can laminate flooring be used on stairs? i am planning to have laminate in the whole house, but wasnt sure?

Answer 1

Yes, use it upstairs, if you're prepared to hear every footstep someone takes, every piece of tissue dropped on the floor and every tinkle in the toilet. Laminate upstairs isn't a good idea - too noisy.

Answer 2

Absolutely, and I have done it. It works well. In fact, you will find that your local lumber yard, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc, will sell matching laminate parts for stair installation. It will require what is called a "bull nose" on the front of each stair. A bull nose is a decorative trim piece that protects and covers the front edge. You may also want a small trim piece on the back of each stair if you aren't very careful with your cuts. It is installed exactly like the laminate on your floor. If you are using a non-glued, interlocking laminate, you will probably want to nail the back edge for security.
Others have mentioned that it can be slippery, and they are correct. But carpet runners or carpet tiles in the center can eliminate the problen and can be very decorative.
I found it was a good way to match the floor. Best of luck.

Answer 3

What's the stair construction? How do you intend to detail the nosing?

The thing with laminate flooring is that it needs to be glued in and secured on all sides. Unless you have proper details to use on the nosing of the stair, you may find that the result is unsightly (you'll see the the rough edge of the laminate panel with its layers exposed), and over time the flooring may delaminate and slip.

Also, unless the stair is constructed to take into account the thickness of your laminate flooring, you'll find that the finish level of the top tread of your laminate floor stair is not flush to the floor finish of the top landing. Similarly, the first riser of your stair might be a bit higher than the rest of the stair risers.

Answer 4

I have heard that they used it on stairs...

But, remember, when you route out for the "bull nose", that your going to route the laminate, and you may have to "color" the edge with a marker (you can get those marker pens at LOWES or Home Depot that come in various wood colors).

Also, take into account the laminate with the steps, so that you keep everything in order.

Make sure you glue it down properly, and put good pressure on it, (do this before you put the step on). After glueing something like this, I put it between two pieces of boards, for pressure, and some clamps, after I have taken a "J roller" and worked all the glue to the edges...

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 5

yes you can. when you install laminate on any floor it is considered a "floating" floor. it is held in place by its own weight. with the stairs thought you have to glue it. so no underlay is required. I would use a glue by the name of "PL premimum" by BullDog. its come in tubes for your calking gun. Things to remember are your stair tred is probably 10-12" and the average laminate is 8" so you will have to rip the board to fit. keep in mind you will want to use the stair nosing to match on the face of the stair. Now with that being said you will now find out that the nosing will not cover the whole face, you will now have to rip another piece of laminate to go underneither the nosing to cover the rest of the facing. You should also think about putting laminate on the riser of the stair as well. Al this can and should be glued into place. Good laminates to consider are "Shaw", "Dupont" and "Herculese" Use minimum 8mm laminate for any "high trafic" areas and 7mm for any bedrooms as these are not high trafic and will hold up just fine under normal useage. Any thicker laminates are no better than your standard 8mm laminate, the whole reason you get a 10-14mm laminate is so you dont have a drop in your floors(ie from room to room). As for your underlay in the bedrooms I would sujest your eg underlay. if through your home I would go with a 3 in 1 underlay with a sound deadner. The one we sell is from "Roberts" it is red with a vapor barror and a sound deadner all in one. If you have dogs or heavy walkers the sound you will hear is very similar to that of hardwood.(deep and hollow)

Answer 6

Yes you could but i wouldn't recommend it. I broke my ankle after doing it ... Slipped on the laminated flloring as it was a bit wet. As a result, we removed it and worked on the stairs! Hired a sander and cleaned them up then applied two coats of antique wax (They were a really dull colour) then varnish. They're beautiful now and had i done that sooner ... I would have saved myself a fortune on laminate and a plastered leg (6 weeks off work)!!!

Answer 7

Absolutely and it looks beautiful. Just make sure that the nose piece on the front edge is sturdy and well fastened. Best to have a professional do it. I have seen many done this way and helped on a couple of them. If any one thinks it's dangerous, I have taken more tumbles off the front edge of a carpeted stair in socks then on a hardwood. Just be careful. Good luck.

Answer 8

You could put it on stairs, but you do need to a have a surface with more grip. If you want to put laminate flooring down, then suppliment it with a runner attached to the stairs.

Answer 9

I wouldn't suggest it,it may be a bit too slippery for stairs
Laminate in the whole house? O.K. it's your house.

Answer 10

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