Just wondering what should I look for when purchasing a solid oak tread. I've seen some tread selling for around $20 each and some others at $30 each. Just wondering if there is something I should look for in the tread, like grain, wood knots, etc.


Also, I am installing these treads on a staircase that will lead onto a hallway done in hardwood strips. For that landing area (top of stairs) what should I do? Get a Piece of bullnose or place a full solid tread on top and install the strips around that? Not sure on what is typically done.

Thanks in advance....

Solid treads are 1 1/16" thick.

Go with the bullnose because it has the 1 1/16" nose that will look the same as the treads from the staircase, but will be 3/4" for the part that will lay up to the rest of the floor.

You can make treads out of the flooring as well which is sometimes an option. Cut your nosing to fit and put it in place. Draw a line on the tread "subfloor" remove the nosing and measure the distance to the riser. If you deduct the width of your flooring from that measurement as many times as you can the measurement left over is the size of the rip. Make the rip and install that first. Then you can blind nail the flooring as normal and glue and face nail the nosing. Most nosings are grooved to fit the flooring which gives you a strong tread.

That of course is just another option. I have done it both ways. Solid treads or board by board. Always assume that the stingers are not perfectly square. A "stair wizard" is a must if you are going to do a lot of stairs.

You can see one if you scroll down on the page at http://www.mrhardwoods.com/stairs.htm

How much does one of those run? I've done a quick search and found them priced at around 100. Not sure if since I am only doing one staircase I'd need that, unless I can rent one somewhere?

I got mine from Collins Tool for $50 or so. Still seems like a lot of money for what it is but I have heard even pros order an extra tread for foulups when they scribe with a pencil.

On my boxed treads I'm about to paint the skirts. Ideally I'd like to paint the skirts/risers and then install the treads but I fear this will certainly cause paint damage. Perhaps I could fit the treads before I paint, then install the fitted treads carefully after painting?

Here's how I do it. I prime and apply one coat of enamel to the paint grade trim. I then cut the treads and test fit. When well fitted, I then prefinish the treads. After finishing, I install the treads and apply one last coat of floor finish on the treads. After that has dried, I carefully mask off the treads and apply one final coat of paint (ename) to the paint grade trim. After dry, remove tape.

Thanks Gary,

As far as cutting on a sliding miter using a tread jig I have noticed the following -

After marking the tread using a tread jig I don't find it all that easy to line up the saw blade with the line on the first try. Another difficulty is that often the angle is less than 1 degree and my saw will often fall into the 0 degree detent when making the cut.

I figured that for DIY'er it might be best to sneak up to the cut line slowly. Also, I can probably tape the fixed degree detent lever in the off position so it doesn't fall into the zero degree position. How does this sound?

Also, do you fill the holes for the trim head screws before or after the final finish?

Lining up the blade with the line on my Hitachi 10" is a breeze because it has a lazer line to assist. But before, on my 8&1/4" Hitachi, I would line up as well as I could and then just graze the surface about 3/16" away from my line. If that looked good, then cut on the line. If not , then readjust the angle of the saw. It does take time but better that then bad cuts. Some saws don't allow for in between settings as well as others. For me, say I need it at 1/2 deg. to the right. I loosen the handle so the blade moves freely, then keep attemping to get the pointer at 1/2. When it's there, crank down your handle. Sometimes, tapping on the handle with the palm of your hand one way or another will nudge it where you want it. Takes practice. As for filling holes in treads, I do that before the last coat; just like a floor. This allows you to apply a sealer to the putty/filler only before applying the last coat. It also allows for light sanding of the filler/putty, if needed.

ttby4444,

My boxed treads were made of a solid piece of wood. I did not request it that way. Usually treads are glued up from 2 or 3 smaller boards. If done right this may also make them less likely to warp. If the cheaper treads look good to you, I would say go for it. If for some reason you have order your treads you might want to pay a little more. Where I live HD carries oak treads.

If the bottom of your treads are exposed to the air you may want to put polyurethane on the back so they breathe evenly. Hopefully you have some experience making accurate odd angle cuts on your sliding miter saw. You may want to practice one or 2 treads in pine or poplar first to see how good you are.


Here is a recent thread on the landing tread-


http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... .php?t=415

Good Luck

Thanks allot guys for all your reply's. Due to FUNDING, I think I am going to go the Solid Tread way. I picked up about 5 of them already for the bottom 5 steps. I started to fill in all the staple and nail holes on the risers. I found I have to replace 2 of them due to the carpenters lack of judgement. I found that these stairs were meant to be hidden by carpet.

