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What's the best option for these stairs?

1180 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  CitadelBlue
What's the best option for these stairs?

Would it be better to remove the risers and treads, or to go over them?

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Go over them with what?
What is the matter with them now and what do you want to achieve with them?
Go over them with what?
What is the matter with them now and what do you want to achieve with them?
By go over them, I meant with like an oak tread with the lip.

The problem now is the looks, plus there is some drywall on the left side, and the treads go into the drywall on the right side, which wasn't cut very accurately.
Right of the photo, you can follow the stairs with the base molding. Cut a recess in the tread so that mold can slip in. Then fill, sand and paint. Cover the middle with some kind of tread protector or carpet.
If you need finished stairs, I would recommend a new stairs.
Left of the photo, are those cuts in the tread and risers? Fillers? Those may not be safe.
Adding 1/4 or 3/8 laminated floor can work, but you have to know how they change the riser heights, esp for the bottom landing. You cut the nose flush to the riser, put new nose/tread and new riser cover.
Composite tiles work as well with steel nose cover.
Right of the photo, you can follow the stairs with the base molding. Cut a recess in the tread so that mold can slip in. Then fill, sand and paint. Cover the middle with some kind of tread protector or carpet.
If you need finished stairs, I would recommend a new stairs.
Left of the photo, are those cuts in the tread and risers? Fillers? Those may not be safe.
Adding 1/4 or 3/8 laminated floor can work, but you have to know how they change the riser heights, esp for the bottom landing. You cut the nose flush to the riser, put new nose/tread and new riser cover.
Composite tiles work as well with steel nose cover.
The left of the photo is the drywall which has been cut down to match the profile of the stairs (by the previous owner).
Can you trim out those drywall cuts with a piece of 1 x 2 and then the laminate per above?
Laminate on the risers.
Baseboard the right hand side both tread and riser.
Caulk the left hand dryall on the finish side to the 1 x 2.
Paint the 1 x 2 and caulk.
I would rip out those 2 x treads and the painted risers. Then I would use 1x12 skirts on both sides. Depending on the location of the stringers you may need to notch the skirt over the existing stringers. A little more work but it is pretty easy to do with a little guidance. Most stairs built these days have a space to slide a 3/4 skirt between the drywall and stringer allowing you to only have to make cuts at the top and bottom.
Replace risers with new ones. Then replace treads with 5/4 hardwood. Not sure how tuned your woodworking skills are because this is perhaps not a diy job. Also not sure how far you're willing to go, but i feel this is the best way to do it.
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Some steps look good with hardwood, and some look just fine with carpeting.
How about this?

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