I want to finish the stairs to the basement with some laminates.
The pre-assembled flywood stair is of 8" (risers) and 10" (treads).
After cutting the nose (or fill under the nose), I only have 9" of
width to play with.

So as a result, I will have 8" risers and 9" treads. It seems a bit
of steep, and not deep enough of treads. But does violate any rule?
One ballpark rule I found on the net says
2 riser+ 1 treads = 24" to 25"
and that seems OK. But are there specific code on the sizes?

"homeowner" wrote in message
...

I want to finish the stairs to the basement with some laminates.
The pre-assembled flywood stair is of 8" (risers) and 10" (treads).
After cutting the nose (or fill under the nose), I only have 9" of
width to play with.

So as a result, I will have 8" risers and 9" treads. It seems a bit
of steep, and not deep enough of treads. But does violate any rule?
One ballpark rule I found on the net says
2 riser+ 1 treads = 24" to 25"
and that seems OK. But are there specific code on the sizes?

Another old rule is the rule of 17 (one riser one tread).

That said, modern building codes seem to prefer a 10" tread. I would check
local codes before I made a mess out this. I just saw a client have to tear
out an entire staircase and redo it before he could get a final inspection
to move in because his treads were 1/2" short.


Colbyt

On 2005-02-28, homeowner wrote:

I want to finish the stairs to the basement with some laminates.
The pre-assembled flywood stair is of 8" (risers) and 10" (treads).
After cutting the nose (or fill under the nose), I only have 9" of
width to play with.

Applying finish risers and treads to a rough staircase is not going to
change the slope or steepness of the staircase. I don't quite see why
the finish materials would decrease the useable tread depth. How are
you going to be applying the laminate?

As to rules, I believe the UBC requires max 8" risers and minimum 9"
treads. However, my understanding is that these requirements are for
the rise and run of the staircase, not the actual depth of a finish
tread. For example, I believe that nosings are ignored.

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-02-28, homeowner wrote:

I want to finish the stairs to the basement with some laminates.
The pre-assembled flywood stair is of 8" (risers) and 10" (treads).
After cutting the nose (or fill under the nose), I only have 9" of
width to play with.


Applying finish risers and treads to a rough staircase is not going to
change the slope or steepness of the staircase. I don't quite see why
the finish materials would decrease the useable tread depth. How are
you going to be applying the laminate?

As to rules, I believe the UBC requires max 8" risers and minimum 9"
treads. However, my understanding is that these requirements are for
the rise and run of the staircase, not the actual depth of a finish
tread. For example, I believe that nosings are ignored.

Cheers, Wayne



Thanks.

The tread depth (distance between 2 risers) is 9". Each rough tread has
a 1 1/8" nose. The finished laminate nose pieces only have 1/4" or so
noses. So difference before/after laminate installation is about 1" from
the nose difference.

Anyone finished a stair with laminate w/o tread depth change even though
noses change?

The tread depth (distance between 2 risers) is 9".

OK, so if the "run" is the horizontal distance between risers, then
the actual treadth width is run + nosing. Not sure whether "tread
depth" refers to run or actual tread width, I think it usually means
run.

Anyway, you have a 8" rise 9" run stairs now, and as long as you use a
finish material of uniform thickness, you'll have a 8" rise 9" run
stairs when you are done.

Each rough tread has a 1 1/8" nose. The finished laminate nose
pieces only have 1/4" or so noses.

If you think about it, I believe you'll find that "new nosing = old
nosing + laminate overhang - laminate thickness". The "- laminate
thickness" part is based on using a finish laminate riser.

BTW, the 1997 UBC requires a nosing between 3/4" and 1 1/4" on stairs
with solid risers.

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
The tread depth (distance between 2 risers) is 9".


OK, so if the "run" is the horizontal distance between risers, then
the actual treadth width is run + nosing. Not sure whether "tread
depth" refers to run or actual tread width, I think it usually means
run.

