I just finished putting down hardwood floors in my house(prefinished oak). i have 11 steps that are made of pine. My wife wants them oak. I did not like the look of the 2 1/4 planks and bullnose on the stairs so I wondered if I would have expansion problems if I glue/screw and or nail solid oak treads on top of the pine. I don't have it in me at this point to rip out the stairs and start over. Thanks Keith
On 3 Feb 2006 03:09:07 -0800, with neither quill nor qualm, snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com quickly quoth:
Most likely. Pine expands at a higher rate than oak.
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If you laminate hardwoor you will screw up the rise of the first/last step.
I had (old) pine treads... now I have white oak. Pine is a lousy material for a stair tread unless you carpet it. It's way too soft.
Live with the pine for a few years, until it gets battered, then replace them.
-Steve
Why do I think this guy isn't married? Note the words "my wife wants"! I'd sure try it. Attach with a few screws countersunk and pegged. Maybe leave the screws on the back edge a little loose. Does your area have extreme humidity swings?
You can plane the treads on the ends to change the rises in smaller increments and no one will notice. You could attach some wide noses that cover the nose of the pine and make the oak treads look heavy. I got in a hurry and bought my treads when I found out I didn't have full width stock on hand.
In my case, I was adding 3/4" flooring on both ends, so it all works out.
On the other hand, I had the first floor flooring in well before the stair treads, and I really never noticed a difference.
Barry
You could buy or make false ends and have a carpet runner go down the middle
When I redid my stairway, I put oak treads on top of solid pine framing material (2 x 10). I used construction adhesive and four screws in each one (from the botom up). So far,(several season cycles) so good, no differential expansion problems. I think the construction adhesive stays flexible enough to move a little as necessary and the pine is soft enough to let the screws give, but I wouldn't use a wood glue. And, of course, the grains are both running in the same direction.
The only thing I would do differently is the method of installing the cove bed molding between the riser and the tread above it. I used finish nails and nailed to both pieces. If I had it to do over I would only nail to one, probably the riser. Before I put that molding on the stairs were dead quiet and rock solid. They are still rock solid but they creak and click a bit from the molding trying to stretch and move as you step on the tread. Even with an inch tread and 1.5 inch subgrade it deflects a little with weight, enough to get that molding to sound off.
I did this and have had zero problems. I used cherry instead of oak, and used 2 flooring strips (4.25") with a routed bullnose on the front strip instead of a solid plank, but that shouldn't make a lot of difference. I glued down the treads, and used 3 screws at the front edge, plugged with the same wood. I was worried a bit about the extra 3/4" in rise on the bottom step, but after one day I never noticed it again, and nobody that's used the stairs since has ever noticed. If it really bothers you, do the floor at the bottom as well. I live in Ontario, and have changes in humidity from winter to summer.
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