Some help with installing wood stairs?

Question

I was planning on tiling my living room with nice porcelin tile. There is a stair case in the living room that goes to a second floor that had carpet but I removed it. Now there is generic builders wood stair case underneath it that is unfinishable or usable. I want to put a wood or laminate over it. The stairs are 11 x 35 and I only want to cover the foot (step) portion. Is there a laminate or wood that has the nose piece and foot portion all in one built in? I just want something to install over it that is easy and will kind of fit right over the stair without having to install seperate pieces. Any help is much appreciated.

Answer 1

I did the exact thing your talking about when I replaced the carpeting on a staircase. Once I ripped out the carpet, I pulled the original tread up since it already had a bull-nose. I then cut new treads that had a flat edge and shimmed, glued and screwed them in place.

I used Bruce prefinished oak on the treads. You can purchase the bull-nose for the front edge and then just use the regular planks for the remainder of the tread. I used only whole planks going across the stairs just so I wouldn't have any seams where you would step. To finish it along the edge I just used 1/4 round to trim it out and then painted the risers white with trim paint.

Another option would be to just use planks on the tread and then use a wood trim piece along the front edge. I helped my brother-in-law do it this way and it came out pretty nice and was cheaper than buying the bull-nose.

Answer 2

I am not aware of any ready made laminate pieces to cover the front edge of the treads. Making new treads out of hardwood is an experts job really. One idea is to put laminate on the vertical faces and carpet wraped over each individual tread, it looks great.

Answer 3

Stairs are a high traffic area, especially the stair "treads" (the part you step on). What is customary is a solid wood stair tread in the type of wood you desire, you can get away using crap anywhere else (the stair backs for example), but it won't last on the treads.

Answer 4

You can buy pre-made wooden treads w/ a bullnose at your local lumber yard.
They usually come 3' or 4'
This is not an easy DIY project, you should try and contact a local carpenter to help you out.

Answer 5

1

Answer 6

from the bottom up?