Anywa, I know I'm in for allot of work. I am still tryingt o decide if I want to spend the money on the jig or not. As far as cutting, I am using a table saw. Didn't plan on using a miter saw but now that I think of it I may have to for some angle cuts.

Any recomendation on a Poly? I'm going to give it a light stain, but wanted to give it a protective poly coat. What's best for a tread? I don't want it to be too slipery either, so is there anything out there that will satisfy both looks and functionality?

Woodline, Minwax or DuraSeal oil-based polyurethane in a satin finish are all good. You will need three coats on top of your stain. Make sure your stain is completely dry before coating with poly. Lightly sand poly between coats.

I cut the 45 deg miters for the final return on my open treads with a table saw so it can be done if you have a decent miter gauge. You might need a helper so guide the tread since it is so large and heavy it tends to flex the miter gauge somewhat. If you only have the small gauge that came with the saw, you may be able to screw a longer board to it. The other problem is the tread sliding on the gauge while cutting. Perhaps you can glue some sandpaper to the board. My angles were less than 1/2 of a degree in all cases - it may be easier to set your gauge at 0 deg and use small shims to adjust the cut perhaps sneaking up on it.

Another carpenter told me a way to measure inside dimensions accurately with a tape is to first cut a block of wood to say 1" and place that against the wall or skirt. Then use a tape to measure to the block and of course add 1". The problem is that if the front and rear tread space measurements differ you won't know exactly what the angle is. Perhaps you can also take a diagonal measurement at some known distance from the back of the tread?

The classic way to mark the tread is to cut the tread 3/4" oversize and then scribe one end to the skirt, cut it and then scribe and cut the other end. I would think that this takes some skill however.

I am planning to replace the carpet on my stairs with either strip flooring or solid treads. I have read many emails emphasizing how important it is to measure when installing the treads.
My question is: If you have stringers on each side of the steps, why can't they be removed and then reinstalled on top of the treads? That way, measurements of tread width would not be so critical.
Also, are there any suggestions on how to remove balausters from the treads and upper landing? Are they nailed/glued? Should I just trash them?
Finally, I'm concerned about all the holes to drill in the edge strip on the upper landing. More holes than I care to think about. Any suggestions on how to accomplish that task?
Thanks.

Then you have just transferred the problem to the skirt. I shudder to think how difficult it would be to make a skirt that rested on top of the treads with little or no gap. It's fairly difficult to measure the tread to tread distance vertically, never mind account for out of level etc. Also, how would you get around the nosing?


edit - I misread this question but I'll leave newel post info in case you need it. Here is the hopefully correct answer -

My balusters were floating in the hole in the treads/landing and stapled to the railing. Balusters are not structural elements so they are not usually well attached although early stair builders sometimes dovetailed them into the treads. Balusters can be pin top where they fit into a hole in the railing or square top were they fit into a groove and are pinned with blocks between balsusters. Often the pin top types are nailed or stapled to the rail.

In the case of the pin top you cannot remove or install them w/o removing the railing. Since mine where pnuematically stapled, they were impossible to remove from the railing w/o destroying them. Balusters are suprisingly cheap (mine are $3.50 ea.) but usually they (assuming you have paint grade) are spray painted. My railing (an over the top type) came off of the newels fairly easy. If you damage your railing you are in for a mojor expense.

There are at leat 2 ways to attach a newel post, flush mounted where the newel rests on the nosing or flooring or where it protrudes through the subfloor down to the framing below. In the first case, you should be able to detect 2 1" plugs (if it's paint grade it may be difficult to see) a few inches above the floor. These hide the access holes for some nuts which secure the post to lag bolts driven into the flooring/subflooring. Here is a kit/picture - http://www.westfiremfg.com/Suretite.gif. If you can locate the plugs (usually 2 plugs opposite each other) you can drill them out with a bit smaller than 1" so you limit damage to the post. Then you should be able to lever the plug out and see the nuts.

Paint grade newel posts are not expensive but there is a lot of labor in painting them well. If the newel post is somewhat loose it is likely you have a flush mount since it does not hold all that well and you should be able to see that it does not go "through" the floor. If you have one mounted from below you would probably have to remove the subfloor or perhaps you could cut it off below the flooring level, replace flooring and go to a flush mount.

If you replace the newel posts it helps to have a drill press to make the new holes with a forstner bit.

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Drilling the holes is not difficult with spade bit or forstner. Determining the location can be tricky. I assume you are using an existing railing then you would typically use a string + bob to determine the hole location. You have to be really precise because the slightest error off vertical will be obvious.

You may want to describe what you are trying to do - your first question implies boxed treads (ie. walls/skirts on both sides) but your second question seems to refer to an open stair (railing). Perhaps you have both?