), please post pictures and your process for conversion. We'd appreciate any information or ideas. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. It looks atrocious! The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site, Learn more about Stack Overflow the company. What does an area represent in a spacetime diagram? feeny is right that you need a carpenter or a "french polisher." I did the same thing featured in that blog - but I don't even own a table or circular saw so I had Lowes cut all the treads and risers for me. Also cut yourself several small pieces of the plywood to be used for color and finish samples. Although the treads and risers are now painted gray, I want to make the risers white and the treads very dark brown after we fill in the dings and chips with wood putty. Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. Please don't paint it! I have a cheapo jigsaw but bought better quality blades half way through. How big are your son's feet? When you have an open staircase with spindles it's a lot harder to replace the treads. Are You Gutsy Enough to Paint Your Floor White? I want something thin, but also something that won't warp. I don't have high gloss paint and it is still a non-issue. It was a major project, not DIY for me. Using the same materials and finishes for everything that relates in those ways gives you a cohesive and orderly backdrop for everything in your house. Even so you will want to remove as much of that old adhesive as possible. (full disclosure - I am not a professional, a carpenter, etc. It is my belief that if you fit the riser skins carefully there should be no need to add moldings along either the top edge or the bottom edge of the riser skin. I found this tutorial that inspired me - see link below. Very finished transition on 2nd floor. I am getting ready to paint my risers black. Mark each piece on the back as to which step it corresponds to and the which side is up. REST Endopint using MIT and BSD 3-clause license libraries. Think of every surface as it relates to its purpose, its materials, its relationship to other elements, and the plane it's in. After that part, installing the new treads and risers over top was easy - just used lots of carpenters wood glue and a few finishing nails for each tread and riser. I'd like to do that to our staircase, but the task looked daunting. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. My son has been scuffing the risers for years - from when he was still in the children's sizes, to now with his men's 12s. Any scuffs were infrequent and easy to wipe off. So unless you have a maid (or a dusting fetish) stay away from black. White is not scuffed despite SIL who is careless and rough. rev2022.8.1.42699. Can we simply add a 1/2" by 8" board for a skirt or should we replace the treads with unfinished wood treads from the big box store (they're 3/4" pine)? We ran that dark stain all around the bullnose opening on the 2nd floor, 2-3", like a trim around the star. Can stair stain color be different from wood floor stain, I have had white stair risers for 7 yrs. If those refinished stair treads are a common type type of hardwood such as oak, maple or beech you can get 1/4 inch thick plywood with an hardwood veneer on one or both sides. She used pine treads and painted both the treads and the risers, but I don't see why the process couldn't be used with stained treads. Experiment with these pieces till you get an idea of the finish that looks correct against the re-finished treads. It'll be worth the effort to find the right person to do it. I really regret using this paint for the risers (and for repainting the kitchen cabinets, but that's another story). bronwynsmom - thank you for the explanation (we have dark wood floors and white (one of the "seventy-eleven zillion" versions) trim, which is why I am drawn to this look, I suppose. Why is a 220 resistor for this LED suggested if Ohm's law seems to say much less is required? Take note that the blade will dull so be prepared with spare ones or cleaning up and re-sharpening them. We currently have more than 1/2" gaps at each end of the 1" treads. We don't wear shoes in the house, some shoes might make marks on any surface. The risers are uneven due to the adhesive, and also have lots of nail holes. Have you done it and how did it turn out? The treads are actually the floor broken up to get you from one elevation to the next. and I haven't run this crazy idea by DH other than "wouldn't it be great to get rid of this nasty carpet and paint the stairs like this -[show pretty picture]"). I have black iron railings so hopefully it will look ok. White risers are always my first choice when the trim is white (I'm saying "white" to include all its variations all seventy-leven zillion of them). With the "new" waterborne Impervo there are lots of scuffs and they are difficult to remove. Why won't this electromagnet home experiment work? 4 Dreamy White-and-Wood Kitchens to Learn From, It's Black and White and Fall All Over in a Holiday-Happy Home, Layout help needed for a unique Victorian living room. Could the German government decide to free Russian citizen Vadim Krasikov from prison? Math Proofs - why are they important and how are they useful? We also have white risers. You just have to remember to strip it off before you repaint. Why Does the Principled BSDF Shader use an Index of Refraction of 1.45 and a Specular of .5 by default? Some scuffs do not come out with magic erasers and I am tired of painting. If I was doing it I would use a light coating of construction adhesive to glue them in place. