New treads for old stairs

[Iwoodlikethat]

Nice job, stairs are difficult and lots of work.

[tsthebeav]

Why not use 1/4 inch riser material?

[Matthiaswandel]

Might as well use the risers that came with the tread and riser kits. And beveling thin stock wouldn't really work.

[embwee]

aside from learning that treads might/should have been cut on site, wouldn't you also end up with a 3/4 higher step at the bottom? (I see you resolved the dilemma on the top stairs by having a whole new floor).

[Matthiaswandel]

The stairs had carpet on them before, so putting these treads on just replaced the thickness of the carpet. I remember not having to make any adjustments for the bottom risers, sow with the new treads, they are all even. They were uneven after the carpet was removed.

[TomKaren1994]

I've done a similar job a number of times in the past, when people insist. I've gotten in the habit of making my own riser material from oak door skins. It's better than veneer, less material than plywood. I prefer to just remove the old risers and treads and replace them, but I understand why you might not do that in every case.

Still hoping for a "Build your own CNC router" video from you !!

[Matthiaswandel]

The risers and treads on these stairs were mortised into the stringers, so to replace the treads and risers means replacing the whole stairs.

[TomKaren1994]

@Matthiaswandel LOL. AHA. THE case in which you wouldn't replace them. Can't people learn to build houses knowing I may be remodeling it later???? How inconsiderate.

[MrRivii]

you seam skilled enough to do the stairs from the beginning... why bother with overlay?

[Matthiaswandel]

Because that's 10x less work.

[FiatGuy23]

You just keep finding new ways to amaze me. Excellent!!

[Mrvaleriy1970]

золотые руки у парня молодец

[moucon]

Great job and video. Knowing how fussy you are - I'm surprised you didn't use bevel gauges on both ends to try and get a tighter fit on the treads/risers. A couple companies make complex commercial gauges for housed stair installations that will give you both "off" angles at the same time. Of course anything that snug = squeaks so your pal is prob. just as well off with a small bead of caulk.

[ak99372]

I would apply poly or finish before installation... I find it way cleaner and easier to get into tight spots. Is there a reason pro's prefer to do it after install?

[Rtech]

Hello Matthias,

I was admiring your recording quality on your newer videos and was wondering which camera it was.

Great videos, keep it up :D

[Matthiaswandel]

The last two were shot with a Nikon Coolpix S8200 - the video quality on that one is quite good, and it only cost me $250. Although the workshop scenes were shot earlier with an older Coolpix S6200, which is cheaper ($150) but not as good. More important than the camera is having good lighting.

[Rtech]

@Matthiaswandel cool, thanks. Yes light is key.

[HIGHMARSHELHELBRECHT]

hey matthias why dident you work down the stairs?

[afredus]

Great video. I'm planning to do the same, but my treads have 1/8" to 3/16" depressions from foot traffic. Any suggestions on how to fill this before putting the new tread?

[Matthiaswandel]

use thin pieces of wood as shim, and lots of construction adhesive.

[Joepopa12]

@afredus bondo

[logos2600]

great work itd look even better stained

[Matthiaswandel]

That's a matter of personal taste. Thankfully, these stairs did not get stained.

[logos2600]

@Matthiaswandel I agree its a matter of taste

[TheViewer44]

"So my friends poo(I know its a name and spelt differently)" that's all it loaded at first and it threw me off

[3Carp3Di3m3]

Joy to watch! As usual.

[AaronsShots]

$120 a step??

I gotta get myself a job as a stairs man

[175myles]

What a pain in the rear this would be. Matthias, your friends and family have a very valuable person in their life.

[EndlessEnergy]

I have absolutely interest in carpeting and i still watch his videos :O

[SDino]

I am studying electrical engineering and i dont know anything about woodwork but i watched all of your videos. I found them really interesting. I just love the way you think and paying attention to every detail. Can't wait your next video.

[harsiese]

Matthias is like the Canadian MacGyver. Great job!

[lapisredux]

or you could have just put some carpet down for nice quiet stairs

[T4nm4y]

Hi Mathias, I have started my GCSE Course in DT,inspiration from you of course, and was wondering if you could check out my Design Model. Please? Anyone else is welcome to see it too!

[oboydetes]

красиво сделано

[johnacsyen]

whao, $120 for the pro job and $40 for the material for the other steps. Thats a lot of saving. I hope the owner gives you a treat.

[paloarteinc]

lol, that was fun. hey, how many cans of PL adhesive did you use for that project?

[Matthiaswandel]

3 tubes.

[phonebluejob]

I was ready for a wooden gear on each step and then a few turns of the crank at the top of the stairs would turn each gear and rotate each step so it becomes a slide.

[deleetmeeh]

Being a carpenter I would take the old steps off before putting the new ones on. Also they make a special scribe for steps if they're not exactly square and they rarely are because the skirt boards are never plum. Also adding material might mess up the building code.

[Matthiaswandel]

If you took off the old steps, you'd be left with just the stringers, and then you'd have to take those out too just to get the new steps in.

