My good hearted daughter wanted to help fix the stairs in our rental home. She started to take them apart and now I am stuck. How can I get the treads back into the slot of the runner. I do not have access to the back unless I cut a hole in the back of the closet. Any help is greatly appreciated. Prayers will be OK, too.
Oh Boy, Stair Help
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How did she manage to get the treads out of the stringers? You will most likely have to open that closet
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AHH! Brute force:wallbash: I love it! You are definitely going to have to open up from behind. You may be able to hammer the stringers back into place but also make a quick inspection to be sure there are no splits in them as a result of the prying. Removing the drywall in the closet is fairly easy..try to take out one big piece with a drywall saw...this will make putting it back easier.
Dave
Dave
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Glad to help, but stick around as someone else may very well post another answer.
Dave
Dave
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I think you could add in some nailers from above. I would use screws and glue and pre drill the holes first. I would then cut the stringers long enough to go in each slot 1/2 the depth that they were. A few finish nails above to hold in place.
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On a housed stair to a basement most likely the wedges were glued to both the tread and skirt. If the glue were doing its job you would almost need a sledge hammer to shift the skirt. Did the stairs seem loose before she worked on them?
Keith,
Yes, that is why she was working on them. Squeeky and a little loose.:whistling2:
You'll need to open the entire back of the staircase to fix it correctly. How many of the wedges have fallen to the floor is anybodies guess. You might have a spreading issue with the stringers. You can't usually spread them apart to remove the treads and risers.
Hide the tools from your daughter and give her the landlords phone number.
Ron
Hide the tools from your daughter and give her the landlords phone number.
Ron
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Now Ron, think good intentions~:yes:
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As has been already noted you need to gain access to the underside of the stair. Remove as many wedges as you can, all of them would be preferred. Make new wedges to replace them. You now need to pull the skirt tight to the treads and risers. The skirt should have been shimmed to the studs and nailed off when first installed. Find out if it was, if not you need to do it.
To install the new wedges you may want to know the age of the stair. PVA glues do not bond to themselves on a second glue application. PVA glue came on to the market in the 1950's, prior to that it most likely would have been hide glue. Hide glue will bond to itself and although easy to use you may not be set up to use it. Your best choice may be 2 part epoxy. Coat each surface with epoxy and drive the wedges home. If done correctly will last for many years.
To install the new wedges you may want to know the age of the stair. PVA glues do not bond to themselves on a second glue application. PVA glue came on to the market in the 1950's, prior to that it most likely would have been hide glue. Hide glue will bond to itself and although easy to use you may not be set up to use it. Your best choice may be 2 part epoxy. Coat each surface with epoxy and drive the wedges home. If done correctly will last for many years.
Where does that road go paved with these, "good intentions"?
Ron
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So glad you asked Ron, thanks for playing:laughing:
My daughter used to love helping me with projects. Most times she did pretty good but never had a sense of a true self ability since I was the only one she did work with. Her school reluctantly allowed me to be her employer during an OCAP government program (an introduction to trades for students) and they were surprised when I gave a final mark of 67%
Not because she didn't know the material, but because she did the written test last minute and screwed up.
She earned a scholarship to enroll in a contractors course for women and is mighty fired up now! Sometimes the road to success is paved with just good intent. I know she will be good because her heart is in it
My daughter used to love helping me with projects. Most times she did pretty good but never had a sense of a true self ability since I was the only one she did work with. Her school reluctantly allowed me to be her employer during an OCAP government program (an introduction to trades for students) and they were surprised when I gave a final mark of 67%
Not because she didn't know the material, but because she did the written test last minute and screwed up.
She earned a scholarship to enroll in a contractors course for women and is mighty fired up now! Sometimes the road to success is paved with just good intent. I know she will be good because her heart is in it
edit: yeah after looking that does look like 2x material..closed stairs..
when first looking I thought those "stringers" might be decorative, one piece that fits over the stairs, a buddy of mine did this the other day on a house we were working on, looked very similar.
However obviously when thinking about it if they are now off, it must be a dadoed stringer, as you are asking what to do now and can see it.
Yep, have to get in from behind...Just thinking out loud though-if they are all off currently, you may be able to start at the top or bottom and slide them back in since you have space to access the back. Problem is I'm not sure if you could do this with every one, hard to say without seeing how it's built, just guessing
when first looking I thought those "stringers" might be decorative, one piece that fits over the stairs, a buddy of mine did this the other day on a house we were working on, looked very similar.
However obviously when thinking about it if they are now off, it must be a dadoed stringer, as you are asking what to do now and can see it.
Yep, have to get in from behind...Just thinking out loud though-if they are all off currently, you may be able to start at the top or bottom and slide them back in since you have space to access the back. Problem is I'm not sure if you could do this with every one, hard to say without seeing how it's built, just guessing
To the OP:
The point is that this is not your property, or hers. Neither one of you should be taking things apart in someone else's home. And what do you do, take apart a staircase. The potential liability of uninformed people doing this sort of work is staggering. The likely hood of you doing this properly is, unlikely. Your post expresses no understanding of what to do. And yet you're again ready to tear into someone elses house when you should be contacting the homeowner, apologizing for your daughters behavior and offering to pay for a professional to make the repairs.
You should both put the tools down and pick up the phone.
Ron
The point is that this is not your property, or hers. Neither one of you should be taking things apart in someone else's home. And what do you do, take apart a staircase. The potential liability of uninformed people doing this sort of work is staggering. The likely hood of you doing this properly is, unlikely. Your post expresses no understanding of what to do. And yet you're again ready to tear into someone elses house when you should be contacting the homeowner, apologizing for your daughters behavior and offering to pay for a professional to make the repairs.
You should both put the tools down and pick up the phone.
Ron
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Ron,
Early in the thread it is referred to as "his" rental house. Right or wrong if he owns it he has the right to do as he sees fit.
Early in the thread it is referred to as "his" rental house. Right or wrong if he owns it he has the right to do as he sees fit.
If he owns it, then the post doesn't apply to him. It applies if he doesn't.
Then it becomes an informational post to renters who think they have carte blanche in a dwelling because they live there.
Renters in the past have posted about trying to fix something they damaged who were less then qualified to fix what they broke.
View it as a public service message.
I still don't think he's qualified to fix the problem where if incorrectly done. someone can break their neck when the staircase collapses.
Ron
WOW, thanks for the responses. Believe me guys, I get a little frustrated with my daughter, but she is a good kid, overall. Going to Vet School in the fall and is helping out until then. I should have addressed the stairs issue long before she tried to and I should have found this site about 26 yrs. ago. This is my wife's childhood home (circa 1977) that was left to her by her parents. We are trying to fix up the basement to live in.
Well, looks like I am off to cut some dry wall. Thank God it is in the back of a closet. This project has been delayed by months because we decided to do the dry wall ourselves
and I've still got some to do:furious:.
Thanks again, all the comments are appreciated and taken in the context they were given.
Well, looks like I am off to cut some dry wall. Thank God it is in the back of a closet. This project has been delayed by months because we decided to do the dry wall ourselves
and I've still got some to do:furious:.Thanks again, all the comments are appreciated and taken in the context they were given.
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