Cut Stair Treads That Fit the First Time With a Tread Template Tool

The Problem

No staircase is perfectly square. Measure a tread opening with a tape, cut to that width, and the tread meets out-of-square skirts with a gap at one end or the other — on every step, all the way up.

The Technique

1. Set a stair tread template tool into the tread opening and expand it until its ends and edges sit against the skirts. The tool captures the true shape of that specific stair — the width and the actual angle at each end.
2. Lock it, lift it out, and lay it on the tread stock.
3. Trace, and cut to the line.

Every tread fits because you copied the stair itself instead of trusting a number that assumed square. Each step gets its own capture — the out-of-squareness differs step to step, and the tool makes re-capturing faster than re-measuring.