It looks like I'll be ripping up nasty 30-year-old carpet and putting down some type of wood floor. I've been researching online, and I think engineered plank is the best bet so far.



Solid wood is nice, but I've read that it's more likely to split, and is more prone to changes in humidity/moisture. I'm also thinking planks instead of whole pre-fab treads/risers, because I can get a tighter fit (to the wall and substrate), and if I mess up on I'm not out a whole $40 piece.



We have 3 flights, each with a landing halfway. I'm thinking ceramic tile for the landings. Not exactly a traditional method, I know, but we're a fan of the idea. Any reason not to?



Anyone done this? Any tips?



My goal of eliminating all carpet from the house is getting closer. So far we've replaced carpet with laminate floor in the 4 bedrooms, and replaced carpet with Spanish tile in the lower living area (upper living area is hardwood floor). Currently all steps (3 flights, 3 landings) are carpet, the top floor is carpet (single, small room), and a small area connecting 2 bedrooms and bathroom (a hallway I guess?) is carpet.

i'm thinking that a chia-floor would be a nice alternative...

I concur, but I haven't worked out the irrigation issue.

An overhead system would give the added benefit of serving as a sprinkler system in the event of fire. It's a win-win.

I've often wondered why homes don't have sprinkler systems. Many apartments do, but houses don't. Seems like it would be worth the up-front cost, if you could lower your insurance quite a bit.

I'd like to offer something of value, but I have nothing. Seems like wood might ultimately be a better choice, since I don't know how you would edge a laminate on a stair tread. Buy hardwood treads and install them yourself? http://www.hardwoodstairtreads.com/index.html



I do like working in ceramic tile. I think if you are patient and have the few basic tools necessary, you can do work that is on a par with a professional installer. It'll just take you longer.

The engineered flooring would install the same way solid wood; you have planks with tongue-and-groove, and a bull-nose piece that goes on the edge. Not the same as the fakey "laminate floor" stuff, although technically it does have a laminate surface (but it's real wood, not printed pattern).



I like the whole tread idea, they just cost more. If the buyer doesn't mind though, then that's fine with me! Much less labor that way.



I feel confident with the tile work. The Spanish tile didn't behave with spacers (corners are rounded, some are convex, some are concave, etc.), and I did it at a 45* angle, so it was quite a challenge. I look forward to working with perfectly square tiles in a rectangular space with nothing to cut around.

I think we need pics.













and booze.

digi cam, and home computer, bit the dust.



I still have a digi camcorder that I think can take snapshots, and a work-issued laptop, so I might be able to get pics going.

Ok, final plan (as of today anyways):

Whole treads and risers, solid red oak, unfinished (we'll stain them ourselves), from these guys

treads: 48"x11.5"x1" (our steps are 44"x11.5")

risers: 48"x7.5"x.75"

36 of each, plus some extras for errors/finding right color

48"x3.5" landing treads, for the landings and top of each set of stairs, 6 of these

cove molding and shoe molding (no skirt molding a.k.a. stringers)

$99 flat fee for shipping orders over a $650

Total will be right at $2k. I haven't been able to find any place that could come close to beating that for whole treads/risers (and if I did, this place would match the price).



The treads are 1" thick, which would make the bottom step of each set or stairs taller than the rest. This could cause someone to trip coming down the stairs, not expecting the larger drop at the bottom. I plan to fix this, not by ripping up the construction treads and installing thinner ones, but by adding shims to 3-or-so steps leading to the bottom one. This guy describes it, and it sounds good to me:



Pre-finished, "retro" treads from stair-treads.com would cost nearly $2k more than what these will cost. The only advantages the retro-treads have are they're thinner, designed to replace carpet (without having to address the problem mentioned above); and they're prefinished. I have the experience finishing wood, and don't mind it if it means saving that much money.

i don't consider a 3/4" difference in the bottom step to be a tripping hazard.. the 2 stair cases in my shop are cut on the same angle, but 1 set is a little over a foot higher, which makes the top step about 3 inches different than the rest.. No one has tripped over that one drunk yet, let alone sober.

Good to know. I'll be sure to get drunk and test it once I'm finished. And possibly halfway through. Or maybe after a few steps are installed.

Why wait that long? I'd say if you're talking about doing the project, you should get started drinking right away.

i don't know anything about flooring (it did look pretty simple) but i do know that!

I installed flooring for over 4 1/2 yrs, it's easy really (hardwood, laminate, vinyl, carpet & tile) . If you are doing hardwood the planks have to run across the & not with the floor joist. Remember not repeat any patterns when racking out the planks, it will look shitty. One thing customers have liked is to use 2 1/4 & 3 1/4 planks, 2 or 3 rows of 3 1/4 then a row of 2 1/4. Keep the butt joints spaced out by a few inches. Hard wood is great, but if you have animals I would suggest a higher end laminate with the beveled edges. Before installing hardwood let the wood sit in the house for 24 hrs to let it acclimate & use resin paper for a moisture barrier. Don't cut the rows to tight to the wall. Some people have issues in doorways, make sure to have cut the jams for wood to slide under & clean cut the plank in half when racking to the jam. Make sure your sub-floor is clean of all debris & edge the plywood joints so you don't have high spots. Just a few things off the top of my head, if you have any question I'll try to answer. BTW stairs, do standard planks on the riser & step with a stair nose. you will most likely have to cut off the nose on the original step for the new nose to sit tight. Use wood putty to fill any top nails.

Thanks! I'll hit you up with questions once things get rolling.

That's cool man Ill try to help.