Retrofit Wood Stairs
The carpet on your stairs is looking pretty rough. You know you want wood stairs. You may have even looked up the cost to have someone come in and do it. You then looked at the price and thought “hmm…I bet I can do it cheaper”. Then you watched some videos, looked at how complicated it is, and then thought “you know, carpet ain’t so bad”. Yes, it is bad. It is terrible. You should totally replace that carpet.
I will admit that this is one of those projects that made me very anxious until I got to the end and realized that I had nothing to worry about. It just seems so overwhelming at first. Cutting up the stairs in your house? Purchasing expensive retreads and having to cut them perfectly or forever suffer the wrath of imperfect craftsmanship? What if, What if, What if!
Now calm down. Breath. You can do this. You should do this! I can help.
So what are we going to do?
We are going to pull up the old carpet and put a solid wood stair tread and riser on top of the ugly underlying plywood and/or OSB. We are going to order prefinished stair treads online because you don’t want to fool with sanding, staining, sanding, and clear coating when the factory can do it much better for only a marginal cost increase. You will make your own risers because they are simple to do and you have to paint those anyway. And you will do all of this yourself.
Why should I tackle this myself?
Well, apart from the satisfaction of a job well done and impressing all of your friends, there is serious money to be saved here. I got quotes from several local flooring companys to have my stairs converted to wood. The estimates ranged between $3500- $5,000. For 14 treads. Online estimates put the price at around $200/stair ($2800 total) for a closed stair design (this goes up considerable if you have open or spiral treads). Purchasing pre-finished stair treads online (~$65, delivered) and installing them yourself (#Treads * hour spent per Tread * your hourly rate = $280) would set you back ~$100/stair. So I figure that I could save around $1,400 off of the lowest quoted price. This was enough of a carrot to get me to add “stair installer” to my skill stack.
So, what is a re-tread anyway?
This is a solid wood stair tread that is 3/4″ thick with a 1″ bull-nose. This makes it the ideal thickness to replace carpet without adding any extra height to your stair and messing with the stair/riser ratio. The 1″ bull-nose is there for looks.
Where do I buy the retreads?
From what I can tell, there are two main companies our there in the online re-tread stair market:
www.stair-treads.com
www.hardwood-lumber.com
I used stair-treads.com (treat this as information only; this is not an endorsement and I am not an affiliate). I think I caught them at a bad time because I ended up having to send back several treads due to a visible defect in the clear coat finish (I talk about it in the video). They were awesome on customer service and made it right, but it was a needless delay. They claim that the kinks have been worked out of some new equipment they bought but I have had no reason to test them. I am curious if anyone has any thoughts of one versus the other.
What steps (come on, give me that one) are involved?
1.) Pull up the carpet. Wear a dust mask when you do so. Carpet hold all kinds of filth. This is one of the reasons you are replacing it.
2.) Clean up the stairs. Remove all the staples. Look for other defects that might make a tread sit uneven (plaster droppings, significant paint over spray, etc.). Don’t be too picky.
3.) If any stairs are squeaking then now would be a great time to solve it with some screws.
4.) Cut off the existing bull-nose on the tread. This is not as bad as it sounds!
5.) Paint 1/4″ plywood to match your final trim panel. Rip it to the height of you riser. Cut an extra just in case.
6.) Use your tread measuring tool to get the right angles for the edge of the riser.
7.) Use your table and measuring tool to mark both ends of one riser. Cut it on the miter saw.
8.) Dry fit and then glue the riser into place. Use 3/4″ brad nails to secure along the top and bottom.
9.) Repeat for all of the risers.
10.) Go ahead and caulk between the risers and the neighboring trim. Fill the nails holes at the top. Paint as needed. It is easier to do it now before the treads are in place.
11.) Measure and cut the stair treads just as you did the risers.
12.) Glue the risers into place and stand on it to make sure everything is down solidly.
13.) Lay painters tape along the edges of the tread and shoot two 1.5″ brads per side. Fill the heads with matching putty and remove the tape (no cleanup required!)
14.) Repeat. You get faster with each pass.
15. ) Have a well deserved beer.
Check out this step-by-step walk through. Pretend it isn’t a PowerPoint presentation:
So that is just about it. Leave questions/comments below and please jump in if you have completed a stair tread replacement yourself. Good luck!
Tools Used
1.) Sliding Miter Saw: Stair treads are wider then most standard miter saws. You can get away without one, but your frustration level will go up exponentially. This is a good excuse to buy one if you don’t have one already.
2.) Circular Saw: Any saw will do. I used my Festool tracksaw because of its ability to plunge cut cleanly and its awesome dust collection capabilities. But, honestly, this is complete overkill for this project. You could even use handsaw if you needed to. I also made a very simple saw guide that I used to keep me from having to keep the saw steady. I highly recommend you do the same.
3.) Table Saw: For ripping the risers and treads. Cover it with painters tape to keep from scratching the finished surfaces.
4.) Stair Tread Measuring Tool: Make or buy one. I made my own from some scrap plywood and some wingnuts. It worked out well for me.
5.) Hand Saw: A nice sharp one
6.) Chisel
7.) Sander
8.) Caulk Gun
9.) Nail Gun and Compressor (or a hammer and nail set)
Materials Used
1.) Adhesive for both riser and tread
2.) Brad Nails
3.) 1/4 Birch Plywood
4.) Stair Treads (see above)
5.) Paint
Thank you, loved the diagrams in the video. Is the difference between a standard tread and a retrotread only in the thickness. Can I use a standard tread in 3/4inch thickness instead? Since retrotreads are more expensive?
