These tools are for anyone who works with stairs — and for anyone picking a design or a new configuration for one.
Stairs are not just a means of getting from one floor to the next. They are the centerpiece of a fine home, or a lobby, or an entryway. They can be architectural features. But they are not just art — they are functional art. Functionality requires blending the work with engineering, and there can be a lot of complicated math involved with stairways. These stair tools will help you figure out your staircase completely, and to building code.
Most stair companies keep their calculators to themselves. We put ours on the website, free for anyone to use — because a good stair starts with good math, no matter who ends up building it.
If you are a homeowner picking a design — start with the Estimate App. Tell it how high your stair has to climb and it works out the steps for you, draws a sketch of your stair as you go, and shows you the main styles — floating, steel, glass, traditional — so you can see what is possible in your space. It is written in plain language, not trade jargon, and it gives you a real starting point before you ever talk to a builder.
If you are a stair installer — the Pro Build App is the field tool: rise and run, layout, and plan generation, worked out before you cut anything. Use it on your own jobs, whoever built the stair.
If you are a builder or general contractor — use the tools to check a stair quickly, sketch options for a client, and settle the common questions on site instead of waiting on callbacks.
If you are an architect or designer — run the numbers early, while the stair is still lines on paper. Rise, run, and headroom are a lot cheaper to move at that stage than after framing.
And for everyone — the Visual Stair Code Guide draws the rules instead of burying them in code-book language: riser heights, tread depths, and headroom, shown in pictures you can measure against your own stair.
How to use the Pro Build App
Open the Pro Build App from the Stairway Tools page and start a new project.
Enter your total rise — the floor-to-floor height the stair has to climb. The app works out the number of risers and the exact riser height for you.
Set your tread depth. The app checks the rise-and-run combination and warns you if it falls outside code.
Choose your configuration — straight, or turned with a landing. Set the landing position and the app re-balances both flights around it.
Review the plan the app generates. Change any number and the layout updates, so you can try configurations until the stair fits your space.
When the layout works, you can send it to us for a quote — or take the plan to whoever is building your stair.
Why give this away? Because stairs are what we do, and we would rather be the company the whole trade reaches for when a stair question comes up. If the tools help you build a better stair yourself, they did their job. And if they help you decide you want us to design and build it — that works too.
Try the tools: www.thecapo.us/stair-app
Planning a stair of your own? Get an estimate: www.thecapo.us/contact
— CAPO Design, Bristol, PA