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Even if you have a 1/16 inch gap along the top edge no one will be looking intensely under there anyway. With careful selection of where you place the nails they may very well not be distracting. knot2fast: we haven't started yet - I am a little afraid to see what is under the carpet. It was getting the treads and risers to fit against my very wonky walls (not very successful) then laying oak flooring on the mid-stairs landing. Delete files with (1) or (2) when without it exists, History of italicising variables and mathematical formatting in general. Then tip the piece into position under the nose of the next tread above. I patched and painted a couple risers, but it looks like several coats of paint will be needed and it still won't look great in the end. It only takes a minute to sign up. No local contractors would do the risers due to the adhesives from the carpet that was removed. Site design / logo 2022 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. I've had other lumber cut at Home Depot and Lowes, including the boards for molds for my poured concrete countertop - I am sure those guys will start to hide when they see me coming with cart full of wood and a list of exact measurements, if they begin to recognize me, LOL! If I do decide to paint, do you still recommend 1/4 plywood, just without the hardwood veneer, or should I use something else entirely? To the architects dismay, I didn't want the extra aggravation and expense of redoing all my second floors, which are a medium oak stain. Something with MEK in it would be easiest, but would require the most protective gear. Oscillating comparator in a discrete DC-DC converter, is the French certificate of renewal of CNI enough to prove my identity in Switzerland. I converted from carpeted staircase to hardwood treads in 2002. Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros. The finishing nails are not visible on the stained treads, and on the risers I countersunk then patched with a dab of wood filler and touched up the paint. With a good scraper and a bit of elbow grease you can most likely remove all the old adhesive down to bare wood. I have white risers (not stark white, mascarpone) eggshell finish and we have had no scuffs in a year. How should stair treads and risers be assembled? This would simplify the selection of construction adhesive for gluing in the riser skins. DH promised that getting rid of the awful carpet on the stairs can be the next project (since this is purely cosmetic I wasn't sure it would ever get done). you want the surface to be fairly smooth so the new treads and risers will fit tight. I'm not sure I can remove the treads without tearing out the entire staircase. I about 1.5" of clearance under the treads, so I have room to install some sort of covering and cove molding at the tops of the risers if needed or desired. I recently had my 100-year old hardwood floors and stair treads refinished. Using a nail gun may mar the surface of the riser skin and make a more noticeable scar than using the type of nails that I suggested. The next hardest part was cutting off the bullnose overhang on the plywood with my jigsaw - partly because there were lots of old nails I found and there were some very hard spot in the wood I had to stop frequently to rest my arms and let the blade cool down. Are any current adhesives good, or should I stick with a nailgun? Fine quality hardwood veneer plywood would paint nicely. Once you like your finish samples you would be ready to pre-finish the riser skim pieces on the good veneer face side. Real improvement. You can favor the fit to lower edge skin even using a small plane to get a perfect fit. Great suggestions! It also coordinates with the 2nd floor bannister which also continues around the hole. Is is a maintenance nightmare or a non-issue? I use the same trick for painted wooden bookshelves to keep them pristine. I can't send a photo right now, but it looks great. You do the math, Leaky, costly, a pain to maintain nope, nope and nope. How do we improve that? Another option is tile risers, fun and scuff proof - but more work and expense but check out some of these fun ones I found with google images. But I don't have any teenagers anymore :) c, White risers are not a problem. It may take some clever fixturing or clamping to hold the risers in place for a few hours while the adhesive sets up. Looking for breathtaking drama or simple creative flair? Where does one get curved tiles? We plan to redo the risers in the oil-based paint. There were 5 new homes build a couple of blocks from me a few years ago. Eliot Osorio: We have the same setup on our basement stairs. Besides, black shows dust like crazy. Also thanks for the waxing tip - both for stairs and book shelves! Yes, they do get scuffed once in a while, but if they are painted with a high quality semi gloss paint you can remove most scuffs with a magic eraser. When all the pieces are dry it is time to install the riser skin pieces. javachik, yours turned out great too but I can see how that bottom tread must have been a pain! We've told our basement remodeler not to carpet the stairs since I don't like carpeted basement stairs and want it to look more like our very nice staircase upstairs. So the riser is related to baseboard trim in all those particulars. I would love to hear your thoughts, since you seem to be further along in the process than I am. My sister has a stairway like in the tutorial that's between walls, and her carpenter slipped a ready- made wood veneer staircase right over it, similar to what they do with bathtubs. Painted risers have been in place for about a month with no problems. She does mention that this is maybe not the way a professional would do it, but it seems the difference is minor. I was initially thinking of painting the risers white, but I may consider staining to try to match the treads. Would it make more sense to cover up the risers with lauan or something similar? Those are all gorgeous! You should be very proud of your efforts - it looks wonderful. A year or so ago we repainted them with the waterborne Satin Impervo. How does JWST position itself to see resolve an exact target? Was the division of the Holy Bible into the Old and New Testaments divinely inspired? Is "wait" an exclamation in this context? You will want to select an adhesive that is compatible with the left over residue from the carpet. Sometimes a stair can be made of something else entirely, but when it isn't, the same principle applies. I love the look of dark stair treads and contrasting white risers, but I am afraid of the risers getting scuffed up and smudged by my teenage DS. Of course, this would best be done before the treads are finished. At what age do you change nursery decorations? I also changed the banesters and used wrought iron spindles. A real hardwood tread staircase appears to be built differently than one built for carpet. So on the bull nose of the top step, the one that is flush to 2nd floor, we stained the single board the darker color. Thanks for contributing an answer to Home Improvement Stack Exchange! Is it necessary to provide contact information for tens of co-authors when submitting a paper from a large collaboration? A french polisher will treat it with respect, bring out the grain, and stain or oil it for you properly. A handyman at the store told me to make sure to buy the non-skid tape strips to put on the end of whatever treads we use to keep us from slipping on them. