Installing Stair Treads

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To jump start the job of the week segment I thought I'd share a project I've been Old stair treads contemplating for over a year, but the question was always how to go about it. My chink logged home located in the Appalachian mountains is quite rustic, but I didn't think the steps would be this rustic! This surely would not pass code in many areas, but the home was built in 1990.

Anyway the photo on the right reveals the situation. These steps had been this way since day one. It's basically a roughed in staircase but the carpenters did place some flooring on the steps, excluding stair nosing.

Rise from step to step was off. I found it difficult to get started up the steps without tripping. To solve this problem the flooring was removed from the landing, with 1/2" plywood torn out as well exposing the landing joist system. The first two steps were stripped of the rough treads and risers.

In order to get the rise more consistent a combination of 1/4" & 3/8" ply was added to the the substrate before 1 inch thick pine treads were added. Stair builders will vary on techniques (shims) but this method proved feasible without incurring any major demolition. After adjustments were made, the rise on each step measured at 8 inches, slightly more than preferred.


Another view of roughed staircase	Starting tread boxed

By boxing in the landing tread, the unsightly exposed stair case was hidden. Sorry, no pictures of this procedure. One obstacle remains to complete this staircase redo. As the 2" x 5" plank floor stairs turn on a 90 degree angle leading to an upstairs loft, the last step to the actual finished floor height will only be 6 3/4 inches. Can this be fixed? In this case it will not, but the overall improvement on the job will more than outweigh one minor problem.

Planning wasn't in the cards when this place was built. The flooring in the loft is 2" x 5" tongue and groove pine installed over exposed rustic beams that has all stair and railing components, plus framed walls on top. Had the rough stair case been planned properly in relation to the rise and run, problems would have been avoided. Considering it is my home office area, I'll be the only one navigating that last step.

The First Two Steps

I had planned on using my Festool setup for cutting the miters on the first two treads, but some components were missing due to a recent move. Anyway the Hitachi sliding compound miter saw worked just fine, but did not cut through entirely as the board had to be flipped to finish the cut.

Biscuits were added to the mitered cut providing more strength to the mitered joint. Three would have probably been a wiser choice, but the entire tread was glued down to the substrate as well, so I don't foresee any movement. Our first two steps actually took more time than the rest of the staircase due to the complexity of cutting around the landing newel (stair post) combined with two treads and 45 degree mitered returns.


Biscuit miter joint	Dropping tread into adhesive

Engaging miter joint in adhesive	Measuring nosing overhang before fastening tread

How To Remove Existing Treads and Risers

Here's the gadget. It's called a nail puller. Instead of trying to pry the treads loose that can inevitably damage other areas, a simple nail puller is hammered into the tread around the Remove old treads with nail puller tool nails. Once it's wrapped around the nail, pry back until it's bite into the underlying stringer stair support is free. With six nails used to attached each tread, time involved was a few minutes. Removal of the risers was an easier task as they were only attached with one small finish nail.

Installing The Risers

You will find varying methods, but in this case our risers were built on top of the tread after finding the measurement of the underlying stringer rise. All three stringers were not exact so measuring all three and transferring to a straight line and cut on the table saw was done. Before installing the next tread on top of the riser check for fit with a scrap piece of wood. The preference is avoiding any gaps underneath.

For added support, PL200 adhesive was applied on the backside on the riser before nailing. Gluing stair riser For any type of work that requires precision measuring and cutting, the old saying measure twice cut once prevails here. I generally measure twice and cut at least two times. For example, if the riser or tread is 36 1/16 of an inch I prefer to cut it a tad more than that. An extra trip back to the chop saw doesn't take long, but it beats making a short cut especially if you have limited material on hand for mess ups.

Here's another tip for getting those pieces into place with the least amount of gapping on the sides of the stairs. A compound miter works perfect in this case but you can just as easily use a belt sander or table saw. Flip the board over and create a bevel on the backside. This allows for an easier fit.


Bevel backside of riser for easier tight fit	Nailing riser after gluing

Installing The Treads

Principles follow that of risers when measuring, but a handy tool simplifying the

procedure is the stair wizard. The tool is a retractable gizmo that can be placed over the stringers that gives the exact measurement of the area and compensates for angles that may exist against the finished stringers (skirting) on the sides of the steps.

Once the tread is cut to fit, any voids or variances underneath can cause squeaking. Check for flatness or where the actual tread will rest once installed. Even though the tread itself is rigid at one inch thick, a liberal amount of PL200 construction adhesive before laying the tread into place could prevent potential squeaks at a later date. For lack of a better term, the adhesive can act as a minor leveler and absorb any minor movement within voids.


Check for snug fit	Liberal amount of adhesive

• Fix Squeaky Stairs - Solutions
• Stair Parts & Accessories
• Stair Wizard Tool

Related Sites:

• Calculating Stair Rise