Installing Hardwoods on stairs, DIY or hire someone

[VW1.8Tsunami]

I'm closing on a condo in a couple weeks and I wanted to rip up all the flooring. I'm getting new carpet in the bedrooms but removing it everywhere else. This will leave a concrete subfloor but idk what' the stairs are made of. Wood?

The hardwood install seems straight forward but I'm not entire sure how to handle the stairs or where the rails are on the 'landing'. Here's a pic:


Should I remove the railing completely and take the wood floor to the edge or just leave the railing and install up to it? How would I cover the seam?

Any advice is appreciated.

[spockcat]

Most likely the stairs have pine treads and risers. Generally, you don't install wood over the treads, you remove the old treads and put in new ones made from hardwood. You can buy oak treads at Home Depot and probably Lowes. You can also buy oak boards for the risers there too.

It isn't always a simple job removing the old treads and risers from the stringers. No doubt they are glued in place and perhaps nailed or screwed. If you can get at them from the underside you should be able to tell how they are put together. It might mean removing sheetrock from the underside of the stairs.

[FlyingTomato]

I did it myself and it be honest.. it was a pain in the !@#, but saved a ton of money. Just plan on it taking a really long time if you do it yourself. Also, re-enforce them while you have the old treads off. I glued/screwed supports to the bottom side of the stair treads and risers so that they were extremely solid. I had absolutely no squeeks.

I used solid oak stair treads, cut them to fit exactly from stringer to stringer, and stained them to match my floors (Sherwin Williams will make custom match stain if you bring in some of your wood floor). I then ran a thin line of caulk between the stringer and tread. The bottom steps had a bit of a walk out (3 sides of the tread was visible), so I cut the treads to size and used a router to bullnose the visible sides. To attach them, I glued them with some PolyUrethane construction adhesive and used 2 1/2 finish nails to secure them down.

For the risers, I put down the same tile that was in my entrance way so that it tied in.

Pictures are a thousand words:

All the steps with the tile risers and stained solid oak stair treads:


Bottom Steps:

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't even know the terminology before I started this thread.

Another concern is the lip at the top of the stairs. Is there something for this?

[FlyingTomato]

Yes. You can buy bullnose that matches your floor from wherever you buy the floors. It is typically pretty expensive, but you won't need much. Put that bullnose down first and start the upstairs floor from there. I learned this the hard way. I started at a wall in a bedroom and by the time I got to the stairs (we did seamless floors upstairs so no transitions), there wasn't enough room to put a full width piece of bullnose. I ended up having to rip the bullnose long way to make it less wide, re-groove it and then top nail and glue it to the top of the stairs. In the end it was really solid, but didn't look quite right. Learn from me and put the bullnose on the top stair and start your floor from there.

[Mk1Racer]

Another concern is the lip at the top of the stairs. Is there something for this?

That is what's known as a landing tread. You should be able to get it to match whatever hardwood you're putting down.

[Markos]

I looked into wood stairs and opted out due to price. The parts are damn expensive comared to the rest of the floor. Instead, I carpeted the treads and put wood on the risers. I didn't get matching Ash risers, I used MDF painted white instead. Basically, I followed this video including stapling the crap out of the carpet, much to the dismay of carpet installers. It looks professional. As far as I know, the HW risers are cheaper than the treads, so you could save money this way. I picked up high quality remnant for $50 or so, and have enough left over to replace ever step. The advantage to this route is that you can replace each step individually.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbV4QOH6DT0

Looking back, I've very pleased that I installed carpet on the stairs. My entire living space is HW, and the stairs act as a filter for outdoor debris, as well as the litter box which is located in the basement (split level).

I wouldn't recommend starting with the bullnose when installing HW. Any DIY website will explain that you want to start with the longest, straightest wall in the living space. Also, you want to run your wood perpendicular to the floor joists, which may not always jive with your staircase direction. Fortunately, the bullnose is wider than your standard board, so you have room to rip it if necessary. Also, you get about twice the needed length, so you have another peice if you screw up the cutting. I didn't have to rip mine due to luck, but it also extends about .5" farther than needed. The 3/4" MDF that I installed on the tread risers accounted for the gap.


Edit (after looking at your pic again):

That railing setup will be a PITA. Your best bet is to remove the carpet and see how much room that you have to work with. Measure the height of the white base of your reailing. If it is 3/4"+, you are in the clear. If it is less than that, I would seriously consider buying thinner HW's (especially if you are selling it). If you remove the railing, you will need to run a bullnose all aroudn the permimeter of the stairwell, which is expensive. If you do that, once again you would want to find wood that matches the depth of that white railing base. You will want to remove that railing base and reinstall the railing, nailing the rails to the floor. If you screw up the hight of the railing in the living room, you will have to make up for it on the railing that goes down the stairs. Once again, I highly suggest that you keep the railing intact and find wood that matches the height of the railing base. You still need a bullnose, but no more than 40" to cover the transition from the stairs to the living room.

[stupakjim]

If your not handy with carpentry call around for some bids. Putting hardwood over concrete can be exspensive. Whatever you do please dont fall for that 30 year warranty BS. Don't waste your money on super cheap snap lock diy laminate, stuffs garbage. Hardwood flooring is all about layout and subfloor prep. You can Mr Superbadazzfloorguy, but if you don't understand true layout and sub floor prep, YOU ARE WORTHLESS.
It's getting late, here is a little of the work I have done. I am more than willing to help out with any questions you have.

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