Stair tread partial repair

Question

Apologies, but I currently do not have pictures.

The stairwell in my house is carpeted, but has visible hardwood for any tread that overhangs wider than the stairwell hallway. Think bottom few stairs are wider, to accommodate railing and posts.

The bottom stair, which the railing support post is mounted to, has what feels to be a 4x4 chuck broken dead center, on the edge of the step.

We are getting new carpet in soon. What I'm hoping is, if it's a small enough piece, is to just fix that section with either supporting that piece or buying some wood of similiar thickness and securing it.

I'm thinking of adding some wood against the riser on the inside, and also having some wood blocks screwed to the intact stair tread, and the broken tread, to stabilize it and provide some support. I have yet to cut the old carpet to look into the damage.

My question is mainly, is this type of repair a good idea? Carpet is going back over this step, so i'm not worried about cosmetics. I just want it to be safe and last at least a good 5-10 years.

Answer 1

Yes, this type of repair can certainly be done with good results.

Remove the carpet and cut away all compromised wood. Now fasten cleats under the edges of the cuts wherever support is available, lapping under the remaining tread and into the repair area, using screws and heavy-duty construction adhesive. Drop in your repair piece and fasten it the same way. Once the adhesive is cured it'll be as one board.

Also take the opportunity to add screws and adhesive to any accessible points of contact between boards. This will stiffen the stairs and prevent noise.