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The DIY Calculator

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Stair, deck and fence calculators

Stair and fence calculators that work out the layout before the lumber: every riser, every post and every picket, drawn to scale with its dimensions.

  • Stair calculatorRisers, treads, total run, angle and stringer length from a total rise, drawn from the side.
  • Fence calculatorPosts, rails, pickets and bags of concrete for a wood or chain-link fence, with gates.
  • Stair stringer calculatorFraming-square marks, the first-step drop, throat depth and the board to buy for a stringer.

Layout first, then the list

A staircase and a fence are both divided evenly: a total rise into equal risers, a run of fence into equal sections. The calculators do that division with exact figures and round only what you read on a tape, so the last riser is as tall as the first and the last picket lands where the fence ends.

Where a building code has something to say, the reference value stands beside the figure. It is a reference, not an approval: your building department has the last word.

Updated . How we calculate. Found a mistake? Tell us.