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Discussion Forum

Plywood Stair Treads

philjohnwilliams | Posted in General Discussion on April 4, 2007 05:46am

Hi,

i’m new here, i usually hang out in knots, but i have a question that i think is better suited to this forum.

my brother-in-law is buing a house in a new development. so far it seems that everything is being built to the bare minimun (not too surprising, i guess) with every upgrade costing extra. i was surprised to see that the standard stair treads were 3/4″ plywood, covered with carpet. is this standard in new construction, or is this unusual? i’ve never seen plywood treads as far as i can remember, but i have tended to live in 100 year old houses.

all rersponses will be greatly appreciated

-philjohnwilliams

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Replies

  1. fingersandtoes | Apr 04, 2007 07:05am | #1

    Around here in tract houses they use 1 1/4" osb treads if they are going to carpet the stairs. Comes with a bullnose, and for some reason only in 12' lengths. So you get 3 treads and are left with 2' and a bit each board.

  2. DougU | Apr 04, 2007 07:23am | #2

    Track homes I've seen have used 5/4's particle board for the most part.

    I dont think I've seen any 3/4" ply for treads. I dont think I'd like it in my house.

    Doug

  3. slykarma | Apr 04, 2007 07:42am | #3

    Nothing wrong with 3/4" ply treads -  if they're doubled up. Hopefully the stairs have a stringer in the centre to support those flimsy treads. If the treads were to be tiled or done in hardwood then extra thickness would be needed for sure.

    Lignum est bonum.
  4. NEXTLEVEL | Apr 04, 2007 01:08pm | #4

    We always put 2x10 or 2x12 on for the treads for carpeted stairs.  We also glue and screw them to elimnate squeaks.  The standard for finished stairs is 1" thick.  I would never put one layer of 3/4 plywood.

    James

  5. philjohnwilliams | Apr 05, 2007 05:43am | #5

    thanks to all who replied. i will show this to my brother in law and let him decide if he wants to upgrade to hardwood.

    -philjohnwilliams

    1. User avater
      Matt | Apr 06, 2007 12:34am | #6

      Some of this depends on if they are factory built stairs or not.  For example, with factory built stairs the treads are often dadoed into the risers and the skirt boards are dadoed to accept both the risers and treads.  While this can be done in the field this kind of field work would be uncommon in production housing.  OTOH, I have not seen plywood treads - only plywood risers.  Factory built stairs for economy homes around here most often have 1 1/4" think (I think it is) dense OSB type material for treads.  It would seem that it would be a bit hard to put a nosing on plywood.

      1. blue_eyed_devil | Apr 06, 2007 01:09am | #7

        3/4 will work fine if adequately supported. By the time adequate support is added, it's often cheaper to use heavier treadstock.

        blue"...

        keep looking for customers who want to hire  YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you  a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and  "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead  high...."

        From the best of TauntonU.

    2. AllTrade | Apr 06, 2007 01:18am | #8

      It all depends on how many stringers there are. Cant knock it till we know it

      1. philjohnwilliams | Apr 06, 2007 06:36am | #9

        how many stringers do you think would be needed? somebody here mentioned one down the middle, is there a standard regarding maximun spacing between stringers?

        -pjw

        1. Geoffrey | Apr 06, 2007 08:32am | #11

             "good practice"  standard would be max. 24" span......a standard width staircase (approx. 36") should always have 3 stringers, IMHO,......3/4" ply spanning 36" will eventually give up the ghost, the screws thru the riser (assuming 3/4" ply here too) into the back of the tread will eventually fail under heavy use (kids, dogs, active family etc...) and the screws thru the front of the tread into the top of the riser will eventually split the grain there too. If you use solid wood risers you will eliminate most of these issues, but really you need the third stringer to really strengthen the assembly.

                            Geoff

        2. blue_eyed_devil | Apr 06, 2007 03:37pm | #14

          The stringer down the middle is there for several reasons. The problem with plywoon treads is that they tend to sag between supports a lot more than dimensional treads would.

          blue"...

          keep looking for customers who want to hire  YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you  a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and  "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead  high...."

          From the best of TauntonU.

        3. AllTrade | Apr 07, 2007 03:26pm | #15

          When using 1 1/2 lumber I use a stringer down the middle on a 36" wide stair case with or without kickplates.

          When using 5/4 I use 4 stingers if there are no kickplates 3 if i have kickplates

          I have never used and will not use 3/4 plywood for anything but maybe kickplates

          If I had to I would use a 12" spacing with a good kick plate that I can nail into for  front tred support and rear.

          I

          1. User avater
            Matt | Apr 07, 2007 04:35pm | #16

            When you say "kickplates" do you mean risers?  Sorry, I've just never heard that term used in this context.

          2. FDC | Apr 07, 2007 04:47pm | #17

            Do you mean ply or vantec, everyone here is using either vantec scraps or 2/10

            Rule of thumb for stringers is over 36 then middle stringer, but use of ply or vantec, not solid material would would place stringer spacing closer

          3. AllTrade | Apr 07, 2007 10:36pm | #18

            Yes Risers.

        4. woodguy99 | Apr 08, 2007 02:16am | #19

          I like to go 12" to 16" spacing on stringers.  For 36" to 48" stairs that means 4 stringers.  2x12's, not 2x10's. 

           

          1. philjohnwilliams | Apr 10, 2007 06:14am | #20

            thanks again too all who have taken time to respond. i now know more about stair construction than i ever thought i would. in the end, my brother in law decided to go for the hardwood upgrade.

            -pjw

  6. BillBrennen | Apr 06, 2007 08:06am | #10

    I tore out the crappy stairs in my home's 1982 addition. The ones I built will eventually have carpet, but not for another year, and I built them in 2003! I built them on two stringers, cut from the old stringer stock...nice and dry. Stringers are screwed to the stairwell walls through 1x spacers to allow drywall to be slid in.

    Steps are 36.5" wide, cut from 1-1/8" ply with 3/8" roundover on top and bottom of each nosing. Risers are 3/4" CDX. Everything is screwed together, and glued with PL Premium. Each riser is screwed from the back to the tread below and from the top through the tread above.

    When I was done I coated them with polyurethane varnish to look nicer and be cleanable. They are solid like a rock and not bad looking, either. I used plywood for the stability, and am very happy with the result. Not one squeak has ever escaped these stairs. They are all locked inside for future remodelers to find!

    Bill

  7. alrightythen | Apr 06, 2007 08:42am | #12

    Interior stairs are one thing I like to over build. I learned to do it this way when I worked for custom framing crew framing big homes. three stringers, and nothing but 1" plywood treads.

    When I attened Jed Dixon's stair building clinic at the JLC show in Seattle last November he used 3/4" ply for treads. for his mock up he only had the two outer stringers. I asked him abou that, he said he always uses a middle stinger as well, but for quick set up at the show he just had the 2 stingers. 3/4 ply supported with the extra stinger is fine.

    I will continue using 1" ply though - you can walk an elephant up it. I hate the use of 2x stock for interior treads. that is something they did 30 years ago..... also the 1 1/2" nosing is huge, smaller nosing looks much better IMO.

    1. tuolumne | Apr 06, 2007 02:42pm | #13

      We put carpet on the stairs...good thing with the kids always falling down them.  I used 3/4" ply glued and screwed for treads and risers.  I do have 4 stringers, so the span is only a little over 13".  They're as solid as you could like with no squeaks or other problems.  I rounded over the top surface a bit, but with carpet and pad installed the nosings are not the least bit angular.

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