Questions tagged [stairs]

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1 vote
3 answers
58 views

Making old stairs less creaky before carpeting without access to underside

I have a Victorian house with a creaky old staircase. Certain steps are worse than others. It looks like the risers have actually shrunk over the years. We plan to have it carpeted in the next month. ...
0 votes
1 answer
36 views

Do newel posts come in standard sizes?

A newel post in our house needs replacing, since it seems to have been badly abused by the previous owners. Looking online, I couldn't find any that were the same size and shape as this one. The ...
2 votes
1 answer
29 views

Two 3-way switches, two separate lights, one circuit

I was having issues with old wiring in my stairway and discovered that the circuit they were on was overloaded. The wiring was old and not grounded, the gang boxes were loose, etc... I replaced the ...
1 vote
4 answers
122 views

How can I make safety grating stair treads less painful for bare feet?

I have some external stair runs. They currently have "safety tread" for the stair treads. This is very safe, but hurts bare feet very much LOL. I believe it's galvanized (I assume after ...
10 votes
5 answers
2k views

Dwelling code imposition on landscape stairs

I just had a retaining wall and patio installed in my back yard. There is a stairway set in the retaining wall with nine steps. We just had what was supposed to be the final sign-off, and got a ...
6 votes
1 answer
351 views

Should painted stair treads be stripped before repainting?

I would like to paint my staircase black (treads) and white (risers). I would like it to look something like this: When I bought the house the staircase was carpeted. After removing the carpet and ...
1 vote
0 answers
89 views

Can I cut an opening into the stringer of my staircase to create a doorway?

I am remodeling an old house and am looking to add an additional bathroom that would be accessed through what is currently a storage space under the winder stair case. In order to create sufficient ...
1 vote
1 answer
62 views

should bottom of stringers match the slope of deck stair landing even when slope is minimal?

I'm planning stringers and deck landing for the deck I'm building, and will be laying some patio slabs to form the landing. When preparing the ground for the slabs, I will probably grade the ground to ...
14 votes
13 answers
4k views

How do you make outdoor wooden stairs less slippery in winter?

Outdoors, I have some wooden stairs leading up to my front door. The wooden stairs are covered in high-gloss wood preservative. In winter, snow and ice are deposited onto the stair-steps. The bottoms ...
1 vote
6 answers
256 views

How can I mount a child gate between a glass barricade and a bookshelf unit?

The top of my staircase has a somewhat challenging situation for mounting a gate. On one side is a low glass wall, and on the other is a built in wooden shelf. How can I mount a gate here?
1 vote
0 answers
86 views

Best way to fix stairs that are starting to seperate

Our main staircase is a series of two-piece wooden steps comprised of a large plank and a small edge attached to it. The main planks seem fine but about half of the edges are starting to pull away the ...
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0 votes
1 answer
37 views

Extra handrail on pocket door

We would like to have an additional left hand rail for this staircase. The problem is the pocket door at the bottom, which I am concerned does not have wood that is structural enough behind it for ...
  • 501
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

What material to use for curved step? [duplicate]

I am adding a step to a step-down living room to cut a 9" rise into two 4.5" steps. I was looking at Flex Trim for the riser, but the description says 10" minimum bend radius. I aim to ...
0 votes
0 answers
34 views

Stair case remodel staining inconsistent color

I decided to remove the carpet on staircase sanded all the old finished one down completely. Finally got to staining the stair treads. First time doing this big of a project. Used miniwax water based ...
0 votes
0 answers
35 views

How do I add A new riser to my steps without tearing out the old riser?

One riser is fine, but the other rotted out at the front corner of the top step. I can’t take it out without tearing the porch apart. I have decided to just add the new riser flush to the old one ...
1 vote
1 answer
84 views

What are the metal parts at the end of this spindle called?

What is the name of the metal parts at the ends of this spindle? Is there a generic name for this style of "whatever their name is"? Trying to buy them separately but I can't find them and I ...
  • 3,227
0 votes
1 answer
42 views

What there standard sizes for stair steps/treads?

I am asking because the treads I am replacing are 44" long (three of them) and the longest I have seen is 43". I think this type is called open at one end.
  • 3,227
2 votes
1 answer
137 views

Step down into livingroom. Too tall? split in two?