[deleetmeeh]

@Matthiaswandel Oh they actually scribed the stringer to the steps? usually the stringer goes on first its much easier to fit individual boards than one long one. Here in America building code each step must be at least 8 1/4 wide and be no more than 1/4 error. Aren't you losing width by adding on top?

[deleetmeeh]

@deleetmeeh Also when im doing hardwood flooring and we have to add a bull nose to the edge of the stairs we cut the old one flush so were not overhanging so far. I'm curious if you did that the sides would fit inside of the stringer or would that not give enough clearance?

[dugasdav]

@Matthiaswandel Why would you need to take the stringers out to get the new steps in?

[ophelius111]

I'm not really into wood working, but I like watching your videos. I subscribed to you once I saw your marble adding machine and combination lock. Your gear software is very impressive. Keep up the good work.

[paulreider]

Thanks Matthias, your vids are always informative and entertaining. I like how you learn and experiment as you go...thanks for sharing, keep up the good work.

[sooth15]

I've done my share of "recapped" stairs. They do tend to be a lot of work, and are pretty expensive (we usually send at least 2 guys on install, which is 90$/hour). We also usually need to saw-off the existing bull-nose edge on the fronts of each existing step, which adds to the work/time involved.

[RDJim]

So nice to know you make house calls.  I'm looking for someone to clean my gutters this spring.

[deezynar]

You summed it up at the end about the amount of work needed to do this type of job and that it won't be inexpensive to have someone do it for you.

[barakuda1111]

Its cool to watch you work :)

[theorganguy]

@TheRick6213 it is easier that way and leaves more options to adjust for "bad" steps

[theorganguy]

I found profiled treads or front edge beading to be quite expensive... replaced my carpeted stairs with round profile cedar planks instead... had to build out the stairs, as the steps were neither consistent nor sufficiently deep enough... got rushed thru the job, so have also those gaps you pointed out at the end... thinking of putting moulding - at least in the middle of the steps on top of the gap between flats & risers

[20RoyalSuperKing]

Is this common in the us and canada? Not in the uk for sure.

[web4deb]

I installed maple stairs when I built my house. They came out good, but I SWEAR I will NEVER install stairs again!

[johnnnyreb51]

Most home owners have no clue as to how to do the job. So they pay to have it done.

[pumkinvine]

No good deed goes unpunished. lol

[geekMakes]

i will nail as many nails as i wont because im A BOSS!!!!!!

[Kelloland98]

Do you need to finish the wood?

[Matthiaswandel]

I got the homeowner to varnish the steps before I installed them. Easier to varnish them that way.

[jimbr0wn]

Beautiful job,

[VMFehr]

I've professionally installed these and hardwood on stairs the only tips I might give you is to allow the glue to stand open for a few minutes before applying the treads and risers. In the past I've had troubles with the glue curing if I skipped this. Also we tend to us a couple of playing card shims between pieces to keep a small space otherwise they can develop squeaks. Great job though just a couple of tricks I've learned along the way.

[pwned101]

how well do these hold to expansion/contraction?

[TheRealGeriBoss]

You could watch him carve 1000 toothpicks and it would be still entertaining and educational.

[girrrrrrr2]

@TheRealGeriBoss Thats going to be his next video.

[Matthiaswandel]

I bet you wouldn't say that if I actually made a video carving 1000 toothpicks!

[tehbrookzorz]

@Matthiaswandel You would probably create a method of making batches of 200 in a matter of minutes. 7 minutes later you would be marketing your finely crafted toothpicks to dining establishments across the country.

[Postie218]

Doesn't that make the first step a bit too high, then the top step would be low ?

[Matthiaswandel]

It does, but it wasn't really noticeable walking up and down the steps.

[DanOlooney]

cut them 1x1,if you take off the piece of trim on the stringer and add a piece of wood that would take care of the round,and then you could caulk the gaps or puddy, stairs are always a you know what, oh ya write them and outragous bill for april fools, peace

[Insignificantful]

You're a cool friend,

[IrishKeshiHead]

not too shabby there matthias

[ReverendRatspeed]

Inspirational as always, good sir! Open source woodworking. Love it.

[boner2008]

I like how you had someone film you while saying that it took more work than anticipated ;)

[xOrhan1976]

i hope they wont lay a dumb looking carpet on that. awsome job otherwise.

[boner2008]

This video makes me wonder how much extra time it took for you to film this. Not a great deal I imagine, but one does wonder...

[MrPieJean]

Not sure if you know this, but you can press the little handle on the back of the adhesive gun to take of the pressure so it doesn't leak when you lay it down between uses.

[Matthiaswandel]

Yes, I know this, but no, it doesn't stop the leakage. The piston in the tube doesn't move back, so it doesn't take off all the pressure. The old ratcheting caulking guns are a little better in that the pressure gets taken off automatically.

[jpheisz]

@Matthiaswandel It's actually a pocket of air in the glue from filling the tube that gets pressurized when you pump it. The pressurized air continues to push glue out after you release the tension from the gun. It drives me crazy - seems like half the tube can pump out after each use.

[TheGeo46]

@Matthiaswandel you ar a great artist in wood!(sory for my english)

[NiTheGod]

did you charge your friends? ;p

[b1gg5y]

Great job !