Stairs - replace carpet with hardwood, etc.

9 years ago

Hi,

I'm not sure if I should post this here or on the Remodeling forum, so will probably ask on both!

The staircase in my foyer goes halfway up along the right wall, makes a 90 degree turn left, and continues the rest of the way upstairs. The left side of the staircase (as going up) is completely open to the foyer (with a railing of course).

The staircase currently has an endcap where the spindles go down into. The stairs are carpeted but I will change this to hardwood.

Now, I would like to remove the endcap and have the hardwood tread extend all the way to the open side, and then the iron balusters (new) go directly into the tread (as most staircases seem to be).

I had 2 estimates where both places indicated it was better to replace the entire staircase.

I had a 3rd place come over today, and it seems like they would just cut off the endcap and somehow extend each stair and lay the new tread over each existing/extended stair (so it didn't sound like they'd rip out the entire staircase and install a new one).

Is there any structural/functional issue with doing it this way? Will the stairs possibly squeak more, or be less stable? Or should I consider this contractor when I make my decision?

BTW, the other estimates were around $8500 - $9500 -- where it's possible the difference is in the stair/railing parts (some cost more than others and I'd have to look what they each quoted - I was looking for the squarish railing/post.).

Anything else to consider? To be honest, when I decided I wanted to change the stairs to hardwood, I never thought it would cost nearly this much to do that. I could consider just putting the hardwood on the existing stairs, but I'd prefer the hardwood extend out. Also note that I will be replacing the entire upstairs with hardwood as well.

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

weedyacres
9 years ago
Can you post a photo? I'm a bit unclear on what you're calling an end cap. Is it like a wall that goes up or a wood false tread on the edge of the carpet?

And what do you mean by "replace the entire staircase?" I wouldn't imagine anyone would be proposing to rip out the stringers, just all the treads and risers.

FWIW, we DIY replaced our open-sided carpeted stairs with oak treads, painted risers, and iron balusters, and the materials cost around $1000. It's a fair bit of labor, and tricky to get the handrail angle right, but $8K worth of labor seems a bit rich.
Ellen1234
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the reply!

I don't have a picture of my staircase, but here is an example from houzz.

Basically the drywall does extend up several inches and surrounds the left part of the stairs.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Example Staircase[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/breckenridge-plan-stillwater-model-home-traditional-staircase-salt-lake-city-phvw-vp~391240)
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Joseph Corlett, LLC
9 years ago
Ellen1234:

Most building codes only allow a 3/8" deviation between stair risers at most. I'm concerned that capping the existing threads will exceed this. It becomes dangerous because it ruins your gait as you move up and down the stairs. You'd be amazed at how much your foot anticipates where the next step will be.

Here is a link that might be useful: 3/8

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Thu, Sep 18, 14 at 11:19
GreenDesigns
9 years ago
Yes, the entire stair should be rebuilt if the job is going to be done properly. It would be unsafe to do it any other way that changes the height of the rise to be uneven.
weedyacres
9 years ago
I'm still unclear on what anyone means by "Rip out the entire staircase." You do need to replace the treads, but that's a matter of taking off the (likely) pine boards that are underneath the existing carpet and putting down a full tread with a finished edge. Replacing treads is a far cry in my book from rebuilding the stairs. The new wood treads should be about the same thickness as the current tread+carpet, so no re-jiggering of the stringers should be needed.
Ellen1234
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the replies!

Here's another example of the before/after of what I'm trying to do - although my staircase is open on the entire side where the "kneewall" needs to be cut down (like the first link above) versus just 5 stairs.

http://www.mitrecontracting.com/stairway-remodel.html.

I did find out that they do plan to just cut down the kneewall and put the new treads over the "newly exposed stringer" (from estimate).

The estimate is just about half of what the full replacement quotes.

One of the other estimates says:

"Remove existing stair & rail systems, stair back. Cut access hole to get under lower section if needed and cut down existing rake wall and install new [list of new stair info, including stringers, treads, risers, etc.].

Here is a link that might be useful: Before/After Example