Changing stairs from carpet to hardwood

[Max Fracas]

My better half and I have been renovating our retirement home.  We’re probably about 90% at this point.  One project remaining is the staircase to our two upstairs bedrooms.  It was carpeted and we wanted to change to hardwood. 

I’ll show my ignorance here by asking whether I should pull the current construction-grade 2x12 treads and replace them with hardwood treads.  Or should I keep the 2x12s and just install hardwood treads on top of them? 

 

[Peter_C]

Hardwood is NOT ideal for stairs. Looks great, but wearing socks...means falls. We had to move our parents into a single level home after my father fell down the carpeted stairs. My sister put stick down carpets treads on because her aging dog fell on her hardwood stairs.

 

[Cheese]

Hardwood is NOT ideal for stairs. Looks great, but wearing socks...means falls. We had to move our parents into a single level home after my father fell down the carpeted stairs. My sister put stick down carpets treads on because her aging dog fell on her hardwood stairs.

I had the same situation...situation solved using Traffic AS.

 

[Peter_C]

I had the same situation...situation solved using Traffic AS.

I am a huge fan of Bona Traffic HD. Did a little reading on the Anti-slip version, but haven't ever seen it. Read it was noticeable, but I guess if it works. Hardwood stair treads pre-manufactured usually have a lip on them to cover the current stair tread. Pre-finished or not is a question, and also if they can come with anti-slip already applied.

Cheese how sticky are yours with socks on?

For my aging parents stairs are NOT an option, and although I could have gotten a stair chair setup for free, the safest decision was a single level home, with no major transitions. I have nailed my butt hard on carpeted stairs even.

 

[Cheese]

Cheese how sticky are yours with socks on?

Living in the tundra...socks are an absolute necessity year round.  Traffic AS rocks.

I replaced all of the original treads & risers with maple items, and then applied 3 coats of Traffic.

Unfortunately, my wife, her friend and one of our dogs all slipped on the stairs, however that was all operator error until of coarse I slipped on the stairs, then it became project #1.  [smile]

I applied 2 coats of Traffic AS probably about 5-6 years ago and it still works. Very, very happy with the results. High recommend. The stuff has a shelf life though of around 18 months before it hardens in the bottle like a rock.

 

[PaulH99]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] Two questions:

1. Did you spray on the Traffic AS or did you roll/brush it on?
2. What did you use on the treads before the Traffic AS to prep the surface?

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] Two questions:

1. Did you spray on the Traffic AS or did you roll/brush it on?
2. What did you use on the treads before the Traffic AS to prep the surface?

Hey Paul, I applied the Traffic AS with one of these pads. This particular one has a foam padded handle that is rotatable 360º and will lock in any position. It makes getting onto tight areas easy. They're cheap...think $4-$5.

[attachimg=1]

2. The treads already had 3 coats of Traffic HD on them so I just lightly sanded the treads with 180 or 240 just to give the surface some tooth. The Traffic AS dries really fast so you'll easily be able to get 2 coats on in one day. That way you don't need to sand between coats. I think I recoated mine within a couple of hours.

The stuff is tough also, it will indent rather than peel off. Here's a shot of a tread showing what happens when a 90# Golden uses the stairs every day. Those are indentations ONLY, no material was removed. I'm way impressed with the stuff. [cool]

[attachimg=2]

Here's a closeup.

 

[PaulH99]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] Very nice!

So you started with three coats of HD and then two coats of AS on top? Looking at Bona's web site they said to use one coat of their primer and two coats of AS. Was there a reason behind your using so many coats?

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] Very nice!

So you started with three coats of HD and then two coats of AS on top? Looking at Bona's web site they said to use one coat of their primer and two coats of AS. Was there a reason behind your using so many coats?

I originally coated the stairs with the 3 coats of Traffic HD and figured the project was completed. Well, then reality set in and people and dogs started slipping on the stairs.  [eek] 
So then I had to add the Traffic AS to the mix. If I were doing this again, I'd just put the Traffic HD on the risers and use the AS on the treads. [smile]

So, I actually experienced a before and after situation. The before was dangerous, the after was a God send. Before I came up with the Traffic AS solution, my wife was bound & determined to carpet the maple stairs I had just installed.  [crying] [crying]

 

[leakyroof]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] Very nice!

So you started with three coats of HD and then two coats of AS on top? Looking at Bona's web site they said to use one coat of their primer and two coats of AS. Was there a reason behind your using so many coats?

  I'm guessing it's related to a 90 lb dog...... [wink]

 

[Max Fracas]

Great info on using Traffic AS to help avoid slips.  I’ll plan on doing that.

