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Overlay oak stair treads or replace ?

Started by chainsaw_louie, March 05, 2023, 08:54:56 AM

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chainsaw_louie


I had this home improvement idea.... Currently I have plain oak stair treads  but I have a stock of cherry and walnut and th out it would be nice to have treads of either walnut or cherry.  But how to execute this ?

How about if I were to create 1/2" overlay panels of cherry to make beautiful cherry wood stair treads. 

These would be glued to the original oak treads using a non brittle construction adhesive.

The front would have a thick bullnose piece glued on.  

Would it work ?

Would it be better or worse than removing the oak and replacing it entirely ?

Thanks !

Don P

If the stairs are correct, you would screw up the top and bottom step by doing that. Doesn't sound like much but we are very finely tuned creatures, it will create trips. Replace and improve them or leave them alone.

We suffered under a building official here for almost 2 decades. A piece of work who used the law as a stick to beat his neighbors with. In one instance the walnut stair treads were not graded so were being denied. Too late I realized there is a stamp on a sheet of plywood. Lower the stair frame 3/4", wrap the frame in stamped ply or boards and "trim" it in homemade wood.

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Tom King

To put it in other words:  Every tread needs to be, is required to be, and should be the same height.  A straight edge laid on the noses should hit every one, including the top one.  Anything less, and it's dangerous, hence the law (code).

You can't add anything onto them and this continue to be the case.

Having said that, there are Many that don't fit these requirements, but that's no reason to do them differently, or make them worse than they might already be.

I'm a perfectionist when it comes to building stairs.

RPF2509

Everybody is right to not alter the stairs with overlay.  A half inch will make your top and bottom step a hazard.  Try laying a 1/2" board on top and see how it feels.  You may not catch your foot the first time by try it in the dark and when you're tired.

bluthum

My opinion is that 1/2" add-on would be a hazard. Funky stairs can get you, your brain is trained to expect uniformity there. The recommended layout [rise/ run etc] comes from antiquity and matches how humans walk pretty well.

Don P

This video made the rounds a few years ago. I think I'm remembering 1/4" but maybe someone else remembers better.
New York City Subway Stairs - YouTube

Dan_Shade

If memory correctly serves, code allows variation, but not much....
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chainsaw_louie

Quote from: Don P on March 09, 2023, 09:44:04 AM
This video made the rounds a few years ago. I think I'm remembering 1/4" but maybe someone else remembers better.
New York City Subway Stairs - YouTube
That’s a great video and makes the point that our senses assume and then precisely adjust to all steps exactly the same height.  I agree that replacing the entire tread is the best way to do this. However in the case of doing an overlay on all steps except the top floor, a tripping hazard of a single higher step wouldn’t be introduced. Instead it would be a shorter step-up to the top which might also lead to similar tripping or alarming issues .  

Don P

It does, it still creates a tripping hazard top and bottom. Simply put, people are stupid and careless, don't add to the problem. Try it on a mocked up set, go up and down and feel the jar yourself. There is no way of making this safe or of getting off the hook if you modify a set of stairs in this way,(talk to your liability carrier...) it is not a home improvement product. Abandon ship  :D.

chainsaw_louie


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