 in	35.4°	19 ft 7 3/4 in	20 ft	Open
11 ft 11 in	20	7 1/8″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	34.3°	20 ft 4 13/16 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 0 in	20	7 3/16″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	34.4°	20 ft 5 3/8 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 1 in	20	7 1/4″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	34.6°	20 ft 6 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 2 in	20	7 5/16″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	34.8°	20 ft 6 9/16 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 3 in	20	7 3/8″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	35.0°	20 ft 7 3/16 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 4 in	20	7 3/8″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	35.2°	20 ft 7 3/4 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 5 in	20	7 7/16″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	35.4°	20 ft 8 3/8 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open
12 ft 6 in	20	7 1/2″	19	16 ft 7 1/2 in	35.5°	20 ft 8 15/16 in	21 ft (order long stock)	Open

Above 151 in (12 ft 7 in) the IRC asks for a landing part-way up; split the rise into two flights.

Stair limits by country

Summaries of the most-cited figures for everyday stairs. Always check the edition your area enforces.

Where	Riser	Tread	Also
United States, homes (IRC)	7 3/4 in max	10 in min	Headroom 6 ft 8 in; width 36 in; risers within 3/8 in of each other; nosing 3/4–1 1/4 in unless treads are 11 in or deeper.
United States, other buildings (IBC)	4–7 in	11 in min	Headroom 80 in; width usually 44 in.
Canada, dwellings (NBC)	125–200 mm	255–355 mm run	Headroom 1950 mm in dwellings.
United Kingdom, private stair (Part K)	150–220 mm	220–300 mm going	Pitch 42° max; 2R + G between 550 and 700 mm.
Australia (NCC)	115–190 mm	240–355 mm going	2R + G between 550 and 700 mm.

Rules of thumb that make stairs comfortable

Stride rule: two risers plus one tread between 24 and 25 in (610–635 mm). A 7 in riser wants about a 10 1/2–11 in tread.
Angle: 30–37° is the comfortable band. Steeper saves floor space and costs comfort.
Consistency beats perfection: people notice a step that is 3/8 in off more than a stair that is slightly steep. Measure the rise after the landing pad is in.
Throat: keep at least 5 in of wood under the notches on deck stairs (AWC DCA 6). That is why 2x12s are standard.

Questions

How do I read this table?

Find your total rise in the first column. The row shows how many risers and treads the stair needs, the size of each, the total run it takes up, and the stringer you would cut. Open the row in the tool to change the run or lumber.

Why 10 1/2 in treads?

It clears the 10 in IRC minimum with room for trim and keeps the stride (two risers plus one tread) near the comfortable 24–25 in. If you have more room, deeper treads walk even better.

My rise is between two rows. Which one do I use?

Use the tool with your exact measurement, fractions included. Rows here are whole inches so you can see how the numbers change.

Is the code table a pass or fail check?

No. These are summaries of commonly cited figures. Local amendments and your inspector decide what you may build.

Open the stair stringer layout tool to lay out your exact measurement.