The Remodel: Stairs Completed

Stairs with Carpet Removed
November 24, 2018

Saturday was devoted to completing the remodel of the stairs as part of the basement project.

I mean, how hard could stairs be? 

Hard. Turns out that the demolition was easy, but we took our time. It was relatively easy to remove the old carpet. Next came removal of the pad and tack strips. It took some time to get the tack strips removed and the stairs smoothed. Chris then took care of painting the risers after we filled the nail holes to make them look good, 

Painted Risers and First Two Treads Fitted
November 24, 2018

Then came the reconstruction. As it turned out, we needed to borrow both a table saw and a sliding compound miter. I have a very nice compound miter, but the blade was not big enough to complete the cut on the treads and so I needed to use a sliding compound miter.

I was nervous. The treads were not inexpensive and they took about three weeks to actually arrive once I ordered them. I needed to be precise and smooth performing two actions: cutting to length on the sliding miter and ripping the extra width on the table saw. I also had to make small adjustments for each stair to customize the fit. I remembered that it is easier to trim off than to add back what has already been cut.

Completed Stairs
November 24, 2018

After each of the treads had been cut and placed, then came the glue to hold the treads in place. That part went very well and that part of the project was complete. 

The stairs were the last major part of the remodel. All that remains are smaller touches like replacing a ceiling fan, installing some light units and getting the cabinet toe kick in place. Then there is the decorating which will likely never actually be complete. 

What's next? Did I mention that the washing machine started making a terrible noise yesterday? Today I will be elbow deep in the washer, again!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD