Staircase disaster !

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Hi everyone ,
I’m having such a hard time with my home remodel. We currently have a curved staircase which is a focal point in the home. I wanted one piece with curved edge through the entire stairs. The installer of the floor ran the flooring on the stairs and added the bullnose. I don’t like the lip it’s creating on the stairs and I think it looks awful. Thoughts ?

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BeverlyFLADeziner

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

If you expected the treads to be fabricated from the same wood (I"m assuming prefinished) that is on your first floor, this was likely the only option. Fit the planks to the treads and add the stair nosing. The nosing which is solid is NEVER going to match the planks. I'm assuming this is the nosing designed to match the flooring. With some significant searching, you might find a nosing that is closer in color.

Of course, you can have custom-cut stair treads fabricated for each individual stair by a staircase fabricator (not a flooring contractor because they do not do this) but then the question becomes will the wood of the tread match your installed flooring or will it be different because it isn't factory finished? Likely it will look great but will not match the floor. These are your options.

This is the best answer I can provide given the info presented.

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Comments (7)

The_Lane_Duo
5 years ago
Looks normal to me! Mine has a bullnose very similar. If anything, maybe the bullnose of yours is a slightly different color than the flooring and that is throwing it off. But a lip on the stair like that is normal, in my experience.
chiflipper
5 years ago
My aesthetic prefers treads made of a solid piece of same species, stained to match.
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SJ McCarthy
5 years ago
Beverly is too polite to mention the COST of the custom treads. Assume it will run $300 - $500 per tread (that includes cutting, staining, and installing using a Finishing Carpenter).

The option you have on your treads right now is (roughly) $100 per tread. The noising isn't the correct depth for the thickness of the wood used. This is an issue with the SOURCE of the nosing...not the installer. If the wood floor manufacturer does NOT make matching treads, then this is the best you can expect.

What can be done? You can have a CUSTOMIZED nose (the right depth to sit flush) created (direct from the door and trim company) that they stain FOR YOU (ahem...custom colour). The flooring installers then remove what you have and replace it with the stuff you just paid for.

Nosing can be had for $20 - $25/linear foot (custom milling for depth + custom stain for colour). If each step has 3 linear feet of edge, you are looking at $75 tread. And then you add labour and material to remove old and to affix the new (glue + labour costs). A flooring pro charges $50 per hour on the job for each person who shows up.

A job that requires renosing a stair case = 1 person x all day. That's a $400 - $800 expense (1 person or two...they decide). It will work out to be another $100 per tread.

You have 13 edges....$1300 more for what you want....is the MINIMUM of a job like this. The time frame = 3-4 weeks from now.

You have some decisions to make.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
5 years ago
Should be a solid single piece tread. The joints in the middle looks horrible.
PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
5 years ago
Let us know what you decide to do
PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I agree with G & S Floor Service, it should be a single solid tread... It looks like they used a nosing cap, something like this or similar to this.

It doesn't look like it's finished, so have them take this out and use a one-piece tread especially if this is an entryway and a focal point it needs to be done right or it will look like a half-fast-job.