wooden stair tread replacement

[penny trupiano]

Good afternoon everyone. Since my last post I have realized that what needs to be done is to rebuild the foundation under the area of the kitchen. It was apparently torn down to gain access to the addition and since it has been torn out it needs to be replaced in order to fix the weight bearing wall with the properly footed columns.
This post centers around another issue
We have a stairwell going to the upstairs with a staircase that is in need of repair. The risers appear to be in good shape but the treads are in bad shape. There are a few that are cracked all the way through and the others are worn badly. The problem that I have is that it appears to have closed stringers and only a small space at the base of each riser is open. We can't afford to rebuild the whole staircase. What would you do to replace the treads. They are 1 inch thick and backed by the riser. The stairs rise at a perpendicular angle above the basement stairs. Thanks Penny

[phansford]

The tread can be installed two ways.

a. It can simple rest on top of the stringers and the lower riser. The upper riser would sit on top of the tread. You just carefully removed the tread and replace it.

b. The stair stringers could have a rabit and the tread might actually slide into the decorative stringer trim. This takes more skill and would require a professional carpenter.

You need to determine what things you can do yourself and what things you need to contract professional help.

If all else fails - email these guys and maybe they'll make a house call.

[penny trupiano]

Thank you for your help. I am actually thinking of chiseling the bottom inch of the riser off and "sliding" the tread outthe back. This would essentially reverse the way the tread and risers are laid out. I don't see why it wouldn't work. When I replace the tread I would slide it back into the "slot" in the stringer from the back and the riser would now rest on top of the tread. Does this sound reasonable? Would it create too much wiggle in the riser over time? Penny

[birgco]

Hi Penny,
One thing you need to remember is that the treads are attached to the stringers and the risers as an integral structural unit. When you remove and replace the treads, you may be comprising the structural integrity of the staircase unless you know exactly how to replace them with glue, wood shims, etc.

Until you can have the stairs repaired professionally, you may want to try this as an alternate fix.

You will need 3/4 " plywood cut to the approx. size of the cracked treads, PL400 subfloor adhesive (caulking tube size), a screw gun/drill, 1/8 inch drill bit, and 1 1/4 inch exterior deck screws (beige or green color with large philipse head).
Drill a dozen equally spaced pilot holes in the plywood. Apply a dozen or so blobs of the subfloor glue to the top of the plywood "sub tread" (make sure not to smear the adhesive). Press tightly to the underside of the stair tread. Screw the deck screws into the plywood and the stair tread. Let dry for a couple of days and your treads will be stabilized and strong enough to withstand stair traffic. You may also want to try sanding some of the uneveness out of the worn treads with an orbital disk sander. You could be surprised how nice the wood may come out after sanding and a little elbow grease.

[penny trupiano]

I thought about gluing new wood to the tops of the treads at least the weight would be redistributed and prevent the treads from cracking off. But the work involved with gluing new wood to the bottoms would be so much that it would almost be better to have it rebuilt. If it weren't for the access problem your suggestion would be my first choice.

As I said earlier the stairs run perpendicular over the basement stairs. That leaves me about seven inches width on the basement stairs to put a ladder on and of course the upstairs are way over my head so it can't be done without a ladder. That means I would have to build a temporary landing just to get a ladder in. It is to scary to work over the basement stairs and over my head otherwise.

The second problem is that about three feet of plaster work has to be torn out to access the bottom treads which are the worst. At least above that they are accessable. It can be done but these two reasons are why I was considering chiseling a piece out because it may allow me to fix them with out all the extra work.

Alot of the work in rebuilding the stair case would be in tearing it out and the labor time. What would happen if I just put new treads on top of the old ones without removing the old treads? Penny

[phansford]

Penny,

There are no easy answers in renovation. You are searching for a band-aid and you really need to just bite the bullet and correct problems. Temporary or half-a$$ solutions never work out and will create problems down the line.

What will you do at the top of the stairs after you have topped all of the treads with new material........ top the entire upper floor?

As I tell my clients undertaking renovations, you might have less invested in actual materials, but you have more labor costs. You are in a situation where you either need to pull the thing apart and properly make the necessary repairs or you need to hire professionals to come and make the repairs properly.

To quote Super Chicken -

"Fred, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it."



According to one of our contractors, we should budget about $1,500 to replace a stair and an additiional $1,500 if there is a baluster. So for $3-4 K this could be resolved. That is not a lot of money in a renovation project and is an important and visually dominate architectureal feature in any house. Its money well-spent.