Stairs are Finally Done

[Mike Murray]

Thanks to everyone who helped with suggestions and advice. This has been one of my more ambitious projects. I'm strictly a hobbyist, teaching myself woodworking one project at a time... a process which has been greatly accelerated by discovery of this forum and all the great people here willing to share their knowledge and experience.

Here's a picture shortly after I removed the berber carpet:

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I was surprised to find the 2X treads and risers in very good shape... relatively flat, square, solid, and well-installed. So I decided to install the new treads and risers directly on top of these. I compensated for the change in rise at the top and bottom by removing a few of the 2X treads and planing them down to carefully-planned dimensions. The result is no more than 1/4" variation in rise after installation of the new treads.

I used solid maple treads and 1/4" maple ply for the risers. Here's a shot of the 5/4 hard maple stacked in the shop:

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And here's a picture after glue-up and milling the treads. Final thickness is a little over 1". These are 48" long and 12.25" wide after glue-up, so my 12.5" Delta lunchbox got the workout of its life. I had to remove the smallest possible increment of material with each pass, and had to let the motor cool down after every tread. (maybe there's a 3HP 15" planer in my future?)

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Here's a couple more shots, the first is halfway through installation, and the second is the finished product.

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A few notes on installation... I wanted really clean, tight joints where the treads and risers meet (no trim). So I pre-attached the risers to the back edge of the treads (glue and lots of brads) and installed the two as a "unit" working from the top down. I also ripped a 1/4"X1/4" groove in the underside of each tread behind the bullnose to receive the top edge of the riser. I'm very pleased with how that worked out. The treads/risers are attached to the 2X substrate using LOTS of PL construction adhesive (I counted 28 empty 10oz tubes). I did quite a bit of experimenting to determine the right amount to get a nice even spread with no squeeze-out. This allowed me to compensate for some gaps and slight out-of-level situations. I shot 8 finish nails into each piece to hold in place until the adhesive sets up. It took several days for the adhesive to fully dry, but they are solid as a rock, not even a hint of movement or squeaking.

Finish... The task (assigned by LOML) was to match some engineered wood flooring that we recently installed in parts of the house including at the landing/hall at the top of the stairs. The flooring is a medium/dark brown maple with a reddish-orange undertone and black distress marks. "No problem", I said boldly. I'll spare you the nitty-gritty details, but after several weeks (yes, weeks) of experimentation, I finally worked out a regiment involving two dyes, a pigment stain, two toner coats, countless seal coats of shellac, and finally 6 or 7 (I lost count) coats of Varathane WB floor finish, with light hand sanding between each. The final step was some light sanding and steel wool to match the satin finish of the eng floor. The result is incredibly close; LOML is quite pleased. Oh, somewhere in the middle of that I did the distressing using a big hammer and a swingset chain with some nuts and bolts attached for variation. I colored the distress marks using mainly a fine-tip black sharpie, with a lot of help from the kids.

Thanks again for all the help, and thanks for looking.

Mike

[Mike Murray]

Here's one more pic that shows the comparison to the engineered wood floor at the top of the stairs.

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[Robb Milley]

Excellent work, and great job matching the other flooring.

It's easy to understand that running that excessive amount and oversized hard maple through that hobbiest planer has clearly ruined it for any future work. A replacement should be ordered forthwith.

[Tom Jones III]

Wow, great job. The finish matches great and the treads & risers look really good.

[John Schreiber]

That looks like a thoroughly high quality job. The finish must have been a real challenge. At first I wondered how anyone got up and down the stairs while you were finishing, but it looks like you did the finishing before you put the wood down. Smart approach.

The "distressing" must have been a fun family project.

[Brian Lindenlaub]

Outstanding work. It looks like it was worth the effort.

Brian

[Don Bullock]

Excellent!!! A job well done. The match with the flooring is perfect. I bet you're glad that is't done and it came out so well.

[Richard Wolf]

Beautiful job. A nice staircase always add alot to a house. I'm sure your wife is happy with it.

Richard

[Greg Cole]

Very nice indeed. The matching finish is bang on. You should be very proud of that job.... what's next?
You know you did something well when a pro like Mr Wolf tips the lid in your direction. From seeing his work, he more than knows his stuff!

Greg

[Bert Johansen]

WOW! That looks FANTASTIC Mike!!! What a great job you did, and your patience and determination are beyond admirable. The color match and distressing are just amazing. Can't wait to see your next project! Thanks for sharing, and keep the pictures coming!

[Eric Parham]

Looks Good. A few questions. Why no skirt? How many treads did you split the 1/4 over? Again nice job!

[Charles Wilson]

For a hobbyist, you have quite a shop. Is that a Griz 1023sl? How do you like it?

Chuck

BTW - Nice stairs.

[Dave McFarlane]

great job! the stairs look great, and the match is spot on.

[Jim Becker]

Wow! Nice job, Mike! Great look and the match to the engineered flooring is amazing.

[Mike Murray]

Thanks for all the positive comments... especially Mr. Wolf; it means a lot coming from you. I scrutinized many of your old posts for guidance on this project. Many thanks for generously sharing your expertise and abundant talent.


The "distressing" must have been a fun family project.

John, it was. Each of the kids added some "trademark" scratches here and there. Coloring them was a mind-numbing experience in the beginning. Once I got the kids involved it became creative and fun.


Looks Good. A few questions. Why no skirt? How many treads did you split the 1/4 over? Again nice job!

Eric, no skirt was just a matter of personal preference. We looked at lots of stairs with and without, and decided - for our situation - to go without.

Regarding the change in rise... at the bottom, the change was only about 1/2" due to some very thick saltillo tile that was installed at the base of the stairs after inital construction of the house. That first step had always been a bit "shallow." I couldn't remove the 2X tread at the bottom without damaging the large cedar posts. So instead I removed 1/4" thickness from the bottom of the 1st tread behind the bullnose. Result is, at the bottom, the rise on the first two steps is ~1/4" higher than all the others (6-3/4" vs. 6-1/2").

At the top, the change was a full one inch. So I removed the top three 2X treads. I replaced the top one with 3/4 plywood. The next, was planed down 1/2"; and the next was planed down 1/4". Result is, the rise on the top four steps is ~1/4 less than all the others (6-1/4" vs. 6-1/2). Far better than having one 5-1/2" step.


For a hobbyist, you have quite a shop. Is that a Griz 1023sl? How do you like it?

Yes it is (Griz 1023sl). It's my newest addition (1 yr old), and my first upgrade since I initially outfitted the shop about 10 years ago. It's incredible. But then again, my only comparison point is a Delta contractor saw with very little power, a fence that wouldn't hold still, and an ear-splitting scream when it ran.

Thanks again to everyone for the positive and encouraging comments.

Mike

[Ron Blaise]

Now the kids can "surf" down those stairs with ease :D

[Charles Jackson III]

Nice Stairs!