Will my post get deleted if we talk about stair treads for a minute?

First of all, if there is an equivalent forum as good as this one for wood stairs I'd love to hear about it.

New house, new carpeted staircase, one side is open, existing treads go into the stringer (side skirt) on one side, nosing obviously needs to be cut flush on front and open side.

Going to cap with mitered return treads on top of spruce treads, and install 1/4 oak riser. This will still does not cover the old tread on the stringers. Short of installing new stringer veneer, what can I do? Even the pre-fabbed treads with 1" nosing underneath will not cover the old 1 1/4" spruce tread.

Hey Big Al, Has your post ever been deleted??

Trying to picture what your talking about. Is the 1 1/4" thickness of the existing tred and overhang causing the problem? Height of skirt? Any pictures?

Signed...
Wood Stairs Step Forum

Overhang is causing problem because when you cut flush can install cap tread ON TOP of it, it will show on the stringers. I'm thinking using some trim to hide it. I'm also thinking this job will be a headache, and maybe I should just forget about it. Removing and reinstalling the railing and posts is a job in itself, and makes me a little nervous. How do you re-install the newel posts in the exact same place? If you are off just a 1/4" the entire railing will be off 1/4". The more I think about it the more I don't want to do it. I'm used to capping closed-in treads and risers, on older homes where they just fill and paint the stringers. Maybe I should do my staircase first, which is a curved staircase, and see how it goes. Wish there was a school I could go to learn this!

Al, you give up too easy
Let me get this straight.....You cut the overhang flush with the riser, and the top front corner of the tred still shows over the stringer. Why not remove the existing treds completely, install the new treds, with returns at the stringer. No need to mess with stringer or railing.

Oh...I didn't see you posted on FM..I came up with the idea first!

If I take out the spruce treads altogether, I will have to get oversized treads made up, unless I use quarter round or some type of trim underneath to hide the gap at the stringers.

If your replacing a 1 1/4" tred with 7/8",or 1" tred, I don't get why that doesn't take care of that top corner of the old tred showing, at the open stringer. You could even build up the height, to the same as the existing tred, covering the front edge with the riser. Not making any sense to me why that doesn't work. I guess I need a picture of what your up against.

Taking the tread out would have solved all but covering the gaps at the ends of both stringers from oversized tread. Told the customer job was too much for me to handle properly. He will make sure to send pics of completed job by a stair guy so I know next time.