Hello all, newbie here, getting ready to install some hickory engineered 4.5" planks including some stairs. Flooring arrives tomorrow, and after a few days of acclimating the planks we hope to do the downstairs flooring - great room/dining room/hallway and then the upstairs loft and the stairway leading to it.

I'm pretty confident about the flooring after reading on this great forum, along with the company's installation instructions, but I'm a little unsure about how one uses this type of plank on stairs, any suggestions/tips/helpful comments will be most appreciated.

Thanks!

Abner. Take a look at the pages on installing hardwood on stairs. The only difference here is the width you're using. All other tips apply.

Thanks Ken, we've been drooling over the pics already! If we can do as well as those we've seen we'll be very happy!

We're laying Shaw's Brushed Suede Hickory in the Sugarcane color, it took weeks to get it and we have about an hours trip through the mountains to pick it up today.

Ok, I went to the site you linked to and it says 'Most substrates for steps that were designed for carpet have a nosing that needs to be removed', and that is what we have found. The treads have a big honkin nose that our hardwood nose pieces won't fit over. Is it recommended to replace the treads with plywood or to remove the treads and cut the thick noses off?

Any suggestions appreciated

I will cut the nose off the existing subfloor tred, flush to the riser. No reason to remove the tred. I will mark a cutting line on each tred. Then plunge cut with a circular saw to the wall on both sides. Finish up to the wall using a sawzall, with a short blade. Be aware most circular saws will completely dust your house. I use a mini circular with a vacume attachment. You can use a jigsaw or sawzall to keep the dust down, or a cordless circular saw will help. I'm just partial to a circular saw, easier to keep straight, and less time consuming. That will take care of the "big honkin nose" lol.

If you want to use a jigsaw...You can set up a jig to keep the cut straight, by screwing a piece of wood,( like a 1x2 ), on top of the tred, to use as a guide.

Thanks Howard, that sounds like some good methods. Will have to study on it before we tackle the stairs. Right now just getting the floor down will make us happy

A really easy way to remove that nose, although you could argue that it's a sloppy way, is to simply use the claw side of a claw hammer and take some strong whacks into the nose of that 2 by 12 pine. You will quickly see that you can easily remove that overhang without any powertools, and surprisingly accurate too. Once you get a grasp into the grain of the wood, it will break off in a relatively straight line because that's how the grain wants to separate naturally.

It doesn't matter if your edge is not perfectly straight, because that will be 100% covered with your new treads and risers. But if you're getting too rough, you may have to pull out the dust-makers and start sawing.

I do that, but only on the ends after a clean straight cut where the majority of foot traffic is. Your riser board placed on the face, is where the nosing is going to be supported. but I like as much meat as possible especially if they are using 2¼ flooring on the risers as well, instead of solid single painted risers.