Anyway, you have a 8" rise 9" run stairs now, and as long as you use a
finish material of uniform thickness, you'll have a 8" rise 9" run
stairs when you are done.


Each rough tread has a 1 1/8" nose. The finished laminate nose
pieces only have 1/4" or so noses.


If you think about it, I believe you'll find that "new nosing = old
nosing + laminate overhang - laminate thickness". The "- laminate
thickness" part is based on using a finish laminate riser.

BTW, the 1997 UBC requires a nosing between 3/4" and 1 1/4" on stairs
with solid risers.

Cheers, Wayne


But the noses are between 1/4" and 1/2" for laminate nose pieces at
HomeDepot. I must checked more than 10 types, and did not find any
big nose.

On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:

If you think about it, I believe you'll find that "new nosing = old
nosing + laminate overhang - laminate thickness". The "- laminate
thickness" part is based on using a finish laminate riser.

But the noses are between 1/4" and 1/2" for laminate nose pieces at
HomeDepot. I must checked more than 10 types, and did not find any
big nose.

I'm not sure what the cross-section of the nosing looks like. Does
this diagram represent what you are planning to do? (Use a fixed
width font to view it.)

----------------------------
laminate ! \
---------------------- C |
! |
rough tread ! /
----------------------------
| | |
| A | B |
| | |

A = rough riser
B = finish riser
C = nosing piece

If so, then the nosing piece just has to be thick enough to cover the
thickness of the rough tread. I'm not sure what dimension you are
measuring as 1/4" or 1/2".

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:


If you think about it, I believe you'll find that "new nosing = old
nosing + laminate overhang - laminate thickness". The "- laminate
thickness" part is based on using a finish laminate riser.

But the noses are between 1/4" and 1/2" for laminate nose pieces at
HomeDepot. I must checked more than 10 types, and did not find any
big nose.


I'm not sure what the cross-section of the nosing looks like. Does
this diagram represent what you are planning to do? (Use a fixed
width font to view it.)

----------------------------
laminate ! \
---------------------- C |
! |
rough tread ! /
----------------------------
| | |
| A | B |
| | |

A = rough riser
B = finish riser
C = nosing piece

If so, then the nosing piece just has to be thick enough to cover the
thickness of the rough tread. I'm not sure what dimension you are
measuring as 1/4" or 1/2".

Cheers, Wayne


Wayne,

Borrowing your diagram:

----------------------------
laminate ! \
---------------------- C |
! |
rough tread !_____ /
|
|-S-
|
----------------------
| | |
| A | B |
| | |


The laminate nose size S is ususally 1/4" to 1/2".
Also the laminate is usually not thick enough to cover rough tread nose
thickness, -- mine is 1", while laminate nose pieces only cover less
than half.

J.

On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:

------------------------------
laminate ! \
---------------------- C |
! /
rough tread !______
|
|
----------------------
| | |
| A | B |
| | |

| -S- |
| - T - |
| - U - |
| V |

A = rough riser
B = finish riser
C = finish nose piece

S = projection of finish nose piece
T = rough nosing
U = finish nosing
V = laminate thickness

U = T + S - V

The laminate nose size S is ususally 1/4" to 1/2".

This is actually what you want to maintain the "nosing" of the stairs,
where "nosing" is the horizontal distance from the riser to the front
of the tread. When you finish the stairs as in the diagram, you
change the old nosing T by increasing it by S (the nosing projection),
and decreasing it by V (the laminate thickness). So in order to not
change the nosing much, you want S (the nosing projection) to be about
equal to V (the laminate thickness, I think 3/8" ?).

As to the vertical gap between the bottom of the nose piece and the
bottom of the rough tread, that does seem unfortunate. Perhaps there
is some sort of trim piece that you could use here?

BTW, stair treads may not be the best application for laminate. Have
you considered solid wood?

