Carpet Stairs to hardwood/LVF ideas?

[Raycaster]

Wife gave me the go ahead to rip up 80’s carpet on stairs. 
 

I’m a handy guy and do most home renovations so hoping to do “economically” myself.  I consider myself a intermediate “woodworker” but hoping others here maybe in the trade had suggestions.

I want to stay under $3000 and thinking the Luxury Vinyl Planks may keep the price down. The material looks bendable for custom noses saving a ton of money also. Im retired and if it takes a month then so be it...no rush. 
 

I have 2 major concerns that no “easy to do youtube videos” show:

1) Damn rails that basically have to save. The winding stairs are open so end cuts seen.

2) Big curve landing step.

I have a router table etc. and all the tools, if anyone has taken this on and has tips I’d appreciate feedback, thanks.

[Hack_Fisherman]

I can’t seeing there being a clean way of doing that without dismantling the railing system and reinstalling after you clad the treads. My lvp were not bendable and each tread nose/plank was like $60 each 
 

honestly, I’d just remove the carpet, sand and paint the treads and stringers (railing system too if you prefer). Carpet runner up the middle or not. 

[Big Cliff]

What is under the carpet now? Is there any chance you can just refinish and paint/stain what you already have. I  personally would not go with the vinal plank flooring on stairs for several reasons. 

[dave524]

3 hours ago, Big Cliff said:

What is under the carpet now? Is there any chance you can just refinish and paint/stain what you already have. I  personally would not go with the vinal plank flooring on stairs for several reasons. 

Maybe someone carpeted oak treads, problem solved

[DRIFTER_016]

The place I'm dealing with in Edmonton has a guy that makes custom treads from LVP. They are heated and bent and the nose is backed with 3/4" plywood. 

My flooring manufacturer also has tread nosing priced @ around $80 per (96") piece.

Works out to $40 a tread. Yes you'll need to pull all the spindles to do the job.

I'm doing my stair treads from 1"x4"   cherry surrounding tile but my floors will be really nice LVP.

Edited March 1, 2021 by DRIFTER_016

[Raycaster]

Ive seen the lvp bending technique etc. and everything seems do able but this may be the first reno I may pass on. I’m the family guy that usually gets called to fix and build everything but common sense may be calling... There are a lot of details to the job that together are making the job out of reach.

The LVP nosing would save money but I need end caps.

The spindles add complexity worrying about height adjustment, and how to secure cleanly.

The treads also have a custom CURVE (not just length) ever stair.

There are solutions but is it worth it?

I don’t mind going into “MacGyver Mode” but I also don’t want to spend $2000 or more bucks on a half a$$ job.

[woodenboater]

That looks like a ton of work, esp dealing with the railings. I'd be hoping that they built the stairs with nice hardwood, then you can just sand and refinish as suggested ^^. Otherwise, I'd probably make templates for each step if going LVP route. Again, it's work that would put me off doing the stairs myself. Good luck.

[DanD]

Just saw this; not saying this will work for your application; but it may give you some Ideas?

Dan.

The above vid was from HD.com (US site)

This link should take you to the Canadain HD and what's avalable here?

Home Depot Step treads.

Edited March 2, 2021 by DanD

[porkpie]

I did vinyl plank throughout the entire top floor of my house, excluding bedrooms.  There is no way I'd do a staircase.  I didn't find it the most forgiving stuff.  It is easy to cut however but overall I don't think I'd do it again.  Laminate is easier to deal with.  Frankly I'd never have anything but carpet on a staircase.  It only takes one mother in law slipping and breaking an ankle to convince you to never have a hardwood or non carpeted staircase.  Ask me how I know! 

[ketchenany]

have you checked that under that carpet there is hardwood?

It does happen. I just got my builder basement stairs done, no curves. They put in new cover and risers, the covers were stained to match the floor. The blanks were raw. Cost came with the basement work. Hope there is hardwood under there. 

[Hack_Fisherman]

2 hours ago, ketchenany said:

have you checked that under that carpet there is hardwood?

It does happen. I just got my builder basement stairs done, no curves. They put in new cover and risers, the covers were stained to match the floor. The blanks were raw. Cost came with the basement work. Hope there is hardwood under there. 

Would be nice, but I’d put my money on spruce if carpet went in day one. 

[Hack_Fisherman]

5 hours ago, porkpie said:

I did vinyl plank throughout the entire top floor of my house, excluding bedrooms.  There is no way I'd do a staircase.  I didn't find it the most forgiving stuff.  It is easy to cut however but overall I don't think I'd do it again.  Laminate is easier to deal with.  Frankly I'd never have anything but carpet on a staircase.  It only takes one mother in law slipping and breaking an ankle to convince you to never have a hardwood or non carpeted staircase.  Ask me how I know! 

Agreed. I hate LVP. Sure it looks better than the old laminate and it’s waterproof, but laminate had decent substance. Your subfloor has to be perfect for LV. If I ever do it again, I’m going engineered hardwood or heated ceramic. It’s worth the money

[Raycaster]

Its crap wood underneath...

[Big Cliff]

Install new carpet then, that would be the least expensive option. 

[Hack_Fisherman]

I’d sure like to see how someone dealt with end capping the scroll end on the bottom step. 

[Jantaray]

Vinyl flooring consists of several layers, each of which has a specific function. We also wanted to put vinyl flooring on the floor. It has advantages. But first we did a project to see how it would look in general after the renovation. We had adhesive laminate. It is cheaper, but requires careful gluing of the lamellas. For installation, it is advisable to contact professionals to get a good result. The lamellae can be in the form of slats or squares. Self-adhesive can be put yourself, the master will not need glue, but we decided to trust the masters.

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https://zelta.ca/

Edited May 2, 2022 by Jantaray

[Snakecharmer]

On 2/28/2021 at 2:06 PM, Raycaster said:

Wife gave me the go ahead to rip up 80’s carpet on stairs. 
 

I’m a handy guy and do most home renovations so hoping to do “economically” myself.  I consider myself a intermediate “woodworker” but hoping others here maybe in the trade had suggestions.

I want to stay under $3000 and thinking the Luxury Vinyl Planks may keep the price down. The material looks bendable for custom noses saving a ton of money also. Im retired and if it takes a month then so be it...no rush. 
 

I have 2 major concerns that no “easy to do youtube videos” show:

1) Damn rails that basically have to save. The winding stairs are open so end cuts seen.

2) Big curve landing step.

I have a router table etc. and all the tools, if anyone has taken this on and has tips I’d appreciate feedback, thanks.

How did it come out? Did you carpet the steps?

 

[Raycaster]

Well…. Ended up selling the house. It was too tempting not to with the crazy offers. THEY can redo the stairs, re-shingle the roof, replace fence, replace driveway etc…