How to Finish Open Side of Riser

by Stacy
(riverside, ca. usa)

Cutting the riser at 45 degrees at the corner

I have one side of my stairs that is open. How do I finish the riser of the open side? Also which way is correct....the riser to sit on the tread or visa versa?

A- The riser needs to be cut to wrap around the stair. This means that the end of the front riser will need to be cut at 45 degrees, as well as the side part of your riser.

I used a compound miter saw to cut the ends of the riser. In this photo I was installing laminate flooring as the riser. When cutting the laminate at 45 degrees it leaves a sharp edge. Use sandpaper to get rid of the sharp edge.

As to the other question you asked, I always install the tread first so the riser sets down on top of the tread. Sometimes the tread may dip down or hump up. In this case you can scribe the riser so it fits tight to the tread. Its not that hard to do just scribe the bottom of the riser then when it fits good to the tread cut the top of the riser to fit.

I always start the stairs at the bottom and work up the staircase. Others may differ in their methods.

Anthony Garrison