Wooden Staircase?

[MikeMc]

Hi everyone,

I am re-modeling my home which is 25 years old. It has a staircase that raises to a platform, turns left and rises to the 2nd floor. The only part of the staircase that is visible along the sides is the bottom step as the staircase is encased on both sides by drywall.

The stairway is covered in carpeting right now but due to other remodeling I have seen that it is a simple step/riser staircase typical of a residential home. The steps and risers appear to be pretty warped and/or cupped in some locations.

What I will need to do is reface/replace the steps and risers, build a bannister for the 2nd floor and several hand rails. My intent is to remove the facing drywall so I will have complete access to the stairs.

Has anyone re-modeled a wooden staircase like this and do you have any suggestions or information that might make the project easier?

Thanks in advance.

[masterz]

Get a few books on the matter. There are various regulations you should pay attention to when building stairs.

If you are going to go with something like maple treads, I recommend you buy them pre-made. It's probably not worth the effort to make them yourself.

Are your stringers in good shape? Chances are you'll wait to replace them if your existing treads and risers are in bad shape. There are various ways of making the stringers and how to attach the treads and risers to them, especially for the sides. I recently replaced mine recently. I went with a regular stringer for the center and housed stringers for the sides. I think it looks much nicer than just having the stairs go into the drywall. Also, you won't need to do much or any drywall repair. The housed stringers are tricky to make, but you really just need a router with a template. The tricky part is making the template. It can also be a little tricky if you don't have complete access from the back side, since since you need to put shims in to lock them in place. Also, use construction adhesive liberally.

I also saved a bit of money by using pine for the risers along with the maple treads. You really can't tell, but maybe that's because there's no natural light in the area.

[Dave]

Your not going to know what your going to have to do until you remove the carpet and drywall. A lot of it is going to depend on the original construction of the stair. I build structural steel framing, stairs and rails for a living. When we go to museums my wife looks at the artwork on the walls, i look straight up at the construction of the building.

If your rebuilding the entire stair try and keep you risers 7" or under, that is usually building code commercial buildings and a comfortable step. And keep them consistent! Don't vary the height of the risers, if it is even an 1/8" different you will trip on that tread every time.

If your keeping the existing stringers snap some chalk lines on the stringer (nosing line) and keep the start of your treads consistent.

As Jason said there are several books available on different construction techniques, but the biggest piece of advice i can give is consistency. The smallest difference will make people trip all the time.

[MikeMc]

Your not going to know what your going to have to do until you remove the carpet and drywall. A lot of it is going to depend on the original construction of the stair. I build structural steel framing, stairs and rails for a living. When we go to museums my wife looks at the artwork on the walls, i look straight up at the construction of the building.

If your rebuilding the entire stair try and keep you risers 7" or under, that is usually building code commercial buildings and a comfortable step. And keep them consistent! Don't vary the height of the risers, if it is even an 1/8" different you will trip on that tread every time.

If your keeping the existing stringers snap some chalk lines on the stringer (nosing line) and keep the start of your treads consistent.

As Jason said there are several books available on different construction techniques, but the biggest piece of advice i can give is consistency. The smallest difference will make people trip all the time.

No, I really do know exactly what the structure looks like. I removed the drywall off of the alternate wall and examined the treads, and stringers etc. They extended through the drywall. I also have access to the underside of the stairs. My intention is not to change the dimensions of the stairway, just to either face it with oak or another wood or replace the treads and risers with another material or possibly just better/straighter material.

Added picture of treads, stringer and risers as viewed from opposite wall.

[masterz]

If your stringers are good, keep them. You can always make a skirtboard to go over the stairs to hide the transition to the wall. Where they meet the rounded edge of the tread, notch off the end, or round over the skirtboard where they meet. You can probably just get treads to replace what you have. As Dave said, pay attention to heights. I assume the landing is plywood, so if you add something to it, you're going to raise the height. Also pay attention to the height at both of your landings. Your new treads may also be a different thickness from your old treads + carpet. Stairs are definitely one of the more complicated items in carpentry.

[BuilderBill]

Just when you thought you'd seen it all..... Looks like the builder got ahead of himself and put the stairs in before the drywall.

What we normally do when framing stairs is to cut the stringers and nail a 2x4 to the outside to space it off the framing 1-1/2". This gives room for the drywall and a 1x10/1x12 skirt board to go between the stringer and the wall, eliminating a lot of fussy cutting and filling. Then we'll cut 2x4's to the out-out measurement on the stringers for temp treads.

After drywall is done, the skirt boards are the first thing to go on, sliding between the stringer and the drywall and nailed off to the studs. Then we scribe the treads to the skirt with a slight backcut on the ends, using lots of shims to get everything level and subfloor glue everywhere we won't get squeezeout. Easy, peasy. PL400 is your best friend for stair assembly.

Doesn't look like it'd be too hard to do from your picture, just sawzall the nails on the old stringers, nail some 2x4s on the sides, put them back in and cut down your old treads for temps while you do the drywall. Then it's just a matter of starting at the bottom and keeping things level and consistent.

Post us a pic of the finished product!

Bill

[iamwelty2]

Not quite the same, but I refinished the stairs in my 130 year old farmhouse. I think they painted the stairs every two to three years... must have been a zillion coats of paint. Took forever and a half to get it all stripped and sanded, but it really looks nice. Had Walnut threads and old pine risers... looks great! But was a boat-load of work.

[PaulMarcel]

The latest issue of Fine Homebuilding has an article on making stairs and covers many details of layout and code. It is for housed treads and talks about how to make the router jig needed for consistency. Very well written article. Since I'm a subscriber and got it last week, I think it'll be another week before that issue is out. While it talks mostly about new stair building, there'll be a lot there you can take away to replace or rebuild these stairs.

[Dave]

I would probably just face the treads and risers with the wood of choice. After you take off the carpet and padding and add the new wood tread the riser height is not going to be that different. Essentially it is only going to change the first and last riser dimensions.

[PaulMarcel]

I didn't have the FHB issue with me when I posted that... it's the November 2010 issue and it doesn't mention the article on the cover so you wouldn't suspect anything.

I did what Dave suggested: I tore out the carpet and refaced mine with cork treads, lacewood risers, and walnut bullnoses. I like it... cork is nice on your feet, too, and not slippery like non-hardwood, non-cork, non-carpet options.