Anyone have thoughts on my original question?  Should I take off the 2x12 construction treads and install the hardwood on the directly on the stringers?  Or should I leave the 2x12s in place and overlay the hardwood treads?

Thanks!

 

[Peter_C]

What hardwood treads do you plan to use? How much lip do they have?

You may need to switch to a thinner plywood tread.

 

[PaulH99]

The best thing to do is measure the height from tread-to-tread after taking the carpet off. If you find that the top-most and bottom-most steps have a different spacing than the rest, you'll have your answer.

Given that carpeting plus the pad adds around 3/4" of height to each step, you'll likely need to use a multi-tool to cut the overlapping "nose" off of the 2x12 treads so they're flush with the risers, then lay a 3/4" thick tread on top. You'll certainly want to put a finished riser on as well, but this can be as simple as quarter-inch thick plywood finished how you like. No-one will see the edges and it will clean up the face of the riser and whatever mess was leftover from cutting the nose off of the 2x12 tread.

 

[peter halle]

[member=64998]PaulH99[/member] correctly thru some information into the mix.  Your individual stair height should be constant from the bottom to the top. 

Peter

 

[dallas8338]

I've done this to my house- it's not fun no matter how you do it.

I would not remove your existing treads.  You'll most likely find that your risers have dados cut in them for the tread- so if you remove them completely you'd never be able to exactly match the existing profile with your new hardwood. 

I found that a multi-tool was great for getting into the corners when cutting off the nosing, but terrible for the whole job.  I used a jigsaw and had great results.  A quick sanding (the lumber was construction grade SPF) and you're ready to install the hardwood.  You'll also need to fill in the dado from the tread with wood putty- I used the Rock Hard water putty stuff.

There are more things to consider than what's been listed already- such as the order of install, are you putting the risers on first (don't try to paint the construction grade wood that's there) or the treads (each has its advantages), are you ok with nail holes and putty showing or would you be ok with only using adhesive, etc.

Quick question- are you doing this to match the lower lever floor, or the upper level?  Consideration needs to be placed on the difference between step heights.  There's a very small window to work with, I'm thinking 3/8" difference max.  If you've doing this to match hardwood on both levels, then you should be good (since you added the same height on both levels and you're raising the height on each stair tread everything will be the same height difference).  You'll also need to make sure the hardwood you're selecting has floor nosing available as well.

I'll try to add some pictures of the process I went through.  I don't remember if I have any construction photos, but I can at least snap a few pics of the final results- maybe that will help you with your decision. 

 

[Bob D.]

This thread couldn't have been more timely. I have been thinking of removing the carpeting on the rough stairs that lead down into our unfinished basement and installing something a little nicer looking. I've seen those oak tread/riser kits and have wondered if that's a viable option. I know what's under the carpet because I can see the underside of the stair.

 

[peter halle]

I doubt that if the treads have construction grade 2 x material for treads that they are dadoed in the skirt boards.  Uusally ( depending on geographic location of course) if the threads are 2 x then the stairs were built on site.

Peter

 

[Cheese]

Should I take off the 2x12 construction treads and install the hardwood on the directly on the stringers?  Or should I leave the 2x12s in place and overlay the hardwood treads?

I yanked the fir treads off the stairway and replaced them with maple treads directly on the stringers. One less interface to worry about coming loose at some time in the future. Each new maple tread was fastened to the stringers with construction adhesive and 6 each wood screws. The wood screw holes were then plugged with Jatoba plugs.

I kept the fir risers but veneered 1/8" thick birds-eye maple to the front of them.

I'd highly recommend purchasing a tread template. It'll save you HOURS of time.
http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/bullet-tools-bt91-0048

Photo 1: Original fir stairs.

Photo 2: Fir treads removed and maple veneered onto the risers.

Photo 3: The finished maple stairs

 

[Max Fracas]

Thanks for all the input!  [member=67225]dallas8338[/member], the stairs will join lower and upper levels floored with hardwoods.  [member=44099]Cheese[/member], good advice on the stair template. 

Looks like I could go either way and remove the 2x12 treads or leave them in place and just overlay new treads.  When I get back to the house (it’s in Louisiana and I’m working in California) I’ll measure to see whether overlaying treads will allow me to match the height of the hardwood floor on the upper level.  Thanks again.

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member], good advice on the stair template. 

Hey Max,
FWIW...When I rebuilt the stairs 16-17 years ago, there was only one supplier of the template and they were charging over $350 for it.  Considering I had already purchased all of the maple treads for only $400, I had a hard time justifying purchasing the template, so I didn't use one.  [oops]   

I'LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!  [crying]  [crying]

The templates are now made by several manufacturers and the prices have radically dropped. Now it's a no-brainer.  [big grin]