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:


------------------------------
laminate ! \
---------------------- C |
! /
rough tread !______
|
|
----------------------
| | |
| A | B |
| | |


| -S- |
| - T - |
| - U - |
| V |

A = rough riser
B = finish riser
C = finish nose piece

S = projection of finish nose piece
T = rough nosing
U = finish nosing
V = laminate thickness

U = T + S - V


The laminate nose size S is ususally 1/4" to 1/2".


This is actually what you want to maintain the "nosing" of the stairs,
where "nosing" is the horizontal distance from the riser to the front
of the tread. When you finish the stairs as in the diagram, you
change the old nosing T by increasing it by S (the nosing projection),
and decreasing it by V (the laminate thickness). So in order to not
change the nosing much, you want S (the nosing projection) to be about
equal to V (the laminate thickness, I think 3/8" ?).

As to the vertical gap between the bottom of the nose piece and the
bottom of the rough tread, that does seem unfortunate. Perhaps there
is some sort of trim piece that you could use here?

BTW, stair treads may not be the best application for laminate. Have
you considered solid wood?

Cheers, Wayne

But I believe that laminate nose pieces are designed such that risers
are placed immediately behind the nose projection, which result in a
short fininished nose.

The laminate I was looking for is 5/16" in thickness.

The hardwood treads would usually be 3/4" in thickness. There are one
piece tread that includes a nose area at Home Depot. The thickness is
1"+. That will throug riser size by more than 1" - top step would be
1" less and bottom step would be 1" more.

Another consideration is cost - I don't really want to sunk much money
that will not be recover much, if any, at the time of sale in the
distant future. You can only recover 15% of cost from a basement finish
per:
http://houseandhome.msn.com/improve/...tspayback.aspx

On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:

But I believe that laminate nose pieces are designed such that risers
are placed immediately behind the nose projection, which result in a
short fininished nose.

Given that you have a 1 1/4" nosing on the rough tread, would you be
cutting off this overhang in order to use the laminate nose piece this
way? The reason you can't find a laminate nose piece with a 1" nosing
is, I assume, that the laminate core material is not strong/thick
enough to support such an overhang.

I'm pretty sure that the 1997 UBC requires 3/4" to 1 1/4" nosing, so
if you use the laminate nose piece the way you describe, it would not
be compliant. You'd need to figure out a way to retain the rough
nosing and wrap it with laminate.

The hardwood treads would usually be 3/4" in thickness. There are one
piece tread that includes a nose area at Home Depot. The thickness is
1"+. That will throug riser size by more than 1" - top step would be
1" less and bottom step would be 1" more.

Since you mentioned your rough tread is about 1" thick, how about
removing the rough (plywood?) tread and using a hardwood tread in
place of it?

Another consideration is cost

I was under the impression those special laminate nose pieces are
quite expensive, so that at the end of the day hardwood treads would
not be so much more. But I haven't priced them.

Best of luck.

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:


But I believe that laminate nose pieces are designed such that risers
are placed immediately behind the nose projection, which result in a
short fininished nose.


Given that you have a 1 1/4" nosing on the rough tread, would you be
cutting off this overhang in order to use the laminate nose piece this
way? The reason you can't find a laminate nose piece with a 1" nosing
is, I assume, that the laminate core material is not strong/thick
enough to support such an overhang.

I'm pretty sure that the 1997 UBC requires 3/4" to 1 1/4" nosing, so
if you use the laminate nose piece the way you describe, it would not
be compliant. You'd need to figure out a way to retain the rough
nosing and wrap it with laminate.


The hardwood treads would usually be 3/4" in thickness. There are one
piece tread that includes a nose area at Home Depot. The thickness is
1"+. That will throug riser size by more than 1" - top step would be
1" less and bottom step would be 1" more.


Since you mentioned your rough tread is about 1" thick, how about
removing the rough (plywood?) tread and using a hardwood tread in
place of it?


That will be really a tough job, as the plywood stair is pre-fabrcated
at factory.


