What to do about flooring for a landing?

[Tom Jones III]

Thanks for the help last week when I asked about stair treads. I'm making my own treads out of walnut and the project is going great. The staircase is in good shape and shouldn't be too hard. I have already ripped off all the carpet and replaced one carpet tread with my own as a test piece.

I only have one major hurdle left, what do I do about the 4'x4' landing? The landing is decked by 2x4s and in good shape.

* Should I buy wood flooring from a store even though it won't match the treads exactly?
* Is it even possible to make my own flooring without a shaper and power feeder? Keep in mind this is only 16 sq. feet.
* Are there any other options than the 2 options above?

[Jim Becker]

Tom, you can do tongue and groove on your table saw if you want to make your own flooring for this small space...

[Frank Snyder]

In addition to the T&G, the flooring manufacturers make a relief cut to the underside of the flooring to help keep it from cupping. I don't see any reason why you couldn't make your own flooring.

Post some pics if you do decide to go this route...I'd like to see them.

One more thing...since this is for a staircase, be sure you calculate the rise properly with the finished floor thickness in mind. If you're adding additional material to the landing, it is probable that the next step's rise will be less than the other steps. Most local codes dictate that all of the step's rise can't deviate more than 3/16". Just an FYI...

[Jim Becker]

What Frank describes can effectively be done with a dado set making a shallow cut to provide the airspace, etc., required for stability. 'Not something you'd want to do for hundreds of square feet, but for a 4'x4' area, certainly not a difficult task. Two passes per board, flipping it around between them.

[Paul Greathouse]

Tom

Don't go the store bought wood flooring route, I did it last year while doing some quickie hurricane restoration on my own house and it looks terrible. I will be taking it up when I redo the staircase. I plan to replace it with whatever wood we decide to rebuild the stairs with. I plan on making tongue and groove as Jim suggested and the relief cuts would be a good idea also.

This would be the perfect opportunity to purchase a tongue and groove set for that new Steel City Shaper.

[Tom Jones III]

This would be the perfect opportunity to purchase a tongue and groove set for that new Steel City Shaper.

Paul you are not helping here :D... between LOML, the dealer and that beautiful shaper I already have enough temptation. In fact I may not be able to withstand it.

[Jim Becker]

So you buy the shaper and do the flooring on it instead of the table saw...win -win...good looks and a new tool! What's not to like about that??? :D