Hi All,
I appreciate any help on this. I live in a 100 year old house that had some gross carpet, which I pulled up. Underneath are very worn out painted pine treads (see picture below).
specs: risers are about 6 inches treads are about 8.5 inches x 32 in x 1 in. There seem to be 3 stringers beneath the treads and risers.
Rather than repainting the old treads, I’d rather have some maple treads to match the floors. i have a lot of experience woodworking but not much in construction so i have a few questions:
Is it better to pull out the old treads or can I mount new treads on top of the old ones? (to be honest…it’s an old house and i’m scared what i might find if i pull the treads up.)
I’ve seen commercial retreads that are 1/2 in thick and have a bullnose. do these work?
Any reason not to make my own treads out of 3/4 maple rather than pay three times as much? I’m guessing 3/4 in will look “off” so I should probably plan on gluing 1/4 molding underneath to make it look thicker, if i go this route.
Thanks!
Rich
Replies
Two questions come to mind.
1. Are the treads cut between the skirts?
If not, well it makes the work a lot more difficult.
2. Do you have access to the underside of the stairs?
It's likely there are nails through the risers and into the back edge of the treads.
I wouldn't hesitate to remove them because it's an old house. You may be able to improve your situation by gluing any new work, thus strengthening the stair and eliminating squeaks.
Just a few thoughts.
I do not have access to the underside of the stairs and the treads are not cut between the skirts.
There are lots of nails through the treads and into the risers. (i suspect it was a century worth of trying to stop sqeeks)
That's rough, Maybe you could re-finish the treads and put a runner on them using those nice tie backs.
Or even make some skins with Baltic birch plywood and solid nosing.
You can't or shouldn't add a very thick tread on top as it will throw off the top and bottom rise.
you can probably pull the treads but you may end up redoing the risers and skirts in addition to some of the plaster on the wall. The pine treads are clearly worn but there is plenty of material to them to clean them up. I'd probably try sanding to clean them up and then maybe a clear finish or paint them.
Are they the primary stairs in the house or the "back" hallway stairs that most people won't see?
Oak treads are readily available with a bullnose and be easier than fabricating maple.
Sanding and painting might be the "quickest/easiest" way out, depends on how much time and effort you want to put in for the result.
you do want to match the existing rise so you don't have a trip hazard at either the top or the bottom step if the rise is off
good luck