Installation of hardwood flooring on stairs

You may walk up and down the stairs in your home on a daily basis, but have you stopped to think about how they are designed? When installing vinyl plank flooring on stairs, there are three parts to keep in mind.

The tread is the board that goes across the top of each stair, and can also be the widest depending on the size of the staircase. On the front of each stair are risers that are vertical and cover the front of each stair. Stair nosing also receives heavy foot traffic and is found across the edge of the tread and top of the riser.

If your stairs are hardwood, you may not want to cover them with the adhesive needed for vinyl flooring on stairs, so consider any future plans. Spindles, stringer fascia, and shoe mouliding should also be taken into account beforehand along with pre-cut planks designed for stairways. Using boxed vinyl flooring has several advantages as it provides an unlimited palette of styles and is considerably cheaper in most cases. With that in mind, some vinyl flooring manufacturers produce pre-cut vinyl pieces that you can simply glue down in place.

One of the most recognizable names in this area would be Shaw, who has a product called Treadz. While they are incredibly easy to install, each piece only includes the tread and nosing — not the riser. Another company with matching stair treads is Mannington with SimpleStairs.

This is another tread cover designed to fit over the top of each tread along with the nose. Not all brands will have coordinating pieces, but the ones that do may match your existing floor or make life easier from an installation standpoint. Cap A Tread is one of the more popular options from Home Depot, although there are vinyl risers and treads from well over a dozen companies. When you plan to install traditional plank flooring on a staircase, the first thing to remember before making a tool list are drying times.

You can lay vinyl plank flooring directly on top of other hard surfaces that are fixed or nailed into place but may ruin the surface below with the adhesives used for the treads or risers. Circular saws. Floor cutters. Floor cutters are an option as well, however, and can be used indoors with no electricity and they do not leave sawdust behind. Adhesive is also required for vinyl plank flooring on stairs, and can actually be the most challenging thing for homeowners to wrap their heads around.

From liquid nails to adhesive caulk, there is no shortage of options when it comes to adhesive for vinyl flooring. Roberts mixture. Below is a list of items you would need to install hardwood flooring on the stair landing:. These are a few elements that you would need to install hardwood on the stair landing. Before you start installing, buying adequate planks and nose strips are necessary.

To get an idea about how many planks you may need for covering the stairs, you have to use a measuring tape or scale to measure the area. Use the tape to measure the length and width of the stair landing. Now when you are going to buy the planks, give the measurements to the seller and tell the number of stair steps the staircase has.

According to that, the seller would provide you with enough tongue and groove hardwood planks. Along with the hardwood planks, you would also need to buy some stair nose strips. The length measurement of the stairs would help you determine the length of stair nose strips you would need.

The stair nose strips are needed to cover the seams of the stairs that stick out of the stair landing. The first task is to trim and shape the stair nose strips and then install them across the outer seam of each stair landing. To do so, measure the length of the stair landing, transfer the measurement to the stair nose strip, and use a table saw to cut the strip into pieces.

Now position the stair nose strips at the edge so that the lip touches the seam of the stair landing platform. After you place the stair nose strips, use a nail gun to fix the strips across the seams of the stair landings.

Place the nails at an angle to fix it well to the stairs. In this way, place the stair nose strips across the seams of all the stairs. Now that the stair nose strips are in place, you need to install the hardwood flooring on the stairs. First, you would need to measure the length and width of the stair landing platform once again. Transfer the measurement to the tongue and groove hardwood flooring and cut them into pieces using a table saw to fit the stair landing area.

Next, adjust the tongue of the hardwood plank with the groove of the nosing strips. As they get attached, the plank is now firmly on the stair landing platform. To make the fitting better, use a rubber mallet to gently hit the plank into the stair nose strip groove. In the end, nail the plank and strip it together across the outer edge of the stair landing.

For instance, if you have installed one long plank and then a short plank in the first row, do the opposite in the second row. This enhances the beauty of the stair flooring.

So now, cut the pieces of hardwood planks to install in the second row of flooring on the stair landing. Mix and match the length of the boards and install them by nailing the boards on the stair landing platform. Just the way you have installed the previous rows of hardwood flooring, do the same for the last row of the stair landing flooring. Measure the length and width of the remaining portion of the stair landing. According to the measurement, cut and trim a hardwood plank.

After you shape the hardwood plank, place it gently across the empty portion that meets the riser. After you place the last row of planks, fix them gently into the groove of the adjacent plank.

Use the rubber mallet to make the fitting better. As the fitting becomes good, nail the plank to the stair land flooring. As you install the first landing of the staircase, do the same for the other landing areas in the staircase.

The Best Timber to use for your Staircase Blackbutt. Spotted Gum. Pine is soft and responds to humidity by expanding and contracting. You can seal and protect pine treads with a deep application of penetrating oil stain topped with a finishing coat of shellac.

Because Yellow pine is harder in density than other types of wood, it is a great option for wood flooring as well as wood stairs projects. In addition to it being a good choice for wood projects because of its overall functionality, it is also one of the most affordable and economic choices.

Apply Varnish or Oil Wood Oil —the most common preservers for wooden stairs and just a couple of coats can last for years. When you apply the oil, the woods pores soak it up which helps reduce how much water is absorbed, preventing the wood from rotting and keeping it strong. Both oak and pine are durable. While oak has an advantage in the strength department, pine does offer strength and stiffness that makes it a solid choice.

Then multiply the length by the width to get your square footage. One of the best alternatives for a chalk line is a laser line or laser level.

Most have a suction cup so you can firmly attach it to either a vertical or horizontal surface. SeniorCare2Share Care about seniors? Have knowledge?