Renovating stair case - How to get rid of the carpet?
As the subject says.
I want to get rid of the carpet from the stair case. Looking at different options I really see using the laminate planks might be the best idea.
The treads nosing profile is my first problem - round bull nose.
Did anyone have any experience in doing the job? I appreciate any hints.
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If you're lucky the timber underneath is good enough to sand and stain/lacquer or paint.Originally Posted by fromaron
If you really want to put something back over it maybe consider vinyl.
Alternatively if you wanted to go ahead with your laminate planks you could maybe plane the bullnose to square (depends how far back the kickboard is from the front of the steptread really)
The existing treads should already be profiled from the day they were installed and I would be surprised when the stairs were built, adding carpet was an optional extra because as far as I know, you dont build stairs to be carpeted only because tastes and fashions change and there is no way you would want to have to replace the treads to suit either use.
Just remember bare wood will be noisier and wear faster than when carpeted or other covering used and if left bare, make sure each tread face is as non slip as possible as its no fun to go down a 10 tread stair case in a single bound, 2 are bad enough.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say, I just dont ever remember saying it !!
Well said, Gordon, I've not had any experience with internal stair cases but, what you say makes perfect sense.
Yes, I thought about the slippery stairs problem as well and agree with the point.
I have to also add my kids when were younger managed to slip carpeted stairs few times as well. So I will use something to prevent people skipping few.
As far as the tread profile goes, as I want to use hard wood I wasn't able to find any solutions yet to cover the tread profile being round bull nose. I can see solutions to deal with a square nosing or without nosing at all. The square nosing can be covered but it will not look nice so at the moment I can't see any better ideas but cutting the nosing off completely as suggested by weirdo.
To conform to building regulations I would strongly recommend you read up on the height, width and depth of a staircase tread and you may find what you think is 'bullnosed' maybe the affect of the carpet coming over the leading edge once you lift the carpet.
Also based on those I have seen outside and home reno programs, most likely there is a centre brace supporting the tread as well.
Last edited by gordon_s1942; 07-06-15 at 09:42 PM.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say
If the stairs were carpeted then the edge will be bullnosed to prevent the carpet being worn/cut on the sharp leading edge
What you say, Gordon makes perfect sense. I already checked the building regulation and after I cut the tread nosing it still confirms.
The solution I have in mind will create a new nosing with a new added riser so it should work fine.
When you say supporting centre brace might be there, what problem it can give me if I cut the nosing off?
As watchdog mentioned the round bull nose was a standard feature of the carpeted stairs and I have exactly that. I can see this from the treads ends - they are not carpeted.
As you can see from the pic I also have few more challenges to overcome.
So the first one is the round bull nose.
Then I have the bull nose on the right side of the tread plus two iron bars I need to take care off.
Last edited by fromaron; 07-06-15 at 11:17 PM.
What might be an issue if you take the bullnose off is that the support brace does not have enough "meat" to attach to, but, from that photo the treads look to be a solid piece of timber, which is likely, given my guess at the age of the place from that photo. Why are you worried about the bullnose anyway. You can remove the carpet, sand, and stain the timber to suit without having to put anything (apart from anti skid strips) over the surface anyway.
I see.
I had in mind using the so called Quick step laminate for stair cases. It looks reasonably neat and easy to install from their web site and as I didn't do sanding, staining jobs before I wasn't sure it will give me the result I look for - the presentation.
The more I weigh in pros and cons I think I should forget the laminate idea and use what I already have.
I guess I need to get few practical lessons first on sanding and staining techniques.
Last edited by fromaron; 08-06-15 at 06:19 PM.
Providing the timber is sound and is 'safe' regarding the lip or edge, as Issemens says that except for giving the treads a good tidy up, why change whats already there?
I only mentioned the possibility of a centre brace might be there to help you decide how thick a tread might need to be to stop it flexing if none is there.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say
I checked the stairs, the treads are solid wood so I guess the best option is to keep the structure and give it the finish I want.
What scares me a bit is the paint stripping without damaging the wood work. The treads are not painted all along, just two sides on each tread were painted as the carpet meant to go in in a middle.
I intend trying the paint chemical striping on one tread to start with and see if it does the job. Otherwise I might be signing up for a long painful process using sandpaper with the risk of damaging the timber.
It's an enamel paint used to paint doors and skirting boards. I assume treads had 3 coates - feels thick). Need to find something that does a good job.
Go down to your local paint store and talk to them about the issue, they'll most likely have heard it all before.
fromaron (10-06-15)
Do as Isemmens suggests and have a talk to your local Hardware store and you'll probably find they will suggest one of the variety of Paint strippers on the market which from what I have seen remove the paint without affecting the wood under it.
If you do use Paint stripper, READ the INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY, wear gloves, googles and a hair cover.
DO NOT USE in unventilated areas, have half a bucket of water (tepid) handy with both Rags and paper towels handy.
Most strippers are like a unset jelly and you brush onto the surface and leave for the recommended time.
Any sort of metal or plastic scrapers will do and have an old container, NOT PLASTIC to put the dissolved residue in and dispose of as recommended.
You would be amazed at some of the tools and shapes used to scrape paint away from all the knooks and crannies, old table knives filed down work well.
Plain simple water will neutralise the stripper so dont be afraid to use it
When your scrapping away the residue, use a sort of rounded edged scraper so that it slides over the wood and wont dig in.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say
fromaron (10-06-15)
Are googles anything like goggles?
Thank you guys for the suggestions. I think I have a good plan now to implement.
I will post pics when its all done.
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