I have a pretty good set of directions
(http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/har...-measuring.htm) on
how to do this, but I'm wondering if anyone has any practical experience
they'd like to share.

I live in one of those big neighborhoods where there's about 3 or 4
different models of homes, and they were built quickly without any bells and
whistles. I want to pull up my carpet and have hardwood and/or laminate
stairs. Is it going to be really ugly when I pull up the carpet? I have
laminate downstairs, and I'd like the stairs to match, but I'm finding it
near impossible to find stairnose for the type of laminate I have (kronotex
from lowes)...any suggestions on how to match a stain?

Thanks for any info!

--Jodi

"Jodi" wrote in message
I want to pull up my carpet and have hardwood and/or laminate stairs. Is
it going to be really ugly when I pull up the carpet? I have laminate
downstairs, and I'd like the stairs to match, but I'm finding it near
impossible to find stairnose for the type of laminate I have (kronotex
from lowes)...any suggestions on how to match a stain?

My stairs were a plywood base and not all that ugly. I stained them and
just left them for a couple of years before deciding to re-carpet the house
and finish the stairs. Original carpet was well worn and ugly so it had to
go.

The problem with cheap laminates is they don't support them with a lot of
the extra goodies to make a professional job. I used WilsonArt a few years
back and it worked well. www.wilsonart.com It has proven to be very
durable on the stairs and the landing at the top, the most heavily traveled
part of the house.

You won't find a stain easily to give an exact match of your present
laminate. You may have to blend a couple of get into dyes. The final
result will vary depending on the wood you choose. You may do better with a
complimentary color of laminate.

You may want to consider engineered hardwood instead of laminate
http://www.mannington.com/residentia...oodMolding.asp

I have this in my downstairs family room and hallway. It was not available
when I did the Wilson Art or I may have done it all this way. You can see
the stair nose on the above page.

"Jodi" wrote in message
news
I have a pretty good set of directions
(http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/har...-measuring.htm)
on
how to do this, but I'm wondering if anyone has any practical experience
they'd like to share.

I live in one of those big neighborhoods where there's about 3 or 4
different models of homes, and they were built quickly without any bells
and
whistles. I want to pull up my carpet and have hardwood and/or laminate
stairs. Is it going to be really ugly when I pull up the carpet? I have
laminate downstairs, and I'd like the stairs to match, but I'm finding it
near impossible to find stairnose for the type of laminate I have
(kronotex
from lowes)...any suggestions on how to match a stain?

Thanks for any info!

--Jodi

What I did on mine was to tint the clear. built up the coats until it
matched . then put more coats of un-tinted clear . You have to figure out
what wood your going to use then experiment with tints. I believe Lowes
sells small tubes of tint. You might try to contact the supplier some of
them will have stains or aim you in the right direction. I used Varathain
Diamond coat clear great stuff, water base.

www.homesteadfinishing.com designed some TransTint dyes that can be
used in several liquids including waterbased. I've used them to color
a finish several times and adjusting the color is a snap. Too red
result just add a little green to offset the red and bring it toward
brown. Once color is right just topcoat with clear finish for
protection.

On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 13:38:05 GMT, "Sacramento Dave"
wrote:


"Jodi" wrote in message
news
I have a pretty good set of directions
(http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/har...-measuring.htm)
on
how to do this, but I'm wondering if anyone has any practical experience
they'd like to share.

I live in one of those big neighborhoods where there's about 3 or 4
different models of homes, and they were built quickly without any bells
and
whistles. I want to pull up my carpet and have hardwood and/or laminate
stairs. Is it going to be really ugly when I pull up the carpet? I have
laminate downstairs, and I'd like the stairs to match, but I'm finding it
near impossible to find stairnose for the type of laminate I have
(kronotex
from lowes)...any suggestions on how to match a stain?

Thanks for any info!

--Jodi

What I did on mine was to tint the clear. built up the coats until it
matched . then put more coats of un-tinted clear . You have to figure out
what wood your going to use then experiment with tints. I believe Lowes
sells small tubes of tint. You might try to contact the supplier some of
them will have stains or aim you in the right direction. I used Varathain
Diamond coat clear great stuff, water base.