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We just installed maple floors in a new house and want to stain and finish it ourselves, to match the prefinished hardwood floors. Is there a special varnish that’s needed to finish the treads?

I’ve just finished putting laminate on my stairs. They look great but the squeaking is terrible. I made sure before I put the flooring down that all the squeaks in the rough lumber were gone. Any suggestions?

I contracted with someone to install hardwood stairs in my home. The oak stair treads they have purchased for the job are 1 inch thick, and to have a solid inner core, but are covered with a thin veneer (4 mm) of oak. They were bought at a local Home depot store and HD insists that the treads are the same as getting a normal 1 inch all solid tread. The installation is being done and I am wondering if the treads will be as durable as the ones that are 100% solid throughout…

I’ve taken carpet off stairs and am preparing to lay oak on treads and oak veneer on risers. I plan to leave spruce stringers and just repaint them. But I can see that when I cut back the existing nosings of about 1 3/8″ to be flush with riser there will be an ugly gap and rough edge of the existing nosing in the stringer where I cut the nosing back, which will not be fully covered by new solid oak nosing. If I simply sand, wood fill this, and then paint over it, will that work or is there a better technique? Also, what’s the best power tool to use to cut back the nosings so I can get in tight to the stringers?

On replacing solid slab (oak) treads over existing pine (construction grade) treads to the basement, I wanted to match the look of our upstairs (oak treads) added over the original treads. Judging by the previous work, it doesn’t look like they cut back the previous bull nose or rounded front edge and just shimmed-out the risers. I guess my question is, do you always need to cut back the original overhang nose? Is that still true if the tread is rabbeted or recessed into the end stringers?

I have just completed installing pre-finished strip hardwood flooring and have lots left over. Can I use it for treads on my stairs? From looking around on the Internet it seems special treads that cover the entire width of the stairs are the norm. My stairs are 42″ wide stairs but the longest hardwood strip is about 30″ so there would have to be a joint. Do you see a problem with this approach other than the aesthetics? In addition, should I stain the nosing before or after installation.

I am covering my stairs, which have existing plywood treads with 3′1/4″ x 3/4″ unfinished Quartersawn Red Oak. My questions are: what is the best way to finish this wood? and would it be advantageous to glue up pieces of wood to make stair treads before nailing them down, almost like a tabletop? I have the tools and equipment to do this and I assume it would give it more strength.

I am planning to install hardwood floors in my second floor. Currently it is carpeted. The stairs are oak with a carpet runner. The subfloor upstairs is plywood and the height matches the height of the stair nose at the top of the stairs. Once installed, the new hardwood floor would sit 3/4″ - 1″ above the existing stair nose at the top of the stairs. What options do I have to bridge this gap in floor height versus stair height?

I am looking at replacing my carpet covered stair treads with the oak slab treads. The existing treads are 1 1/2″ thick pine. Can I remove the treads and risers and replace with new? If I place the new treads on top of the existing ones the stair steps will not be the same highth on the top and bottom steps. Should I use a thinner, 1/2″ or 3/4″ thick tread with a 1″ lip? Also how difficult is it to remove the existing treads and risers? I am an experienced woodworker so I can make any type of tread I need to.

What is the best way to cover an existing staircase with wood? With hard wood or laminated?

I am installing oak hardwood flooring, using stair nosing’s, on a staircase which is partially open on one side. What is the best way to match up the ends of the risers with the stair skirt?

I’m installing new solid birch treads on my stairs. What is the best way of fastening them to the stringers? I am thinking glue and screw. Also, what is the best way to cover up the screw holes on my treads? Wood putty or wooden dowels?

For installing hardwood on stairs, the nose profiles that I saw have the groove. That means that if I start from the nose, I will only have access to the groove end of the strips. The nailer I believe nails on the tongue edge. So how would you nail the strips down once you have the nose glued/nailed? Or do you mean that I should start installing from the riser of the bottom tread up to the nose, and install the nose with glue and face nails?

I am building a custom staircase, with 12″ Aluminum C-channel for stringers. I am looking for solid wood treads, around 2″ thick, by roughly 12″ wide, and 36″ long. Walnut, Oak, or light Cherry are valid wood options. Can you please tell me if you have anything along these lines?

I have a set of stairs that run along a wall and are open front and back (no risers) and each tread is wrapped in carpet. From what I can tell, these treads are 2 x 12 construction fir. My question is: If I pull the carpet off, can I sand the glue off and sand it smooth enough to be able to stain/polyurethane each tread?I was considering applying a Hardwood Laminate to each tread, top and bottom (since each are exposed to the eye), but was worried that there is not a stair nose wide enough to cover those dimensions (1 ½’ tread plus the thickness of laminate x 2). What would you suggest?

We are in the process of remodelling. Our stairs have plywood on them now. We have decided to use red oak on them. Do you know the proper staining and varnishing process?

We are replacing carpeted stairs with oak stair treads. We ripped up the carpet and pulled up the existing pine boards. My husband says we have to put plywood under the 1 ½ inch oak treads we purchased. I say we just have to replace the risers and glue and nail the treads to the stringers, The treads are 41″ across, and there are three stringers, left, middle, and right.

I would like to change/darken the stained color of the stairs. Which product could I use over polyurethane without sanding or stripping existing coats? Would a stained polyurethane product work over the clear polyurethane as sort of a top-coat?

I have a new (and as yet unfinished) hardwood spiral stairs constructed of American White Ash and want to apply a durable finish that can be used on the whole stairs – treads, balusters and handrail. We have used a water based lacquer elsewhere on some white oak flooring but I am advised this will be more troublesome on stairs because of wear and difficulty of maintenance. I am being guided towards an oiled finish because it is easier to maintain – just apply some more – and because it is more non-slip. If this is the way to go, the question then is which one? For example, Liberon do Danish Oil, Tung Oil, Floor Sealer etc?. We want to achieve a pleasant sheen. Also, importantly, we want a light honey colouration to the end result to accentuate the delightful wood grain.

What is the best type of sander and what are the best grades of paper to use to sand pine stair treads before refinishing? How can I get right to the edges of the treads? Would a detail sander be useful for the last stage?