Laminate Stairs - Part 1

Okay guys and gals...  A couple years ago I had some renters in my house who thought it was fun to pay no regard to my property.  They completely destroyed the carpet on my stairs.  Their damage combined with the leftover effects of my former puppy Joe made this project a must.  Several weeks ago, I began on this endeavor by pulling up all the carpet going up the stairs, into my loft, and in my masterbedroom.  My mom came in and assisted me for a day laying laminate in my masterbedroom, hallway, and loft.  How to for the laminate floors will follow in the next couple weeks.  But since I am starting this blog mid-project I thought I would begin with the how to for the laminate stairs.  Most will find laminate flooring on the stairs to be the most challenging part of the project anyway.

Step 1 - Demo

• Remove the carpet, pad and tack strips.  Use a basic utility knife to score the carpet along the landing at the top of the steps and use your brute strength to pull it off.  TIP: Take the carpet off in pieces so that it is easier to dispose of (I usually just through it in my normal trash can but not all services let you).  Use a crow bar and rubber mallet to pull of the tack strips.  BE CAREFUL!  I usually keep a bucket or small trash can near by to dump them in so my kitties or I don't accidentally step on them.
• Go back over your stairs to make sure there aren't any staples, nails or carpet pad hanging around.  I have a staple remover I use for upholstering that works really well.  Needle nose pliers will do the trick as well.



Couldn't find my safety glasses so
my sunglasses had to do.

• If your stair tread (the flat part you walk on) overhangs the riser (the back part of each step) you will need to remove it so that there is no overhang.  On my steps I had a bullnose that I had to remove.  After some consultation with my good friend/neighbor Eric and some other research, I figured out the best way to acheive this task is with a saws-all (aka reciprocating saw).  Make sure you use a short blade and just carefully cut into the overhang until you have your blade running parallel to the stair riser.  SAFETY FIRST:  Make sure to wear appropriate eye and ear protection.

Step 2 - Stair Risers

• I bought plain pine stair risers from a local big box retailer.  They were about $5 each and already filled, sanded and ripped to the correct height. TIP: Measure your riser height before buying standard risers.  You want the stair riser to come flush with the the stair tread.



Yes it was dark outside...sometimes
you have to make progress when
time allows.

• You will need to cut each riser to the correct width.  I know it is tedious and I was tempted to skip this step but do yourself a favor and measure and cut each step separately.  I can almost guarantee that each stair will not be exactly the same width.  TIP: Number the back side of each riser so you know where to put it. I started with #1 at the bottom step.  If there is a small gap (less than a 1/4 inch) when you dry fit the riser, don't worry.  We will fill that with caulk later.
• I like spray paint for priming so I just took all the risers outside and primed them there.  Then I rolled my high gloss trim paint on before bringing them back inside to install.  This makes it A LOT easier for clean-up since you don't have to tape off any edges or worry about getting paint on your laminate.  Make sure you don't paint over the number you put on each riser.
• Once everything is cut to size, primed, and painted it is time to install!  Place each riser where it belongs and get out the nail gun and compressor!  While this is about a 5 minute task with a brad nailer it can be done the old fashioned way with a traditional hammer and nails.  It may take you a bit more time though, and you may ding up your boards if you hammer like I do :)  I shot 6 nails into each board (one in each corner and 1 centered across the top and bottom).



Beautiful caulk line :)  You can also
use a dab of caulk to fill the nail holes.

• Next is just caulking the gaps on the left and right side of each riser.  Use a latex paintable caulk and fill the gaps.  There is a little caulk scraper tool that you can pick up for a few bucks at your local hardware store that makes cleaning things up very easy. I highly recommend it.  With the scraper tool, just fit it into each corner and scrape off the excess caulk and you will end up with a nice pretty line. 

To Be Continued...  See Laminate Stairs - Part 2