There is a step down from the main level to the livingroom level. It's a bit over 8" I think it's too much - for me anyway. I am considering adding a second step, which would make each riser ...
0 votes
2 answers
98 views

Staircase Issue

There is a wooden staircase going from the kitchen to the basement in our house. A small gap has opened up between one of the steppers (the part of the stair case you step on) and the stringer. In ...
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1 vote
1 answer
125 views

Making your own bullnose stair trim

I am having a hard time with the engineered hardwood floor retailer that sold me the hardwood floor that is being installed next week I tried to order a manufacturer made square bullnose piece and I ...
  • 3,227
-2 votes
3 answers
93 views

Can these stair glass panels be installed according with the building code? [closed]

I am having a problem with the way the three glass panels that have the diagonal cut at the top will be installed, I am not sure how well they will align as the the angle of the stairs is ~44 degrees ...
  • 3,227
0 votes
1 answer
263 views

Insulating under the staircase from the crawl space - faced fiberglass insulation ok?

Our house is built on a slope, so the staircase to the bottom floor is right above the crawl space (vented; climate zone 3). The staircase is carpeted, and there's no insulation underneath. I can ...
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0 votes
0 answers
35 views

How to add a new step to my home entrance

Here is the current situation I bought a house the entrance has 2 steps stair, but the first step is a bit too high so we have some wood as an initial step. now I want to build the first step and I ...
  • 861
0 votes
2 answers
254 views

How should I deal with stair riser height when installing thicker flooring?

In the below picture you can see the 4 steps that take the visitor from the entrance door to the main floor. The floor guy will install 3/8" subfloor over the existing diagonal boards that are ...
  • 3,227
1 vote
4 answers
253 views

making concave indentation into end of piece of wood

I need to reinforce a railing, above a stairwell, that is completely un-supported at one end (other than flimsy metal vertical stiles, which are nowhere near strong enough to keep the end of the ...
0 votes
1 answer
293 views

Are these studs actually structural?

First question on here so apologies if getting it wrong. I have removed old lath and plaster wall from under stairs to install cupboards but there is a lot of wood that appears to be structural ...
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0 votes
0 answers
62 views

Controlling multiple lights (stairs and basement) with motion-detector

As you can see in this photo, I have an unlit stairway down to my basement. At the bottom of the stairs to the right is a door to my basement-level garage. We use these stairs frequently. I want them ...
  • 299
0 votes
0 answers
89 views

Stairway handrail needs to be lower than the wall mounting

I want to install a stairway handrail, but the lower part of the wall is covered by an old marble panelling that cannot be drilled. So the only place I can attach brackets to the wall is above this ...
0 votes
0 answers
64 views

When having new steps being poured, what are the requirements for footers, gravel, stone at base and broken concrete and bluestone fill?

We have a side and front porch being removed and repaired. On our back porch, they are pouring two new sets of stairs with bluestone on top and Elderado stone around the side. We went out this ...
3 votes
3 answers
584 views

When replacing front and side concrete steps, is it common to leave some of concrete steps to pour the new concrete over? Use old concrete as fill?

Our front and side concrete steps are being replaced. Our contractor has jacked out part of the steps, but not all of it. He also intends to use the broken concrete as fill inside the new steps. On ...
1 vote
1 answer
120 views

2-story house -- what would happen if I installed an AC unit in the window halfway up the stairs?

I purchased a window AC unit without checking fit on all my windows. It won't fit my upstairs or downstairs windows. The only window it fits is halfway up the stairs.
0 votes
3 answers
314 views

Fill a hole in wood with a cavity behind

I’m trying to find the best way to fill a hole in wood with a cavity behind it. I’ve got a stair box which at some point in the past has had a chunk taken out of it that goes completely through the ...
0 votes
3 answers
67 views

How can I attach modern spindles to these treads?

We recently bought a terraced house in the North of England (built in 1880). Its three stories, and its beautiful curved bannister that would have run continuously from ground to second floor had been ...
0 votes
2 answers
245 views

Fill gap between stair tread and retread?

