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kahuna_ja

how to shim angled stair risers?

kahuna_ja
10 years ago

I'm planning on adding false treads and risers to my open stairs (right side only) and keeping the carpet to the wall side. I was hoping it would be straightforward, but the existing risers are angled back about an inch from top to bottom. Any recommendations on how I can "square up" my stairs so that the risers are at 90deg? I will be having the carpet replaced too, so is it best to just replace the entire riser or can I add a cleat or a wedge?

thanks.

Comments (7)

  • weedyacres
    10 years ago

    They may be angled because the treads are on the short side, so you might not want to shorten the tread by straightening the risers. It would be simpler to just cut your false treads at a slight angle to match that of the riser.

    Are you planning to replace the visible part of the riser, paint it, or just put a thin layer of stained wood over it?

  • jfcwood
    10 years ago

    I understand the question about squaring the risers but am baffled by the terms false treads, right side and wall side.
    As weedyacres pointed out, your risers are angled in lieu of having a nosing/bullnose at the top. If you eliminate the angle, you'll have to add overhang at the top to preserve enough area to safely step on.
    You can use a shim of sorts at the bottom. Use a square to determine the exact overhang and use a table saw to cut a mitered piece where the angle corresponds to your riser angle, fasten it in place and fasten the riser to it.

  • kahuna_ja
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the input. I hadn't considered that I would be effectively reducing the tread depth from 11.5 to 10" by having a riser go straight down from the leading edge of the tread.

    To clarify: a "false tread" is a wood piece that can go on one or both sides of the stairs with carpeting to give the impression of having hardwood stairs with a runner down the middle. The stairway in my house is open on the right side all the way up and the wall is on the left.

    To further elaborate, the false treads do have a nosing which now makes me think I'd have to ensure there is a nosing for the carpet to flow over and down. Seems to be getting more complicated.

    And weedyacres has actually posted a similar result that I want (the difference being I would have carpet from the wall skirt, then 5" of wood for the balusters to fit into.

    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/flooring/msg1210295824424.html?5

  • glennsfc
    10 years ago

    If you could post a picture of your existing staircase, that would help.

  • kahuna_ja
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Posting a pic would have been too easy!

  • gardengirl2768
    9 years ago

    hi. i have the same exact situation and have had stair guys here. It's true that if you make the riser straight, you won't have enough foot room. If you were to put in whole wood treads with nosing, then it would be fine because you'd gain the inch from the nosing. I too wanted to cut cost by doing carpet and doing end treads, but I don't know what to do with the end tread. I don't know if it will look good when viewed from the side angled back. What did you or are you planning to do?

    At one time, I had carpet rolled over the sides like yours and had them put molding there instead of carpet. It is angled to match the angle of the stairs, and it does not look good. It looks very zig zaggy, like the letter z.

    I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and have wood treads put in and have everything plumbed to be straight. In this case, then you have to put in molding or skirts to hide the plumbing from the sides. It gets expensive!!!!

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    9 years ago

    Take your photos in landscape mode, bottom of your phone to your right, and you will never have orientation issues.