Laminant Staircase Upgrade

3 Materials
$300
3 Days
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Quarantine 2020 has turned into Home Renovation Quarantine for us. We replaced our entire second floor carpeting with laminant flooring. Then we were faced with the dillema of what to do with the remainig front and back stairs. The front curved staircase , pictured below was tiled (see link for project details). I really like how the front tile staircase turned out but it was labor intensive and a bit expensive for our backstairs. So we agreed that laminant stairs was a good option, using the same material we had used on the upstairs flooring.

front curved staircase 

Upstairs flooring
Remove Carpet


Start by removing carpet, nail boards, nails(from the nail boards that had secured the carpeting) and staples

Cut/Measure Laminant for every stair


Measure Each Step by Width/Heigth of both Step and Face – our stairs were not perfectly square, so each cut was a little different. Yes, this took a long time… We used one and a half boards per surface, then bullnose on the edge of each step. Depending on the bullnose you use, it will vary how much space you will need at the edge of each step for the metal strip and bullnose.

Bullnose


Sorry for the poor picture, but this is the bullnose metal strip that goes on the edge of every step and helps to anchor the bullnose. Under the bullnose, theres a metal strip that is screwed down to the wooden stair (top of step). Then the laminant pieces are glued with liquid nails. Allowing to dry at least 24 hours before anyone walks on them.

Finished Pic from upstairs
Finished Pic from downstairs


Here’s a look at the finished stairs, we love how it turned out. The bullnose on the front of each stairs really adds a nice look and added traction.

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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Joe kraus Joe kraus on Oct 09, 2020

    The effect is nice, but I'd have to imagine that the moulding which sticks out above the edge of each tread could be potentially hazardous. Have you had any trips or falls due to this? Thanks.

  • Julie Julie on Oct 09, 2020

    Could you explain what bullnose is for the sake of us amateurs?

  • Elizabeth Carey Elizabeth Carey on Oct 11, 2020

    I have a teenage boy who thumps up and down stairs with carpet! Will this not be a lot noisier?

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  • PATSY PATSY on Oct 09, 2022

    We ripped ours out when we moved into this house. The mounding on the edge did create a tripping hazard.

  • Diane Diane on Oct 09, 2022

    I worry about how slick they might be for us old people without the carpet. Having fell down our carpeted ones. At least there was some padding.

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