Repairing plywood on stairs

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Hi folks,

Following some water damage, we had to remove our wood floors. The dry out company removed engineered wood planks from stairs as well as they were the same as the wood that ran throughout the first level.

1. Is there a recommended way to prep / repair plywood on stairs that got damaged during removal of glue down engineered wood planks. I received different suggestions from different flooring contractors.

a. Replace the 1" think plywood treads completely

b. Sand / grind the treads to remove the leftover glue followed by patching up the stairs using some heavy cement

c. The insurance company's contractor suggested patching the plywood stairs with cement and leveling it for lvt install.

Hard to make out in pictures, but at some places the the gashes go at least the thickness of first layer.

2. On second level, we have OSB floor. What is the recommended way to prep it for LVT install that requires a perfectly level sub floor.

Please advise.

Thanks!

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Comments (2)

SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
When it comes to stairs and retreading, you need to maintain code. Finishing Carpenters are the HIGH END experts who deal with stairs and code. Stairs have 15+ codes they need to meet. If an old stair case is 'upgraded' with a change in surface (ie. carpet to LVP), then the entire stair case must be brought up to modern code (you lose the 'grandfather' clause). If you continue with carpet (replace carpet with carpet), you maintain the 'grandfather' clause = no need to bring in the expensive Finishing Carpenters.

In your case, the plywood subfloor has been compromised and the surface is no longer viable to put down new flooring. You are moving from a thicker floor to a thinner floor. This changes the rise and the run of the stairs.

Your insurance company should be paying for the Finishing Carpenter to come in and resurface the stairs.

Stairs are normally more expensive than a flooring project. I would insist on the expertise of a Finishing Carpenter before moving forward with a quote. And make sure the finishing carpenter is the PERSON who does the WORK stated in the quote. Don't settle for a Bait and Switch.
prady22 thanked SJ McCarthy
prady22
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks SJ McCarthy for detailed response. Very helpful.
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