). Although you can replace the trim if you are also remodeling that part of your home, the money-saving option is to save the trim for reuse. Apr 11, 2015 - Got an itch to rip the carpet off your stairs? Remove the carpet from the stairs. Remove any remaining material at the ends of the treads with a chisel. In the middle of the tread, make a cut with a handsaw perpendicular to the circular saw cut. A short, dense carpet will handle the heavy traffic and outlast those with longer fibers. Epoxy floor paint is the easiest option since it involves only the application of paint with a brush. Brown earned his bachelor of arts in communications from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. How to Install Laminate Flooring on Open Stairs, How to Remove a Carpet Runner on Wood Stairs, How to Trim Between the Stairs & the Drywall, Freshome: The Pros and Cons of Hardwood vs. Laminate Flooring, Laminate Flooring Installed.com: Installing Laminate Flooring on Stairs Is More Detailed Than Installing the Floor, How to Install Prefinished Wood Flooring on Stairs, How to Transform Carpeted Stairs Into Hardwood. Going with a contrasting patterned carpet on a stair is kind of a less expensive way to achieve the "wood stair with a runner" look. This material is then covered by carpet, which is installed over tack strips that run the perimeter of the stairs. Vinyl Plank on Stairs With Our Special Nosing. Lay a piece of scrap flooring flush against the stringer. L x 1/2 in. Black Friday Weekend Is Here! What Is the Easiest Floor to Use for Replacing Linoleum? If the adjacent surfaces will be carpeted, you will need metal nosing at the top and tack strip at the bottom. Would you like to change your carpeted stairs to wood, check out how we accomplished out budget stair remodel. Stain and clear coat your stairs to give them long-lasting appeal. It is not slippery! DIY replacing carpeted stairs with laminate flooring. Removing the carpet is either incredibly easy or incredibly difficult; there is no middle ground. Our main goal was to rip off the carpet… $60 Carpet to Hardwood Stair … Should Baseboards Be Removed When Replacing Porcelain Tile? Inspect the stair treads for flatness. Loose or rotten sections need to be patched and repaired. Wood and resilient flooring typically are installed directly over the original tread and riser surfaces. Measure the width of the riser from end to end and scribe any out-of-square ends. If adding solid lumber to the riser makes the tread depth too small, cover the riser the laminate flooring or other thin finish material. You will want to take the carpet pad and flatten it against the stair so … Measure each tread separately, as stairs are often slightly out of square and even very small gaps will be visible in the finished product. Years ago, the carpeting on the main staircase in my home was starting to look quite worn. Or you can reinstall a new type of carpet. Building codes specify minimum depths for stair nosings and step treads. Laminate flooring installation requires a perfectly flat surface. Glue needs to be removed if it is present. Extremely high spots can be cut down with a chisel. Cut the nosing along the line using a circular saw. To start, removing carpet costs $75 to $300. … © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Vinyl plank is an ideal and durable product for most stairs. How to Redo Carpet-Covered Stairs. Fill the holes with wood putty that matches the laminate color. If you are looking to replace the carpet on your stairs with the look and feel of wood, laminate flooring can be an affordable option. Fill in any holes in the wood with wood filler. We also recommend investing in a high quality pad to extend your carpet’s life. So the next step was to cut off our existing overhang on each stair. Final thoughts on basement stairs. Replace Carpeted Stairs With Wood Cost. Drive 3 to 4 finish nails into each nosing piece. In addition, there is layer of thinset mortar under the cementboard to adhere it to the stairs, plus another layer on top to adhere the tile material; each layer is roughly 1/8 inch thick when compressed under the installation. Carpeted stairs are less slippery, making carpet a great choice if you have children or stairs … Interior stairs can be covered by several types of material, such as carpet, wood, tile or natural stone and sheet vinyl. Interior stairs can be covered by several types of material, such as carpet, wood, tile or natural stone and sheet vinyl. Traditional installations are a layer of padding that is stapled down onto the wooden stair treads. We did this project over a full weekend and two additional weeks nights following. I absolutely love the look and low maintenance of hardwood flooring, so I got this “great” idea to have the stairway completely re-done, ditching the carpet … Glue the treads into place flush against the back of step with construction adhesive. Consider the look you want for your stairs and the installation process that will be easiest for you when deciding on a type of vinyl … Yes, vinyl stair treads can be returned and have a 180-Day return period. Mark each piece as to which tread it fits. Break the nosing off in two pieces by prying them off with a pry bar. Article by The Lily Pad Cottage. The carpet was old and dirty giving the entry a very dark and dated feel. Apply construction adhesive to the cut pieces of laminate nosing and press them into place on each stair. Matt Brown has been writing professionally for more than 15 years. Tack strips are pried loose with the cat’s claw. It always seems the steps are the first place to show wear. Mark each piece as to which riser it fits. Tim Anderson has been freelance writing since 2007. How to Install Carpet on Stairs - how hard is it? plus check out our favorite featured staircases and then 25 Great Staircases and Entries.And now that you’ve got stair envy… Here’s Stacy to share her carpet-to-wood stair remodel (you might remember her $20 board and batten kitchen island — Stacy knows how to stretch a dollar!). If it is out of square, scribe the angle onto the scrap with a pencil. You can replace the carpet with hardwood stairs easier than you think -- and cheaper (try $60! Remove the carpeting. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Use a stair measuring tool for quick, precise measurements of the stair treads and risers. Hold a straightedge up to the two marks and draw a line across the tread. Sand down high spots with a belt sander. After the carpet has been removed, you have the opportunity to reduce any squeaks that the stairs make. If there were existing hardwoods underneath the carpet, sand them before re-staining. Glue the riser pieces in place. Use a foam brush to apply the stain, … Once things are finished the trim is reinstalled or new trim is put in place of the old to cover the edges of the stairs and encase the whole project for use throughout the years. Glued-down installations will require significantly more effort as well as a floor scraper to help cut the carpet free of the glue. The best rated vinyl stair treads product is the Choice Oak/Black Willow 47 in. Because tile should never be installed directly on top of wood, a layer of cementboard must be used to cover the riser and tread of the stairs. Secure them further with finish nails along the top where the holes will be covered by the nosing. While each type of finish material has its own installation protocols, it’s just a matter of spare time and a little bit of hard work to redo the stairs any way you like. Measure the height from the top of the tread above to the top of the tread below and subtract the thickness of your flooring. Stairway Makeover - Swapping Carpet for Laminate - The Lilypad Cottage. Solution: Carpet the stairs to match. Account for the width riser and the stair nosing that you will install at the front of each tread when taking measurements and making cuts. If your stairs have a switchback, this can be a good place to make a change in floor covering. When you remove the carpet to find either damaged treads or contractor-grade stairs that were always intended to be covered, laminate can, in fact, be an ideal choice for creating the look you want. Before you install any new material to redo the stairs, you first have to prep the stairs and make sure they are in good working condition. Some carpet installations, however, are glued down, making removal of the carpet a nightmare. Something to keep in mind when you are adding tile or natural stone is the finish height of the installation. Replace your stair carpet by following these steps (no pun intended). Drive 2-inch finish nails into the tread along the front where the nails will be covered by the nosing and at the back where they will be covered by the riser. Traditional installations can be pulled up and away from the tack strips with ease, and the padding then pulled up. Inspect the stair treads for flatness. 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