Another consideration is cost


I was under the impression those special laminate nose pieces are
quite expensive, so that at the end of the day hardwood treads would
not be so much more. But I haven't priced them.

Best of luck.

Cheers, Wayne

Actually, using the prefinished hardwood tread is not that expensive, if
I can replace the plywood with the hardwood. I once asked a contractor
who said that he can remove the rough treads with hardwood treads. He
suggested to use carpet after looking at the stair - so I decided to do
it by myself with laminate.

Now I am thinking to it, I think I will just wrap around the rough nose
part with laminate, then use a corner trim piece to cover the
horizontal/vertical joint. If I can find some 2"x2" corner pieces that
are 1/4" or less thick, then I am in business.

Home Depot has 1 1/8" x 1 1/8" x 1/4" corner trims. If I can't find
2"x2" ones, I might use that. I am not sure how the nose would look
at end though.

Thanks,

J.

On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:

Home Depot has 1 1/8" x 1 1/8" x 1/4" corner trims. If I can't find
2"x2" ones, I might use that.

I thought you said the rough tread was 1" + thick, in which case the 1
1/8" corner trim would seem to fit the bill. Is it 2" thick? If so,
you could try to use two pieces, one on the top corner and one on the
bottom corner.

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-03-01, homeowner wrote:


Home Depot has 1 1/8" x 1 1/8" x 1/4" corner trims. If I can't find
2"x2" ones, I might use that.


I thought you said the rough tread was 1" + thick, in which case the 1
1/8" corner trim would seem to fit the bill. Is it 2" thick? If so,
you could try to use two pieces, one on the top corner and one on the
bottom corner.

Cheers, Wayne

Yeah, my rough tread is 1" thick. But I was thinking to wrap the
laminate around nose edge: 5/16 on top, 5/16 at bottom, and 1/4 or
so of the corner trim thickness. That will add to about 2" total
thickness.

But your idea of putting two corner trims is excellent, if I can
figure out ways to make the seam unnoticable.

Several problems and potential code violations exist.

If your code jurisdiction has adopted the 2003 International
Residential Code you are required to have:

-A maximum riser height of 7 3/4"
-A minimum tread depth of 10"
-A variation between riser heights no more than 3/8th inch

At issue and potential code violations will occur because:
A) Your existing stair will have exceeded maximum riser height
B) Unless you also raise your lower floor landing by an amount equal to
the thickness of the added laminate and also raise the upper landing
floor height an equal distance, your top most riser and bottom most
riser will exceed the minimum variation for risers in a set of stairs.

Added considerations are that the nosing must have a radius of
curvature no greater than 9/16 of an inch and a nosing shall be between
3/4" and 1 1/4" deep on all risers with solid risers.

It appears that any alteration you make to these existing stairs may
require you instead to replace the entire stair unit since the current
risers and potentially new treads will not meet IRC 2003 code. (Section
R311.5.3 Stair treads and risers.)

Check your local code juridsiction before proceeding.

The information you have been given to date may not be permitted for
you at all.


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basements are not primary living space & therefore do not apply to general
access & evacuation codes. a freaking ladder might work just fine for you.

--
Be cool,
Longshot

On 2005-03-02, homeowner wrote:

Yeah, my rough tread is 1" thick. But I was thinking to wrap the
laminate around nose edge: 5/16 on top, 5/16 at bottom, and 1/4 or
so of the corner trim thickness. That will add to about 2" total
thickness.

I would think that there is no need to wrap the underside of the rough
tread nose. In that case you would need a corner trim with an inside
depth of 1" (outside depth of 1 5/16" if the laminate is 5/16" thick).

Cheers, Wayne

B) Unless you also raise your lower floor landing by an amount equal to
the thickness of the added laminate and also raise the upper landing
floor height an equal distance, your top most riser and bottom most
riser will exceed the minimum variation for risers in a set of stairs.

