Hardwood on stairs URGENT

[Chris]

Hello all-

We are currently having maple hardwood installed. It was going to go up the stairs as well but after removing the carpet on the stairs it was determined that it would not be possible to put hardwood on the stairs due to the type of construction. I appologize ahead of time because I am not familliar with all of the terms. Apparently because the treads go into the stringers and are not on top of them, it is not possible to replace with hardwood. Does that make sence? Each tread has a bull nose and is nailed from below to the riser above it. There are no nails in the tread itself (at least none can be seen from above) and the ends go into the stringer. He said he has seen someone once cut out the treads but when the job was done the stairs ended up being completly replaced. I do not know if there is any alternative. He is almost done with everything else and he was going to talk to someone else for ideas on the stairs. If anyone has any ideas please let me know ASAP.

Thanks-

-Chris

[TOM KAN PA]

What wood is the stairs? Are they Oak? Perhaps they could be refinished with a maple stain.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Yes, they are not nailde from the top making removal very difficult at best.

I don't know of any easy alternatives. If you want to cover them with a thin material, such as laminate or engineered wood, it can be done right over top of the existing stair, You have to cut the bullnose off and replace it with the new one made to match. I have this on my stairs.

For 3/4" hardwood, it would throw off the rise of the top and bottom steps if you were to go atop the existing treads. The bottom step would be higher than normal, the top lower than normal.

You may want to consider refinishing what is there to match or contrast the other flooring. Ed

[Chris]

I think he said the stairs were pine, a few of them have cracks the width of the step. He did offer re finishing them as an option except for the cracks.

I thought it would be possible to saw off the bull nose flush with the riser, that wouldn't affect the strength of the stair, and just nail the hardwood to the step. He has pieces that have a bull nose. They seem to be the exact size. Then the same thickness of material would be added to the floors and steps. That seems like it would work to me but I don't install floors for a living so I might be missing something.

-Chris

Chris wrote in news:Xns941AE63B7BCFCccalatohotmailcom@206.127.4.21:

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If the floors are raised the same amount as the steps, it will work just fine. The bull nose can be cut back flush with a sawzall. Sounds like you have the solution. Ed