Simply Stairs: The Definitive Handbook for Stair Builders

Milners book should be required reading for all serious stair builders. Its basically a shop manual of best practices for stair building. It covers everything from straight housed stringers stairs to curved stairs and railings. Some of the highlights include how to build a form for a curved stair, how to make router jigs for routing the stringers, how to make a bullnose starting step, and how to make a curved miter returned nosing and all the math needed to plan out the stair. Most chapters are project based, meaning he teaches while building a complete project in the shop from beginning to end. For readers in the United States be aware that all measurements are in metric. This is easily dealt with by buying a metric tape measure for reference. I still work in inches and have no problem using the information. The plentiful pictures help the reader understand what they are reading. Highly recommended!

I can't say enough good things about this book. Ive purchased many books over the years to do with carpentry and woodworking and this has to be one of the best , I just hope the author chooses too write more. This book is well thought out from start to finish. Shows many different forms of stairs from straight runs to open rails , L shaped and even curved stair cases as well as railings. Each one explained in detail with many pictures on the different steps to complete the set. The attention to detail along with the pictures makes this book invaluable. I can't stress enough how many detailed pictures are in this book, so if you are a novice stair builder this will really help you make sense of anything you may be confused about. You can not go wrong buying this book!!

I am am experienced carpenter although I am a bit new to stair building and handrailing. I bought this book both to read through and use as an "on the job" guide for my projects. I found it to be very useful and it answered questions I didn't know I had. Pros: Tons of great photos. Examples of many different styles of stairs. A lot of handrailing info. Easy to understand. Con: The author is from the UK so for those of us in The States the metric system may throw you off but the methods and principals are spot on! Remember to follow all of your local codes.

I'm a carpenter not a diy'er or weekend warrior Thi s book has really opened up my world to stair building. It's comprehensive from beginning to end and if I could rate this book higher than 5 I would. If you are in need for a refresher on stairs or like me just enjoy learning about your trade please order this book.

The dimensions in the book are all metric! Might have been good to include in the description. The stairs shown all use housed stringer design. Not a lot of folks use that any longer. I wish the author had included some of the other methods of assembling stairs.

As a master stair builder of the last 20 years I very highly recommend this book. I was very impressed with the amount of information packed into this book as well as with how well the book was organized. The techniques are solid and the accompanying text/pictures won't leave you scratching your head. Well worth the money at twice the price.

A well written and illustrated book. A must for anyone interested in stair building.

I saw other reviewers stating that this book is in metric not standard. But, figured that they just didn't want to, or couldn't convert the measurements. Whether that is the case or not, doesn't matter. A bigger issue is that the building codes are all wrong for the US. This causes most of the formulas in the book to be wrong for our part of the world. The techniques are not used here either. If you plan on moving to the UK and becoming a master carpenter then this is one book you should consider. However, if you want to build here in the US, stay away from this book. I have a handyman service company, strong background in carpentry, and occassionally work new build construction. The angles, tables, and formulas taught in this book will not pass code in the US. Nothing against our bretheren across the pond, we are just held to different standards by our respective governing bodies.

this is an excellent book for anyone . its very well explained and illustrated there is so much detail with in the book it makes it really easy to follow . 5/5

After purchasing Simply Stairs some time ago, I have now used Mark's expert guidance provided in this well written and clearly illustrated book on producing three different sets of stairs. Being from the bespoke cabinet side of the industry it has been many years since I last made a staircase (15 years ago at college during my apprenticeship). After being asked to construct a fairly simple flight of stairs for a regular client, I decided I needed to brush up on my knowledge and so dug out my old college books. After hearing about "Simply Stairs" on twitter from other joiners I decided to purchase myself a copy, all I can say is I don't know why I didn't buy it sooner. There isn't a better book which covers so much on a subject which is often avoided by people for being "complicated or daunting", myself included. Mark simplifies the process and terminology and takes you through the numerous scenarios of stair construction and layouts. From measuring up & conforming to building regs, to marking/setting out, gluing up and then installation. It is the complete package! Finally all I can say is a big thank you to Mark, I now feel confident in my ability to construct staircases. I can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be to process such a complicated subject and yet put it down on paper in a step by step guide in such a clear and precise manner that no other book has managed to do! (On a note to Mark, perhaps you could follow this up with a book on Sash Window and Period Joinery) :-)

Un libro muy buscado en papel (hace tiempo tengo el pdf). Sabía lo que compraba, y como opinan otros, está muy bien escrito, paso a paso y es de gran ayuda. Tengo que rehacer la escalera de la casa, y espero que el libro me sea de ayuda en el proceso.

I have been searching for a guide like this for many years, and I've finally found it. I cannot imagine anything more comprehensive short of personal instruction. If you are interested in stair construction, go no further. I feel fortunate to have found it. Thank you.

I’m a firm believer in “you can learn something new every day” and this book has proven that, it’s a great read I’ve learnt quite a lot from just looking at the pictures but it covers everything you need to know about staircases from angles to building regs and different tools and materials it really is a great book. I would definitely recommend it to anyone learning all things stairs 👍🏻