My wife want the living room rugs out & laminated wood. Problem is, I have 2 sets of stairs one going up with carpet, wood rail on one side & wall on the other but these are the kind you can see through, (called "no risers") I think & the other steps to basement, carpeted but Full risers or normal kind, are the steps hard to laminate with fake hardwood, I have some basic carpentry skills. If it's real hard & more expensive should I just leave the steps carpeted. I was wondering what goes on the sides, where the step meets the wall part?
Thanks
jamie
2007-10-16 07:51:41 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
Laminating is easy. You just buy the stuff at home Depot and paint it on. It's just like painting, but you use 3-4 coats and let it dry completely between coats.
2007-10-16 07:55:30 · answer #1 · answered by mikeburns55 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Laminate is less expensive and looks quite good, in the short run. Determine your budget and stretch for the hardwood if you can. When you have hardwood floors finished, be sure of your flooring contractor. What separates a good hardwood floor job from a bad one is not just the quality of the installation, but the finish. Polyurethane is a generic term that covers a wide range of products. That is why you can go into a hardware or paint store and find such a wide range of price levels. Even a company like Minwax makes several grades. Many hardwood floor finishers in this area buy stuff that only costs about $30 for a 5 gallon bucket. Obviously, their jobs don't wear well. One indication that the hardwood finisher is using really thin poly is drying time. The real thin stuff dries faster, allowing more coats in a day.
2016-03-13 00:10:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I looked into using laminate flooring on a set of stairs. What I found was a real problem with the nose of each tread. Many laminate floor manufacturers don't have the right type of bull nose that you need for stairs. Theirs are not flush with the laminate top and present what in my opinion is a real tripping hazard.
Look carefully at this before you commit to the laminate.
2007-10-16 10:39:22 · answer #3 · answered by oil field trash 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi Jamie,
Do you mean laminate flooring or the process of laminating? If you mean laminate flooring, its' not too difficult, particularly if you have basic carpentry skills. They have a class at Home Depot on how to do this that is really good. Check it out. good luck.
2007-10-16 08:02:41 · answer #4 · answered by Steve in NC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Laminate flooring is not really designed for vertical applications, such as stair risers, because it doesn't involve fasteners. I think it can be done on stairs, but would be challenging for a DIY'er because of all the cuts and trims required. I think it also would be a safety hazard because it is slippery.
2007-10-16 10:58:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't laminate your stairs! Especially the no riser stairs! Laminate flooring is supposed to float and expand with changes in humidity and temperature. Laminate flooring is not condusive to stairs. Peel the carpet up. If the stairs are in really rough shape, sand and paint them. If they are kind of grungy, but in relatively goos shape, sand them, strip them back to original wood, and stain ro varathane them! DO NOT try to place laminate flooring on stairs!!!
2007-10-16 10:30:17 · answer #6 · answered by Rawstuff 007 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe you are referring to laminate wood flooring. And no it is not hard to do. The product is designed with the do-it-yourselfer in mind, but...... this applies to floors only really. The product, from my experience, is just not designed to go on stairs. I would skip the big box stores and go to a flooring store and talk to a real expert. If you can find a good experienced one, they will be willing to talk you through it and you can decide if you want to tackle it yourself.
2007-10-16 07:59:38 · answer #7 · answered by luke7785 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well is not hard to do if you know how (just kidding)
but yes, see firts whats undernite the carpet, you can buy the steps (solid steps) for about $80 at homedepot, and then just stain them to match your lamite,
The other option will be to build riser to those 2 steps, and lamite all the steps, but for sure you gonna need some skills to do the steps, is not as easy as to do floors. Good luck
2007-10-16 08:51:22 · answer #8 · answered by Rember S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
check to see if the treads and riser on the stairs are made of particle board or natural wood. if they are particle board, you need to laminate but if they are natural wood, you might consider just refinishing them
2007-10-16 07:59:21 · answer #9 · answered by oldguy 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