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. Different color, different wood, different gloss. How can I refill the toilet after the water has evaporated from disuse? Punched-out panels and meshes are a solid choice, Wallpapered stair risers, a striped lime-green ceiling and creative artwork are just the beginning in this designer's 1910 home in Canada, Depth, width, proportion and detailing all contribute to the comfort and functionality of this transitional space, Get the dimensions that will let you fit one or more cars in your garage, plus storage and other needs, See why four paint brands have chosen a shade of white as their hot hue for the new year, Sleek and glossy or softened by wear, white floors charm, White too bright in your kitchen? tinan - thanks for the wonderful and informative reply - just what I was looking for! Get the truth about living roofs and see examples from simple to elaborate, Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers, Outdoor Lighting & Audio/Visual Specialists, My Houzz: Quirky, Colorful Vancouver Heritage Home, Color of the Year: Off-White Is On Trend for 2016. I'm just getting to patching nail holes on risers and trying to decide whether to stain treads dark or leave natural (flooring throughout the rest of the house is light colored). Also, I am planning on painting what I cover the risers white. If I do cover the risers, what material should I use? The oil-based Impervo was wonderful. Until he's willing to put his feet down sideways, my risers are going to be scuffed. What you are suggesting is what we want to do. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Announcing the Stacks Editor Beta release! But the stairs and landings are black-stained oak. Do not do black. Looks like one sheet of the material would be more than enough to to make your riser skins. They had floors exactly like yours, smooth-grained, dark gray. I have never seen one, but apparently they exist and can be painted or stained. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Doing so works well because you can work in a flat place where it is much easier to do a nice job. If you live in a house of riser scuffers, a good coat of paste wax on the risers after the paint has dried thoroughly will keep that from happening. Looks brand new. How trainable is he? For many years, the risers were painted with Benjamin Moore's Satin Impervo, an oil-based paint. I neglected to mention that I want the risers PAINTED WHITE. Aligning two molecules in XYZ format, before v12.3. Cheap fir or laun plywood always looks crappy, stained or painted. Is there a device to plug in to dead socket to figure out which breaker? Can I install wood stair treads over old Linoleum, What is code for stair treads and risers in Georgia, Installing treads and risers to existing stair runs, Installing Pre-Finished Hardwood on Stairs - How to Avoid Shortening Tread Length, Identifying wood type of broken stair treads and installing new risers, Attempting to install new stair treads and risers. When you cut them you will want the grain direction of the veneer to be horizontal for best look. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Good to know it isn't a major headache! I used primed MDF risers ($7 each) and pine treads (about $8-9 each), stained the treads with Minwax all in one polyurethane stain (mission oak) 2-3 coats, and painted the risers BM mascarpone to match walls. The other concern we have is with the plywood landing that had a metal nosing that's been long removed. Introduce wood beams, countertops, furniture and more, Get inspired for budget-friendly fall decorating by a resourceful stylist's thrifty but sophisticated adornments, Can a geometric-patterned runner hide stains, protect stairs and create interest in interior designs? The hardest part was removing all the crud from the carpet - staple strips, big chunks of glue etc. Here is a link that might be useful: carpet to wood stairs tutorial. This is specialty work and you want someone who knows what they are doing. Oh, and the bottom tread was a bear because it needed to wrap around the wall a bit on the right. Non-issue. What to do w/artwork. A tool like shown below should work well to scape it off. The plan for the first floor called for dark walnut floors and stairs (treads and risers). If you are converting standard carpeted staircase to one with hardwood treads (and risers? For people doing this in the future, I'd like to mention that a heavy duty adhesive remover will remove the black adhesive. Alternatively you could use some colored hard steel "paneling nails" to tack them in place. Why are we choosing the Krylov projection method like this? What about outdoors?Apologies in advance - I don't want to hijack the thread, but I would like to do dark stair treads and contrasting white risers for our front porch. Precut the pieces to fit without fastening right away. Explain Certbot's HTTPS redirect configuration. I just wipe them off once a year or so. Would satellites going into a rendez-vous show a difference in potential leading to an arc between the structures? Like it was the intended design. The hardest part for me wasn't the demolition. The tread is related to the floor, also in all those particulars. I borrowed a circular saw and a table saw to trim my oak treads and pre-primed pine risers. tinan's directions were very helpful with my stair project. Do you plan to remove all of the treads and replace them with hardwood treads?