I plan to remove the last remaining carpet in my home from my stairs and will be installing treads and risers over the existing stairs, assuming they are standard unfinished construction stairs. I'm contemplating the purchase of prefinished or finishing Oak treads myself but will consider overall cost for both. What is the best finish for treads to withstand the daily trotting and long lasting effects?
Thanks
Another question...... the room at the top of the stairs is a Red Mahogany colored hardwood and the bottom is a honey maple. What suggested color should the stairs be?
Thanks
The "best" would be the ultra-violet cured urethanes containing aluminum oxide which is used on most prefinished hardwood flooring on the market today. This would limit you to prefinished, of course.
Any finish designed for commercial hardwood flooring would be acceptable for do-it-yourself installation and finishing. Possibly something like "fabulon". Fabulon Crystal is the latest water-borne product. The original stuff was laquer based - no longer available, and the oil based product is still fairly widely available, The Crystal doesn't stink NEARLY as bad!!!! Apply a coat of dewaxed shellac as a sealer first to avoid raising the grain and to avoid tannin bleed. Using a light amber shellac will give the warm golden tone common to the oil based urethanes, using the crystal clear water based urethane top coat.
Match to the one it is primarilly seen with. I'd match the honey maple. (since fading from one to the other from top to bottom is not feasible) so when you look up the stairs from the main floor, they tie together.
+1
Interesting you mentioned fading. I jokingly stated to the wife I should start at the bottom with honey maple and work my way with each step to a darker shade until it matches the top floor. Sure would be an interesting look.
You'll be installing treads and risers *over* the existing stairs?
Isn't that going to screw something up? Assuming all of your steps have the same rise now, aren't you going to be a tread thickness shy at the top of the stairs?
As my grandfather the mason/carpenter used to say "The feet remember".
The "toppers" are only about 3/8" thick. The first step will be a touch high, and the last a touch low - but it will take a well calibrated foot to notice.
...or an elderly foot.
My feet should adapt long before I reach the elderly stage.
Or risers one color, treads another?
What about those who come after you?
Anything over 3/8" variance from top to bottom is a violation of code in most locations, and dangerous as well.
On any future sale this would be part of a disclosure statement, potentially making you liable for any future accidents caused by same.
When it comes to changing stair dimensions in a residence, do it correctly, or don't do it at all ... particularly when making pubic note of your intent on the Internet, which has a long memory.
e:
ve the same rise now, aren't you going to be a tread thickness shy at the t op of the stairs?
How about your guests? Your parents and/or grandparents?
Obviously, it's your house and you can do what you like, but 'twere it me, I'd look into *replacing* the current treads with treads of the same thickn ess or modifying the floor at the top to account for the difference. I know that that is much easier said than done, but uneven steps is a pet-peeve w ith me.
My brother recently had a beautiful deck built as part of a major home remo del. There are 3 steps from the deck to the yard. The bottom step is less t han 1/2" shorter than the other 2. At his "remodel warming" party, I watche d guests stumble on that step all day the long. The elderly (my parents for example) stumbled the most.
I agree that could screw something up. However, the carpet and pad have a thickness and that thickness is being removed. Once that part of the job is complete is when measuring can be done to determine the actual rise is.
As others have said, small variations in the rise and/or run can be dangerous.
There are all kinds of requirements by COde...height and uniformity of height are only one of many. BTW, the uniformity is
Gordon Shumway wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
I was going to say the same thing. Carpet plus pad are likely
1/4", perhaps more. Take a 1/4 off, add 3/8 is a small enough difference it's not going to be noticed.A more likely to be noticed difference, in the short term, is if the new treads have a lip overhanging the risers. Since the carpeted stairs probably didn't, you've got something new to catch your toes going up...
John
Does anybody know the ratio of stairs with a waterfall installation vs. cap and band?
I've always had cap and band done. I think it looks so much better.
This guy says cap and band is the "preferred method".
Prefinished will typically have a superior finish to what you could apply and very often has a life time warranty.
How about he measures first to see how close the top and bottom are to start with. Has underlay been added to either floor? Was hardwood original on either floor, or added later? Were the stairs accurately installed to start with? Good chance putting hardwood on the stairs will bring the stairs back into spec. Just as good chance as it taking the stairs out of spec.
And you dan't say how much the visitors had to drink at the "warming" party either!!!.
My basement stairs are 8" risers- the bottom step is 7" from the floor, the top step is 7 1/2 inches. These are carpetted steps. Upstairs they are also carpeted steps, from a tile floor at the bottom to a carpet in the upstairs hall. 8" steps, 8 1/2 at the top, 8 1/2 at the bottom. The bottom was originally a good half inch higher, as I added 3/8 inch tile over Ditra - a full 3/4 inch over what was there on the original main floor.Stairs are generally not made custom and floor hights are not generally accurate to within 1/2 inch from house to house. Also, different codes specify different riser heights. Some places allow from 4 to 7 inches, some allow up tp 7 1/2, some 8 1/4.
If I addeed hardwood toppers on my stairs it would CORRECT the diser height on the top stair (the most dangerous tripping hazard)-;
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