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Re: Stair Installation

From: info@builderswebsource.com
Category: Carpentry and Framing
Date: 08 Apr 2000
Time: 17:30:06
Remote Name: 216.24.159.147

Comments

As a furniture maker, you probably have much higher standards for residential construction than most framers do! Like you, I always like using screws and adhesives wherever possible to provide a superior installation. However, it is generally a more common practice to use a nail gun to install oak stairs (treads and risers) on top of the plywood base. If you use special oak stair treads that have a bullnose edge with a recess underneath, the riser generally goes in first, so the stair tread can lock on top of it. Before you install the oak, make sure you check the plywood underneath...using plenty of nails or screws to prevent or eliminate sqeaks in the underlayment. Once you're sure that the underlayment is secure (assuming there is underlayment in your case), then you can go ahead and start installing the risers and treads, working your way up from the bottom. Using nails with some construction adhesive such as PL400 or similar should work just fine. A nice finishing touch is to get some decorative concave quarter-circle moulding trim to place underneath the bullnose (and against the top of the riser) to give a little more elaborate appearance to the nose of each tread. From a side view, it looks a little like an ogee pattern. This moulding also helps to obscure any gaps between the risers and the treads. Hopefully you can envision my description. Enjoy your project!

Good luck,

Builders Websource

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