Changing treads on prefab particle board stairs??
#31
You verified you actually have stringers under there?  You never know....
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#32
(03-05-2018, 03:06 PM)mad_planter Wrote: You verified you actually have stringers under there?  You never know....

Oops, never mind, I see where you said they were set in grooves.
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#33
(03-05-2018, 01:53 PM)EricU Wrote: People have studied fall risks from stairs, and unequal tread spacing is a big risk for falls.  I would prefer some amount of government interference to falling down my steps.

I see it all the time inspecting older homes. You can feel 1/4" difference . Not so much going up, but going down.
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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#34
You jig looks like the first ones I used, since then there have been many improvements for speed and accuracy.  If your stairs were shop built the treads should be a square cut (assuming the stringers weren't beat against the walls). I would still use my jigs simply because they take away all measurements and the treads always fit first time. I remembered a series of post relating to installing stair treads. Rather than posting the link, I pasted my post below with the quote from Scoony (I think it was in  March 2015), explaining the jig.
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"There was a thread about cutting treads between skirts back in march; search for "Stair tread and nailer question"

This was my post;

Scoony said:

....For cutting the treads, I thinking about making a plywood track for the circular saw, and using a good blade and masking tape to prevent tear out. All I would have to do is line up the edge of the track/jig to the cut line, clamp and cut....

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MstrCarpenter said:

You're almost there! Now just combine your stair tread jig and skill saw jig. Glue and staple 1/4" plywood to the bottom of your tread jig(s) (I use three.). Cut the excess off with the saw and blade you'll be using to cut the treads, then add one layer of masking tape to the edge of the saw's shoe. Remove and handle the jigs carefully after tightening the wingnuts. Clamp it on top of the tread, score with razor, and cut away. The tape will keep the cut a whisker away from the score line and give a snug fit.

When I do new treads over existing, I spread construction adhesive with a 3/16" notched trowel. If they're going on the stringers, I glue every shim, no matter how thin, and run a good 1/2" bead of adhesive. Either way, treads just get nailed with 8d's through my 15ga finish gun. If the old treads were removed, screw the risers to the back of the tread as if everything was new, if not then new 1/4" birch ply. risers will cover the front of the existing treads and hide any small gaps at the new tread. I will add that on about 50% of the stairs I do, I cut the skirtboard to fit the treads and risers. I don't need the tread jigs, this requires a long length of 1/2" baseboard and a stack of cardboard triangles. (But that's whole different approach.)

If you've added hardwood to one or both floors, chances are the first and/or last riser will be wrong. Now would be a good time to correct that.
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Sign at N.E. Vocational School Cabinetmaking Shop 1976, "Free knowledge given daily... Bring your own container"
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#35
(03-03-2018, 07:59 AM)Cecil Wrote: Don't forget to put something between the old and new tread to prevent squeaking.


I used lots of construction glue, even on plain stringers.
Steve

Missouri






 
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020








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#36
(03-02-2018, 09:22 PM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: How would you go about doing this? I've never worked with this type of stair system before. I'm guessing they're nailed and glued. Each end of the treads are set in a routed slot in the side wall stringers. I'm guessing glued in. I have oak replacement treads. The existing risers do not sit on the treads. The tread buts up against the riser. There is a small gap between the two. I can slide a business card between them so hey don't appear to be glued or nailed there. The Stringers look to be pine (spf).

I need to get these things off without destroying the stringers. I'm thinking about cutting the tread in half and try to work each piece out of the slot at the ends. If that doesn't work: I'll try a jamb saw and cut them out flush at the ends (I need a jamb saw anyway, right?) And then put nailers in to hold up the end of the new treads.

Any ideas before I jump in?  What you see on the ends of the treads is paint, not glue.
[Image: K1cS3bD.jpg]

[Image: 0pMi2Xa.jpg]

Sorry late to the game here, but if I'm see this correctly, the treads are not let in to the stringers, but to the skirt boards. If those skirt boards are only 3/4" thick, they could be removed in sections and replaced with regular flat trim boards after you remove the MDF treads. The new treads could be butted up against the new skirt boards, a method more commonly used.

By doing this, you could inspect the framework of the stringers and the underlying support and do any shimming necessary. I would want to know what's underneath the system and replace the treads rather than sistering the new ones on top of them. Just saying.....

Doug
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#37
(03-06-2018, 01:22 AM)Tapper Wrote: Sorry late to the game here, but if I'm see this correctly, the treads are not let in to the stringers, but to the skirt boards. If those skirt boards are only 3/4" thick, they could be removed in sections and replaced with regular flat trim boards after you remove the MDF treads. The new treads could be butted up against the new skirt boards, a method more commonly used.

By doing this, you could inspect the framework of the stringers and the underlying support and do any shimming necessary. I would want to know what's underneath the system and replace the treads rather than sistering the new ones on top of them. Just saying.....

Doug

The treads are definitely set into routed slots in the side stringers and glued.
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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#38
(03-05-2018, 09:29 PM)MstrCarpenter Wrote: If your stairs were shop built the treads should be a square cut 
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Every tread is a little different. The entire thing is slightly wracked.
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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#39
(03-06-2018, 07:39 AM)Snipe Hunter Wrote: The treads are definitely set into routed slots in the side stringers and glued.

Neil, not trying to be hard to get along here, but the board on the RH side of your picture looks like it's 3/4" thick - is that correct? Stringers are made from 1 1/2" thick 2x material, not 3/4". 

I just went through this exact same process with the main staircase in my house. The original job was to replace particle board treads that had been wrapped with carpeting with new white oak treads. After I tore all the old treads out along with the skirt boards, I discovered it was a mess. The stringers were twisted badly and most were out of level across the three of them. I wound up having to have new stringers made with a CNC machine out of 1 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood and sistering them along side the old ones with glue and screws, all plumb and level. Also corrected the rise and run problems with the original stringers. That provided me with a good platform to rebuild the entire system.

If you take the treads off you get down to the root of the problem and solve it there. Just my opinion.

Good luck,

Doug
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#40
No worries Tapper. The side stringers are truly 1" (not 1x). Looks like fir from the grain but it might be pine. When I say "wracked", it's just wracked enough to see gaps between the new treads and side stringers. They are about 1 degree skewed and the left stringer looks almost like it was rough cut for about 4'.

I can't afford (time wise) to take the whole thing out and re-do it. I would if I could. I've built stairs before so that isn't the problem. My job(s) pull me in a million directions and at the drop of a hat. I need to keep access to upstairs while I do it.

Even if I could pull the existing stairs out of the slots. I'd have to fill the slots as they are 1-1/4" and the new treads are 1".

Believe me, I would rather re-do the whole thing but I can't scheduled the downtime. It's rare that I have a day off this time of year so I can only do little at a time.

I also won't live here forever.

I am considering taking one existing step out to see what I'm dealing with. I'll still have to leave the end of the old step in the slots because they're glued in. I'm not worried about seeing the slot and stair ends in the slots, I can clean that up to where you'd never know it was there and add support for the new tread ends. That would cure my issue of the top step being a different height. ... I'm actually talking myself into this as I type. That way I can make it look and work right and just do one step at a time so we an continue using the stairs.
Neil Summers Home Inspections




I came to a stop sign and a skanky tweaker chick in a tube top climbed out of the brush and propositioned me.  She looked like she didn't have any teeth so I counted that as a plus.


... Kizar Sosay





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