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Alright, so I just had my stairs built by a cousin of mine who is supposed to be 'a whiz' with carpentry. Unfortunately, there were some hang ups. I didn't want to make him feel bad or embarrass him, but honestly, I had to take the stairs down and learn the art of building stairs myself.

With what I paid him, it was no longer in my budget to hire a professional. So here's my advice based on a hard lesson.

- Before you start, check and make sure that building stairs doesn't violate any local codes or requirements. This was something my cousin didn't do. Fortunately, there doesn't appear to be any problems here.

It was probably the only area, but that could be because the code inspector didn't see the stairs. Had he seen them, a whole new section may have been written!

- I may not be an expert, but I am an advocate for quality materials. Needless to say, my cousin doesn't; he used the cheapest material he could get his hands on. His reasoning was that since we'd be covering the stairs with carpet, it would be unnecessary to get 'fancy.'

But cheap wood, especially if it has knots and other imperfections, has a greater likelihood of cracking sooner than other kinds of wood. I have kids, and that's a risk I can't afford to take.

- One of the most helpful things I learned with building stairs is that drawing up a blue print can really help you get organized and focused. Making sure you know how everything adds up, and how you want the finished product to look.

I hope these tips help you finish your stairs the correct way, and without any glitches. You won't need to spend more money than necessary this way. By the by, if a 'handy' family member offers to build some stairs for you, don't take him up on the offer!