How do I find the angles for baseboard on an outside stair stringer?

Question

I'm installing baseboard on the outside of a staircase in my home. The staircase doesn't have an open stringer, and the height of my baseboard has created a really interesting angle at the bottom of the stairs where the floor meets the first riser.

This cut has completely broken my brain. Any insight on how I can find the angles to wrap this around would be really appreciated!

(Whoa; it's kind of broken my brain, too.) A diagram showing the distances and angles would really help. — Daniel Griscom, Sep 17 '16 at 19:13

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 17 '16 at 19:26

1

From your picture, it looks like if you extend the non-flat sections of the moulding they'll intersect before you reach the vertical at the end of the stair (e.g., pardon my abysmal Photoshopping):

This would certainly be the easiest solution, although it may not be the prettiest one.

answered Sep 17 '16 at 19:26

Daniel Griscom

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Looks good to me Daniel! – Levi Sep 18 '16 at 00:00

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 17 '16 at 19:59

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I'd be tempted to put a piece of blocking in to pull this out a bit, to avoid the long awkward angle (just because it would be really hard to get that cut perfectly).

You can use a piece of molding similar to the baseboard (different height maybe) or something more wood-grained to match the stairs.

answered Sep 17 '16 at 19:59

gregmac

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That's it. Show up my Photoshop skills. – Daniel Griscom Sep 18 '16 at 00:40
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BTW, I like the way this will look a lot better than mine, although perhaps using a narrower piece of blocking would be the best solution. – Daniel Griscom Sep 18 '16 at 00:41

How do I find the angles for baseboard on an outside stair stringer?

2 Answers2