This is a great web site! Thank you for providing such a service.

We are installing wood flooring in our 2nd floor hallway. I realized that once we do this, the flooring at the top of the stairs will be 3/4'' higher than the rest of our stairs.

I have been in houses where the top landing of a staircase is higher than all the other stairs, and I always trip and hurt myself. I definitely don't want this in our house.

I am wondering if there is a way to properly reduce the flooring on the top landing, without causing any awkward transition, so it cleanly blends in with the 3/4'' flooring we're about to add.

The only alternative I can see is to place 3/4'' stair treads over the current stairs, and that is a lot of work. I'm hoping this isn't necessary.

Thank you in advance,
Gloria

What is on the stairs now? What was on the second floor before the hardwood? Carpet? Most carpet with pad would have about a 3/4" finished floor height. So by adding 3/4" wood, after removing the carpet and pad, you still should be ok with the stairs, unless they were always off. Tell us what the measurement is from each step to the next one. This is called the rise and will be about 7.5". You are allowed a 3/8" discrepency before being a code violation. Ideally, all the steps will be the same rise, including the top step to the second floor. If you have an existing floor you are NOT planning on removing upstairs, that may be the problem and it will need to be removed. If the top step to the second floor is over 3/8" higher than the rest of the rise WITH the new 3/4" flooring, I suggest using a thinner floor or rebuilding the stairs to allow for proper rise. Improper rise and run is a code violation and is unsafe.

I have not measured the rise, but I will when I get home. It is new construction, and everything aligns perfectly right now.

There is rug all the way up the stair and at the top of the stair now, with substantial padding.
We're removing the rug from the stair and second floor, which keeps all of the rises the same height.

We are then going to put a 3/4'' wood floor on top of the subflooring on the 2nd floor, making the top stair 3/4'' higher than every other stair.

My question is: To fix this, do we:

(1) raise the height of each stair? (Stairs look like their fit into a "groove" of a stair frame).

(2) Find 3/4'' wood to add to the top of the stair? (This is a nonstandard width for stair wood).

Either solution seems like a pain. There must be a better way.

Thanks,
Gloria

Gloria,

If carpet is on the stairs now and you're planning on taking the carpet off the stairs, what are you going to put back on the stairs? Or, are they oak treads now? If they are oak and you are planning on having them refinished, I see no answer to your dilema. The stairs were built the way they were built, nothing can change that. If you are not wanting to increase the rise on each step, and you want to put a 3/4" floor at the second floor, then you must live with the last step at the top having a greater rise to the second floor. The only other option I can think of would be to have a ornamental custom runner installed on the stairs and have the ends of the treads exposed. You know, the runner just goes up the middle and the treads show at the sides. This could make up for your rise on the stairs. It is often done and is very traditional looking.

They are Oak treads now. It would be a shame to cover them up.
Thanks for your help.