This is a good point, although the OP discussed using a 5/16"
laminate, so if the current staircase is perfect (to within a 1/16"),
the result would not be a violation. But this bears paying attention
to. Maintaining equal riser heights is one good reason to consider
replacing the existing treads (plywood?) with new hardwood treads of
equal thickness.

It appears that any alteration you make to these existing stairs may
require you instead to replace the entire stair unit since the current
risers and potentially new treads will not meet IRC 2003 code. (Section
R311.5.3 Stair treads and risers.)

Perhaps it's naive, but if someone is just applying a finish material to
an existing stair case, which doesn't change rise or run, I wouldn't
think that would trigger a requirement that the stair case be rebuilt
to current code (should the 2003 IRC be operative).

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-03-02, homeowner wrote:


Yeah, my rough tread is 1" thick. But I was thinking to wrap the
laminate around nose edge: 5/16 on top, 5/16 at bottom, and 1/4 or
so of the corner trim thickness. That will add to about 2" total
thickness.


I would think that there is no need to wrap the underside of the rough
tread nose. In that case you would need a corner trim with an inside
depth of 1" (outside depth of 1 5/16" if the laminate is 5/16" thick).

Cheers, Wayne

Walking up from the bottom of staircase, I will be able to see the
underside of the noses. That is why I need to wrap that part.

Corner trims are not T&G like laminate boards, so the trims will have
to sit on top of the laminate tread noses to avoid seams.

longshot Wrote:
basements are not primary living space & therefore do not apply to
general
access & evacuation codes. a freaking ladder might work just fine for
you.

--
Be cool,
Longshot


Completely untrue.
Any permanent stairway between floors in a house is subject to the
building code regardless of use.


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Wayne Whitney Wrote:
B) Unless you also raise your lower floor landing by an amount equal
to
the thickness of the added laminate and also raise the upper landing
floor height an equal distance, your top most riser and bottom most
riser will exceed the minimum variation for risers in a set of
stairs.

This is a good point, although the OP discussed using a 5/16"
laminate, so if the current staircase is perfect (to within a 1/16"),
the result would not be a violation. But this bears paying attention
to. Maintaining equal riser heights is one good reason to consider
replacing the existing treads (plywood?) with new hardwood treads of
equal thickness.

It appears that any alteration you make to these existing stairs may
require you instead to replace the entire stair unit since the
current
risers and potentially new treads will not meet IRC 2003 code.
(Section
R311.5.3 Stair treads and risers.)

Perhaps it's naive, but if someone is just applying a finish material
to
an existing stair case, which doesn't change rise or run, I wouldn't
think that would trigger a requirement that the stair case be rebuilt
to current code (should the 2003 IRC be operative).

Cheers, Wayne

That's not what the code states, however.

Depending on the thickness of the laminate, it could increase the
minimum riser height above allowed for the bottom riser and shorten the
top riser distance.....Both code violations.

And since the existing riser height already exceeds maximum heights
according the IRC 2003, any alteration may necessitate the complete
reconstruction of the stairway to meet prevailing code depending on the
interpretation of the original poster's code enforcement office.

Colbyt already mentioned that in the 2nd post in this thread which has
been largely ignored....but is correct.

Generally speaking, unless we are speaking about using a veneer that is
say 1/16th of an inch thick which will be wrapped and glued over the
existing treads, what is being proposed by adding a laminate over the
existing treads is generally not allowable under code because it causes
trip hazards at the top and bottom step and could require the complete
reconstruction of the stairway.


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On 2005-03-02, manhattan42 wrote:

[IRC 2003] Added considerations are that the nosing must have a
radius of curvature no greater than 9/16 of an inch

Does this apply separately to the top and bottom corner of a tread, or
does this imply that a tread must be no more that 1 1/8" thick?

