What's Involved in Converting Carpeted Stairs to Hardwood

Hey folks! This is Tim from A Team Hardwoods LLC.

Welcome to another Q&A session where I answer questions from you all on the internet.

Today's question is:

"What's Involved in Converting Carpeted Stairs to Hardwood"

Summary:

Tim explains that converting carpeted stairs to hardwood often centers on matching what the homeowner already has, whether hardwood or laminate stairs, so everything flows with their existing flooring. He notes matching is a little harder with laminates because manufacturers seem to switch their products yearly, so you can only get close. In some cases the team installs actual solid treads, which Tim always suggests, to match the laminates as closely as possible. There is quite a bit of work involved, especially with solids: the crew pulls the carpet and tack strips, then cuts the false treads back flush to the risers. Sometimes they even need to build the treads up so they are even from the bottom step to the top step. Throughout his answer, Tim emphasizes that doing stairs, particularly solid-tread conversions, involves considerably more labor than homeowners typically anticipate going in.

Answer:

A lot of times it's trying to match what they have. It could be hardwood, it could be laminate stairs, depending on the flooring they had prior. A lot of times they're trying to match what they have so it all flows. I'd say it's a little harder with the laminates, just because they switch their products yearly, it seems, so you can get close. We've even done some where we do actual solid treads, which I'd always suggest, to match as close as we can to the laminates. There's quite a bit of work into it, especially doing solids. You're going to pull the carpet, the tack strips, all this stuff, and cut your false treads back flush to your risers. Sometimes we may even need to build them up so they'll be even from the bottom step to the top step. So there's quite a bit of work involved in doing stairs.