I'm using Stairtek retreads to resurface previously carpeted stairs. Some current treads have some sag in the middle, with the worst of which being 3/16". Is there a viable way to level that so ...
0 votes
2 answers
52 views

How do you tile over a porch stepping slab that has a nose?

In the picture below everything is cross section: 1 -door 2 -porch slab concrete 3 -stepping stone that has a nose I would like to tile the porch and the stepping stone but I am not sure how to tile ...
  • 3,227
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

How should I fasten lowered stair stringers to my deck landing?

I have a small landing and set of stairs that need to be built in a fairly small space up to our garage pad. I have a limited area to work with so the landing serves as the first step down in order to ...
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2 votes
1 answer
621 views

Is it reasonable to use plywood as a finished flooring on a stair landing?

I'm planning a stair remodel and am seriously considering using stair retreads over existing stairs on a U-shaped staircase. The stairs are open on one side so will be needing returns as well. I'm ...
0 votes
1 answer
346 views

Fixing laminate stair nose molding?

One of the stair nose came off and I’m trying to figure out the best way to put it back. There are tiny nails through the stair nose, and they all shifted. I think about removing them and applying ...
0 votes
0 answers
32 views

Should my new steel stairs have a rubber gasket under for flexing?

Building an all steel staircase in my workshop, with 6" C channel stringers. I'm wondering if I should put some rubber inner tube under the plates at the bottom of the stringers on the concrete ...
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1 vote
0 answers
331 views

Wanting to put open railing on stairs but framers seem to have made the banister load bearing. Is this going to be hard to change?

Our home is in framing phase but we didn’t get to choose finishes. They are framing it for an enclosed wall staircase but I want to change it to railing as soon as I move I. However, the framing ...
0 votes
3 answers
227 views

Stairway Railing / Banister Code Requirements

I've recently been remodeling my staircase leading upstairs and have a question regarding the necessary alterations to meet code requirements. The goal is to keep the staircase as open as possible to ...
1 vote
0 answers
86 views

Using angle steel as stair tread cleats

My walkout basement concrete pit was poured with a 36" wide area for the steps you can walk up to get to grade (sorry for the crude ASCII art): w +---+ | | | +--------+ | | +-----...
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0 votes
0 answers
239 views

adhesive for vinyl plank stair treads and MDF risers

I'm redoing stairs with vinyl plank (EVP) treads (with build-in pad), and then 1/2" MDF covers for risers. What adhesive should I be using for the vinyl plank (with pad)? What about for the MDF ...
0 votes
2 answers
184 views

How do I fix a loose wooden tread on a concrete staircase?

The wooden stair tread shown below has become loose when moisture entered the staircase from the wall's side and warped it. The water ingress has since been fixed, but the tread often makes a loud ...
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Suitable ladder for reaching stair well above corner stairs

I want to hang a picture in our stairwell above the stairs, but the stairs curve directly beneath the stairwell where I want to hang the picture. What is the best way to reach the wall above the ...
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5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Can the bottom stair have a different height than the rest in GA?

Have spiral staircase in which all the riders but the bottom one are the same height. Is that acceptable in GA?
0 votes
0 answers
33 views

How are rubberized stair treads done when there is an open landing?

I want to add rubberized stair treads to a staircase. However, at the bottom of the staircases is a landing that is open on two sides. Since the stair tread material I have seen just has a lip on one ...
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-1 votes
1 answer
146 views

Anti-slip (ice, water) mat for outdoor stair treads?

I used composite decking to build my stair treads and it gets slippery, especially when water freezes over during winter. I need five of something that is 6' long and 6" deep to provide traction. ...
  • 221
2 votes
2 answers
187 views

Maximum rise on outdoor steps

I am working with a contractor to build stone/cinder block steps on a 30 to 35 degree slope. He is thinking to put 10 inch risers. Although that is above the level I am seeing in my cursory search (...
0 votes
2 answers
374 views

Multiple motion switches in parallel OR operation for stairway

2017 NEC 210.70.A.2 gives the following exception: Exception to (A)(2)(1), (A)(2)(2), and (A)(2)(3): In hallways, in stairways, and at outdoor entrances, remote, central, or automatic control of ...

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