Thanks, Wayne

On 2005-03-02, manhattan42 wrote:

And since the existing riser height already exceeds maximum heights
according the IRC 2003, any alteration may necessitate the complete
reconstruction of the stairway to meet prevailing code depending on the
interpretation of the original poster's code enforcement office.

OK, obviously it depends upon the interpretation of the local
authority. But I would say that the if the modification does not
change the typical rise and run, and the "all risers within 3/8 inch"
rule is met, that it would be unreasonable for the local authority to
require the stairs to be rebuilt. That's my opinion.

If we're talking code details, another issue is the 80" of vertical
headroom requirement, from the diagonal connecting the noses of the
treads. If the noses are moved up or out, then one should verify
there is still 80" of vertical headroom.

To the OP, I agree with manhattan42 that it is important to obey the
"all risers within 3/8 inch" rule. It would be a good idea to measure
each riser now and seem if they are equal. Do you have a strategy to
deal with the topmost and bottommost riser? For example, perhaps you
are installing laminate on those floors as well. If not, then between
this issue and the laminate trim issue, I would suggest that replacing
the treads with hardwood would be a better solution.

Best wishes,
Wayne

manhattan42 wrote:
Wayne Whitney Wrote:

B) Unless you also raise your lower floor landing by an amount equal

to

the thickness of the added laminate and also raise the upper landing
floor height an equal distance, your top most riser and bottom most
riser will exceed the minimum variation for risers in a set of

stairs.

This is a good point, although the OP discussed using a 5/16"
laminate, so if the current staircase is perfect (to within a 1/16"),
the result would not be a violation. But this bears paying attention
to. Maintaining equal riser heights is one good reason to consider
replacing the existing treads (plywood?) with new hardwood treads of
equal thickness.


It appears that any alteration you make to these existing stairs may
require you instead to replace the entire stair unit since the

current

risers and potentially new treads will not meet IRC 2003 code.

(Section

R311.5.3 Stair treads and risers.)

Perhaps it's naive, but if someone is just applying a finish material
to
an existing stair case, which doesn't change rise or run, I wouldn't
think that would trigger a requirement that the stair case be rebuilt
to current code (should the 2003 IRC be operative).

Cheers, Wayne


That's not what the code states, however.

Depending on the thickness of the laminate, it could increase the
minimum riser height above allowed for the bottom riser and shorten the
top riser distance.....Both code violations.

And since the existing riser height already exceeds maximum heights
according the IRC 2003, any alteration may necessitate the complete
reconstruction of the stairway to meet prevailing code depending on the
interpretation of the original poster's code enforcement office.

Colbyt already mentioned that in the 2nd post in this thread which has
been largely ignored....but is correct.

Generally speaking, unless we are speaking about using a veneer that is
say 1/16th of an inch thick which will be wrapped and glued over the
existing treads, what is being proposed by adding a laminate over the
existing treads is generally not allowable under code because it causes
trip hazards at the top and bottom step and could require the complete
reconstruction of the stairway.

My stair is prefabricated. The treads is embeded into the stringers,
making them almost unreplacable.

I wonder how those stair get finished then? Whether adding a laminate or
carpet, the top and bottom step height will change.

In my case, I installed 5/16" thick tiles at the basement. As the tile
thickness and laminate thickness is the same, I don't need to worry
about the bottom step. I am not sure how anyone dealt with the top step
then? Maybe glue a piece of 1/4" thick wood at the stair entrance upper
floor?

I went to dozens of home with finished basment stairs. Nobody did
anything special. They just add carpets or laminates. A few did replace
the raw treads with finished hardwood treads. But those raw treads are
easily replacable.

Wayne Whitney Wrote:
On 2005-03-02, manhattan42 wrote:

[IRC 2003] Added considerations are that the nosing must have a
radius of curvature no greater than 9/16 of an inch

Does this apply separately to the top and bottom corner of a tread, or
does this imply that a tread must be no more that 1 1/8" thick?

Thanks, Wayne

Neither.
It just means that the curvature of the nosing can be made by a radius
no greater than 9/16".


