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Signing the Stairs
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Our hope was to have the stairs complete before Gina's graduation party but that didn't happen. We had a Father's Day party with family at our house so we thought it would be fun to have people sign the stairs before covering them up. Here is a gallery of all the signatures collected. Some are a little more creative than others which was welcomed and encouraged.
The carpet on the stairs was in really bad shape. Rather than re-carpet we decided to cap the stairs with oak. Many plans were considered but we decided to go with an oak tread cap product we purchased from the local Big Box store.
- Oak Stair Supplies
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Description:
The project starts with collecting the materials. In this case, I brought the Stairtek RetroTread and solid oak (though glued up) risers into the basement for a while. Ideally, they should have all been unwrapped for fully acclimate, but there was a chance we were going to go in a different direction and I wanted to keep the option to return them open. We went with the RetroTread because they were not plywood so they can be sanded and refinished down the road. (6/3/2021)
- Nose Template
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Description:
The nose of each step had to be removed so that is is flush with the existing riser. The new steps has a nose of its own and it needs to cover the new riser without sticking out too far. Rather than measuring each step I made a template to create a line on top of the step so I can cut evenly (actually just a hair shorter than) the riser below the step (6/13/2021)
- Screws in the Way
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Description:
The steps were glued and screwed when we put up the addition. Some of those screws were in the way so I had to move them back a bit. (6/13/2021)
- Chiseling Off the Rest
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Description:
Since the saws can reach all the way to the wall I had to do some manual labor to complete the nose removal. I made sure to sharpen the chisel before hacking away at the edges. In some cases I removed "too much" but in the end it doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't extend past the existing riser (6/13/2021)
- All Noses Removed
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Description:
The treads are now all cut. The top still has carpet wrapped around the second floor nose - that one doesn't get cut. (6/13/2021)
- Well, Crap
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Description:
When I put in the skirt boards as part of the second floor addition I put them in with the intent they stay. I tried to pull them off without damaging the drywall beneath but wasn't particularly successful. I had to do much drywall repair (not my favorite activity). (6/16/2021)