I originally thought that the overhang bullnose was the difference and that it enables installation without having to cut the overhang on the original stairs.
If both treads require cutting of the overhang, can I go with a 3/4inch standard tread?
Sorry, late response on this one but I will go ahead and answer just in case someone else has the same question. The main point of the retrotread bullnose being slight thicker than the rest of the tread is so that the top of the riser can be easily hidden. Not only is there a good chance that your riser wont be perfect, but the adhesive you are using will raise the tread a little bit. So that variation would get hidden by the retrotread. That being said, if you are careful, and aren’t afraid of pulling out the chaulk if something goes wrong, then I think you can get away using regular tread. Good luck!
The tools list was great. The instructions were all I needed as well. I had never attempted a stair project prior to this hallway stairs project. The results were better than I expected. My wife loves the new look.
The stairs were straightforward. The difficult part was an odd shaped lower landing. The same place I ordered the treads from offered matching T&G materials for the landing.
Do not try this project without the sliding miter saw, the oscillating tool, and the stair template tool.
Thanks for the video and the detailed parts list.
Hey Vic – You are very welcome and I really appreciate the feedback! I am glad it provided enough detail to get you going. I was nervous when I first started cutting into the stairs, but I was hoping that it would be straight forward as long as I had the right tools and had a good game plan. I hope others are encouraged to just go for it; this is one of those projects that really pays off.
Great demonstration. Thank you for your detailed explanation – much appreciated! Our staircase is winding – 6 pie-shaped treads total so the staircase does a 180 degree turn. We’ve been looking everywhere for a retread/retrofit option rather than completely tearing out the whole tread. So far we’re not finding any products to fit the bill. Any suggestions?
Hi Nicole – Thank you so much for the feedback. I don’t know if they make a pie-shaped tool, though a quick search did not reveal anything readily available. You might be able to order the widest tread they offer and see if you can cut it down to the the right angle with exceeding that tread width. I would probably start there and see if the math works out. Good luck and follow up if you find a solution.
I have a question as my risers are bowed under the nosing so the nosing overhangs the riser less in the middle than at either end. Along the bottom of the riser some are straight along the tread and some are bowed back in the middle up to 1/8”. Any advice on where to cut the nosing?
I had the same issue on some of mine too. I recommend measuring each step at a few locations and then transfer the shortest measurement top of the tread. When you get this line, you will find that you have a bit of overhang on the outside…but you at least have a straight cut to line up to. From there, your glue is your friend. Use a generous amount in those bowed areas and press until it looks flat. This will fill it the gap nicely. Let it dry and you should have a solid (feeling) flat riser. Hope this helps!
Great video thanks!
Problem I’m having is cutting the depth of the new riser. I’m using Retro Treads that have a pre installed trim moulding under the nose of the tread. I’m afraid that the back of the tread might have a gap where it meets the riser if I don’t get the measurement spot on. Do you have a tip on making a precise measurement before I run it through the table saw?
Thank you!
Last week I impulsively ripped out the carpet on my stairs, and have been trying to figure out “now what!?” since. I’ve consulted countless YouTube videos and blog posts, and your instructions are among the most thorough. Thanks so much. I’m ready to tackle this DIY now!
Thanks Hannah! I’m so glad this was able to help you out.
Hi Rob. This is one of the reasons I was using the bullnose retro tread. There IS a gap, but that gap isn’t really visible. The retro tread you are using would seem to make the gap more visible, though a bit of caulk should hide it. Another approach is to install the back riser AFTER the tread. That is, install a riser (below the stair you are working on), Cut and install the tread, leaving a bit of gap at the back, then cut the back riser to size. Repeat. This might leave a little bit of vertical gap between the riser and tread, but probably not too bad. I would love to hear how it worked out for you.
Brandon,
Quick question – I am replacing carpeted stairs with nice oak treads… we are painting the risers, do I really need to replace the risers too?
Thx Jon H
Hi Jon – Good question. It really depends on what the underlying wood for the rise looks like. In my case, the riser was OSB. So I really didn’t have a choice. But if the riser was plywood or solid construction pine then maybe you could clean it up and paint it directly. I recommend that you paint one and see if you like the results. Good luck!
Hi. I like Hanna recently ripped out the carpet from my stairs and upstairs hallway. I want a runner for the hallway and some sort of mat/rug to cover the stair treads while I finish some other projects and I’m ready to start the stairs. What were you using on yours before you finished the stairs? Do you have a link to the brown mats from the video? They looked perfect. Thanks!
Hi! I’m glad you noticed the little stair tread carpets. I was happy to find them when I was in the same situation and they worked out great. I got them at home depot in the carpet area (look where the trim pieces are). I am sure they have changed suppliers at this point, so I can’t give you the exact product coded. I recommend taking a look at what your local store has. If you can’t find anything, look up “tread carpet” and you will get a ton of options that can be shipped to your house or to the store.
Hi Brandon,
I’m thinking about using retro treads and risers but am concerned about the top and bottom riser height difference. My existing risers are 7.25″. If I add 3/4″to the top and bottom tread, the top riser will be 6.25″ and the bottom riser will be 8″. The remaining risers will be 7.25.
My concern is creating a trip hazard. Any thoughts on this? Thank you, Paul K.