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On 2005-03-03, homeowner wrote:

My stair is prefabricated. The treads is embeded into the stringers,
making them almost unreplacable.

What are the treads made of? It seems odd to make a stairs like this
and not to use a finish material for the treads.

Cheers, Wayne

On 2005-03-02, manhattan42 wrote:

[IRC 2003] Added considerations are that the nosing must have a
radius of curvature no greater than 9/16 of an inch

Let me try again. If this requirement applies to the nosing as a
whole, then the nosing radius can't be more than 9/16", so the
diameter can't be more than 2 * 9/16" = 1 1/8", i.e. the thickness of
the nosing can't be more than 1 1/8". That seems like a very odd
requirement, so I assume that the "radius of curvature" requirement
just applies to the top and bottom corners of the nosing profile
separately?

Cheers, Wayne

Wayne Whitney wrote:
On 2005-03-03, homeowner wrote:


My stair is prefabricated. The treads is embeded into the stringers,
making them almost unreplacable.


What are the treads made of? It seems odd to make a stairs like this
and not to use a finish material for the treads.

Cheers, Wayne

The treads are made of 1" plywood. I once asked a contractor to replace
the treads with hardwood. He basically said he could do it w/o
destroying the stair. He suggested to use carpet instead. I presume
adding carpet will also change risersize at the top and bottom.

homeowner wrote:

....

My stair is prefabricated. The treads is embeded into the stringers,
making them almost unreplacable.

I wonder how those stair get finished then? Whether adding a laminate or
carpet, the top and bottom step height will change.

In my case, I installed 5/16" thick tiles at the basement. As the tile
thickness and laminate thickness is the same, I don't need to worry
about the bottom step. I am not sure how anyone dealt with the top step
then? Maybe glue a piece of 1/4" thick wood at the stair entrance upper
floor?

One would hope that the design/installation incorporated the intended
flooring at the bottom and top and the tread covering to compensate.
That a speculative-built house wouldn't have done so is certainly within
easy belief.

I went to dozens of home with finished basment stairs. Nobody did
anything special. They just add carpets or laminates. A few did replace
the raw treads with finished hardwood treads. But those raw treads are
easily replacable.

That doesn't mean they met code (obviously)...

Probably w/ plywood it was intended for a thin carpet to be laid on
them.

Probably can get by w/ the laminate although may need to adjust the
upper floor landing. I'd probably just make a solid nosing and fasten
it solidly to the front of the tread.

Duane Bozarth wrote:
....
I went to dozens of home with finished basment stairs. Nobody did
anything special. They just add carpets or laminates. A few did replace
the raw treads with finished hardwood treads. But those raw treads are
easily replacable.

That doesn't mean they met code (obviously)...
....

I meant to add that unless the mismatch is really noticeable enough that
you see people actually mis-stepping, the exact compliance to code is
pretty much a non-issue until/unless one of two events (both fairly
remote, but possible)--

1. You get ready to sell and the buyer has a lender w/ a persnickety
inspector who notes the discrepancy. You would normally end up taking
some financial hit to compensate for the fix or choose to repair it at
the time on your own, or

2. Somebody actually does trip/fall, gets injured and sues...might
become a liability issue w/ an insurance company if did work and didn't
comply.

The likelihood of either is, as noted, relatively remote in a borderline
case--if it ends up being quite a bit out, it will probably be obvious
there's a problem that should be addressed...otherwise, your call.

Wayne Whitney Wrote:
On 2005-03-02, manhattan42 wrote:

[IRC 2003] Added considerations are that the nosing must have a
radius of curvature no greater than 9/16 of an inch

If this requirement applies to the nosing as a
whole, then the nosing radius can't be more than 9/16", so the
diameter can't be more than 2 * 9/16" = 1 1/8"


Correct.
But this is not odd because most manufactured treads are 1 1/8" thick
or less.


--
manhattan42
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