I've searched for a thread that addresses my questions completely, but came up short. So, another stair tread thread now exists on Sawmill Creek.
I'm installing oak treads and risers on a previously carpeted staircase. The 2'x10's are in reasonable shape and I will be leaving them in place. I plan to put several beads of construction adhesive on the 2'x treads and then nail the hardwood treads and risers in place, cutting to fit from top to bottom.
The treads are in use daily as we are living in this house with 2 young kids and our bedrooms are upstairs. Ideally, I'd like to install everything pre-finished with at least 1 coat of sealer and 1 coat of polyurethane on the back and sealer + 2 coats poly on the tops. However, I've never installed anything prefinished that I then later had to custom fit, piece by piece. For furniture, I will dry fit the whole thing, then glue up, then finish. I'm finding it hard to imagine that I can dry fit the whole staircase (will all the imperfections, there WILL be some shimming involved), finish, then install without any further cuts.
Now the questions:
1. Will finishing the backs cause my gluing plan to fail? i.e. I won't be gluing to exposed wood pores, but sealed wood.
2. Will exposed edge and end grain if/when I have to cut to fit render the prefinishing a moot step?
3. I'm sure I have more questions, but I'm blanking right now.
Thanks for continuing to help on this house!
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