Table of Contents
Should stair treads be glued?
Don’t fasten treads and or risers with only nails or staples. The adhesive is much more important than the fasteners. There will be times when fastening may be limited, so a good adhesive is critical. Rely on the front edge of the riser for your level surface.
Should stair treads or risers be installed first?
When installing stairs, install the riser first, and then the tread. Start at the bottom of the stairs and work your way up, alternating risers and treads. The back of each tread will sit flush against the riser. Treads and risers fasten with construction adhesive to the subfloor.
Can I put new stair treads over existing?
Retro-fitting stair treads is the simplest solution for a DIY’er intent on installing hardwood treads over an existing flight of stairs. High-quality prefinished stair treads are made of solid edge-glued wood—not a veneered or engineered material—and can be used to “cap” or reface an existing tread.
Can you put new stair treads over old ones?
With the overhang removed, your new risers can go right to the top of the old stair. Use a generous amount of construction adhesive under each tread and riser. Affix a riser, then cap it by also gluing and screwing the tread down.
Should I screw or nail stair treads?
Don’t fasten treads and or risers with only nails or staples. The adhesive is much more important than the fasteners. There will be times when fastening may be limited, so a good adhesive is critical. Rely on the front edge of the riser for your level surface.
Which adhesive is best for stair treads?
A polyurethane glue, such as Loctite PL Premium, is a highly recommended adhesive. Since the stair treads, or the surface of your stairs, receives a lot of foot traffic, you’ll want to make sure it’s properly installed.
Where do you nail stair treads?
Drill three pilot holes for nails through the top of the tread at each stringer. Space the innermost and outermost pilot holes 1 1/2-inch from the respective edges of the tread. Drill the center pilot holes midway between the front and back edges of the tread.
How far should a tread overhang the riser?
Stairs must have an overhang between 3/4″ to 1-1/4” to increase the depth of the step, making it better for descent while maintaining a clear 10-inch going for the ascent. Treads that are 11-inches deep or greater do not require an overhang.
Can I use 2×10 for stair treads?
It is acceptable and within building code guidelines to use either 2×10 or 2×12 dimensional lumber to create a set of stairs; however, a stair stringer should not be less than 3.5 inches wide at its narrowest point to provide adequate strength for the load the stairs will be supporting.
How much overhang should there be on a stair tread?
The nosing on treads, believe it or not, has a code minimum and maximum of how far the nosing projects over the next stair. Nosings are required to overhang a minimum of ¾-in. to a maximum of 1-¼-in. Also the maximum nosing radius cannot exceed 9/16 of an inch.
What is under a stair tread?
Staircase Basics Nosing is the portion of the tread that overhangs the front of the riser. Often a stair builder will talk about the rise and run of the stair. The rise is the vertical dimension from tread to tread, while the run is the horizontal dimension from riser to riser (not including the nosing).
Can I use Liquid Nails for stair treads?
We no longer recommend using Liquid Nails® brand products. Because Liquid Nails’ products are labeled very similarly and packaging can vary between location and retailer, we strongly discourage the use of any other brand of adhesive, including Liquid Nails, for your stair installation.
Can you use a brad nailer for stair treads?
This small brad nailer (from Harbor Freight) was a well-spent $18 and I can use this for many other projects too. The large bad-boy Hitachi nail gun is the one I got from Lowes earlier in our project and we used it for all the board and batten. We used 2 1/2” nails for the stair treads.
How do you attach tread to a stringer?
Squeeze a second bead along the back side of the tread, the side that will be butted up against the riser. Set the stair tread in place and tap the front edge with a rubber mallet to form a bond with the glue and the riser. Tap along the top of the tread at the stringers to form a bond with the glue there.
How do you put Bullnose on stairs?
There are two ways to add a bullnose effect to stair treads or steps: routing or molding. The routed edge is the only option for round steps. The molding option includes half-round molding or stair-nose molding on the front of the step. They attach to the front of the step with glue and nails.
What is an overlapping stair nose?
What is an overlapping stair nose? An overlapping stair nose creates a transition to the edge of your step where the flooring meets the transition by overlapping the flooring on the back end instead of being flush. Stair noses can also be used for open balconies or step downs in an open concept space.
Why is nosing required on stairs?
Nosing provides a larger surface area to step on, which makes walking up and down much easier. Stair nosing helps protect the most exposed areas of the stair tread from damage and general wear. In the case of wooden or concrete stairs, this is especially important as the tread may chip or break if heavily used.
