Stair Flooring in West University Place

Why Stairs Get Their Own Page

A staircase is the hardest part of a flooring job. Each step is a small floor with an edge that takes a beating, and one loose nosing is a trip hazard. You can't run planks across it in long rows. Every tread and riser is its own cut.

In older houses the stairs have usually been covered more than once. We often pull carpet and find staples, tack strip, old glue, or painted pine treads with chipped edges. Sometimes a past repair left one step taller than the rest. We find that out early and fix what's under the floor before anything new goes on.

Stairs often get redone along with the rest of the house. If you're putting hardwood flooring or luxury vinyl plank downstairs, doing the stairs at the same time keeps the colors and edges matched.

What the Work Includes

Tear-off down to the structure

We remove the old carpet, pad, tack strip and staples. Old vinyl or glued treads come off too, so we can see the wood underneath.

Fixing squeaks and loose treads

A squeak usually means a tread has worked loose from the stringer. We screw and glue it tight before covering it, so the new floor doesn't creak on day one.

Tread and riser fitting

Each step is measured on its own and the material is scribed to the walls. That matters on older stairs, where one side of a tread can be wider than the other.

Nosing that holds

The front edge takes the most wear. We use a solid nosing piece or a matching stair-nose trim, fastened so it won't roll or lift when someone steps hard on it.

Landings and transitions

We tie the top step and any landing into the floor beside it so the change from stairs to hallway sits flush and looks planned.

Signs Your Stairs Are Due

• Carpet worn bald on the edges

  Stair carpet wears at the nose first. Once you can see backing or the pad crunches, it's slipping under your feet.

• A step that moves or creaks

  If a tread shifts when you step on it, the fasteners have let go. It gets worse with time and should be fixed before any new flooring goes on.

• Steps that don't match

  New floors downstairs and dated stairs make the whole house look half done. Patched or mismatched treads from a past repair stand out the same way.

• Loose or cracked nosing

  A cracked or lifting front edge can catch a heel. This is the most important one to fix.

• One step feels off

  If people trip on the same step, its height may be different from the others. Older stairs often have this after layers of flooring were added over the years.

How a Stair Job Goes

1. 1

   Talk it over by phone

   You tell us how many steps, what's on them now and what you're thinking about. We'll talk through which materials work well on stairs and which don't.

2. 2

   Measure every step

   We come out and measure each tread and riser, check for loose steps and look at the edges where the stairs meet walls and railings. Then you get your price.

3. 3

   Strip and repair

   On install day we take off the old covering and show you what's underneath. Loose treads get tightened and uneven spots get leveled before we go further.

4. 4

   Install from the top down

   We work from the top step down so we never stand on fresh work. Each piece is cut, fit and fastened, with adhesive on hard surfaces so nothing flexes.

5. 5

   Clean up and walk it with you

   We haul off the old material and vacuum the dust. Then we walk the stairs with you, step by step.

What Moves the Price

Stairs are priced by the step, not by the square foot. That's because the labor is in the cutting and fitting. A short straight run costs far less than a curved stair with a landing. We give you the price after we've measured and seen the condition of the steps.

Number and shape of steps

Straight steps go fastest. Winders, pie-shaped turns and bullnose bottom steps take more cutting and time.

Open or closed sides

An open side with balusters means returns on every tread end and careful cuts around each spindle.

Material choice

Solid hardwood treads, vinyl with matching nosing, laminate and carpet each have different material and labor costs.

What's under the old floor

Clean treads are simple. Heavy glue, loose steps or damaged wood from past repairs add prep work before install.