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stair risers-plywood?

alwaysoverbudget | Posted in Construction Techniques on April 7, 2007 04:50am

doing some stairs to the basement,if i had any sense i would  osb and carpet them,but hey thats what a guy does that trys to stay in budget.  so anyway going to do oak treads and i’m running a little short on oak for the risers .  would there be any problem with with making the risers out of oak veneer plywood?  i always see if the treads are oak the risers are solid oak so there must be a reason and i just don’t know it.thanks larry

hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.

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  1. woodguy99 | Apr 07, 2007 06:47pm | #1

    I usually use birch plywood for paint-grade stairs, don't see why it wouldn't work just as well to use oak plywood. 

    Only thing would be that plywood often has rotary-sawn grain that doesn't look like a solid board.  If you could get flitch-sawn grain it would look better.

     

     

  2. grpphoto | Apr 07, 2007 06:51pm | #2

    Only thing I can think of is that the stringers might expand and shrink with seasonal changes and the plywood won't. My feeling is that it wouldn't cause problems.

    George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

    1. fingersandtoes | Apr 07, 2007 10:30pm | #3

      A good way around that is to laminate your stringers from two layers of 3/4" ply too. I started doing it when the 2"x12" my lumberyard started sending me just required too much fiddling around and too many screws to hold cracked pieces together. It takes next to no time, just some forethought to allow the glue to dry or its a bit messy cutting them.

      1. grpphoto | Apr 08, 2007 05:25am | #4

        Yep, that's one good way. Another good way is to use an LVL beam, like a Versalam.George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

        1. Mark | Apr 08, 2007 08:19am | #5

          I've seen a few people  use laminated beams for stringers.  Seems like it would be the cat's meow!   But my curiosity is piqued now with this laminating your own out of plywood suggestion..   This just might work....

          Getting back to the origional question...   Actually if you can live with the difference in grain and overall appearance,  plywood is a much better product to use for risers than solid wood.  with solid wood, you always have the potential of it cracking and becoming an annoying squeak.  This won't happen with plywood." If I were a carpenter"

          1. grpphoto | Apr 09, 2007 03:28am | #6

            As far as I'm concerned, the main problem with laminating stuff out of plywood is that it's only 8' long. Sure, you stagger the joints, but that still means that there are places in that "beam" that are pretty weak. The OP described laminating two 3/4" plywood strips together to form a 1 1/2" stringer. My take is that at every joint, that stringer is really only 3/4" thick. Sure, you could use 1/4" plywood and stagger the joints even more and get something really solid, but then you're getting pretty close to making your own Versalam. I'll spring the bucks and let them make it for me.Now, if you're going half flights with a landing, that's a different matter.George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service

  3. Piffin | Apr 09, 2007 02:00pm | #7

    if you are clear or stain finishing, the grain will appear different and it will take stain differently. I would want to use that difference at the very bottom ones where it shows less, or use ply for all risers and solid for alll treads.

    Also, be sure that your chainsaw is sharpened so it doesn't splinter the veneer away as much
    ;)

     

     

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    1. alwaysoverbudget | Apr 09, 2007 04:13pm | #8

      i just got a new chain for the saw,i'm ready. these stairs will be a combination of the risers being stained a walnut/mahagoney tone and the treads will be left natural oak. so that will take your eye off of the grain difference. the plywood is a rift cut that i have,has a great look to it unstained but when it stains i'm a little unhappy with it,but i have used  1/4 sawn ply before and it had the same  board slat look to it also,where one veneer stains light next is darker then back to light. thanks larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.

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