Hardwood stairs

Using a stair templating tool to measure the width and angle of your steps

1. Remove carpet and tack strips. If, the hardwood staircase  riser's (front piece) are in good shape, then de-nail and prepare for refinishing or painting. Use an, anvil plier and tack nail remover to remove the carpet staples and any unwanted fasteners. Use a rolling action, with your anvil pliers, to prevent fatigue.

Tip: Always, pull staples and nails the same angle it was put in. If, you work against this angle, it will only make the job tougher.

Depending on, how the original hardwood stair tread installation was assembled. It can be either treads butted to the riser or the riser sitting on top of the stair tread. This will determine whether you start at the top and work down or vise versa. In this installation guide it will be a bottom to top.

2.Remove the first starting step, use a flat pry bar and hammer. Take the hammer and give it a whack on the front edge, to raise it a little bit. Once, you've raised the hardwood treads a little. Use a long pry bar to finish removing the tread, you'll be able to do this with very little effort. De-nail and clean. Check your stair tread stringers to make sure, it's level, on the width and length, front to back and side to side. Use either your bullet level or a 24" level.

Transfer your jig over to your work piece and mark it with a sharp pencil

If, the staircase stringers are not leveled, adjust with shims. Find the highest point and shim all stringer height to this point.

3.With your Stair Tool, make a template of your tread. Adjust the stair tool tight to your side boards. Your stair tool should be touching the front of the riser and the 2 side boards (left and right). Lock your Stair tool in place, then carefully remove it. Careful not to hit any other surface, with the stair tool. This will result in an error and a miss cut, money out the window .

4. Place the stair tool same way you template your step, on your replacement hardwood staircase tread. Choose a good side to trace your template onto. This will be the top of your tread. Most stair treads are pre-sanded on one side, just look for sanding marks. If, you purchased reversible hardwood tread, choose the best side. Mark your piece, then, put a marking on the keeper side of 1 corner, use the marking for identification for when you have to make a re-cut. With the same template, mark your Scotia to length, also.

Lasers make it easy to line up your saw blade with cut marks

5. Using the miter saw. Cut the sides of your tread. Be sure to adjust the angle of your miter saw to cut your traced outline. Before you make that cut, make sure you have the saw blade on the correct side of the line. Otherwise, you will be making a costly mistake. The saw blade should always be on the waste side. During this time, cut your Scotia molding, also.

6. Test fit your hardwood treads, before permanently installing it. Make adjustments, if needed. Sometimes it's difficult to make a hairline cut. Instead, use a belt sander with a coarse grit abrasive, to make tweaks. Some side boards, maybe cupped and curved, compensate for the error, leave a little extra. Scribe it, then, use the belt sander to sand to fit, for your staircase installation.

Dry fit your tread, make adjustments as needed

7. If, the back of the tread does not rest tight to the face of your riser, this also should be scribed. Before doing so, check your edge overhang. Maximum overhang is 1 1/2", check with your local building code on your stair installation, to find out actual dimension.

To figure out your overhang dimension. It should be the width of your scotia (example: 1/2" x 3/4" scotia, width ='s 1/2") + radius of your front edge(3/4" thick tread, radius = 3/8")+1/8" reveal = 1". Your tolerance for error should be kept within +/- 1/8". Generally being said, your staircase installation, overhang can be anywhere from 7/8" - 1 1/4", for a 3/4 thick stair tread.

Tip: Make a depth gauge out of scrap material. To check your staircase installation overhang. 2 pieces of wood that forms a 90 degree angle with one side measuring the maximum depth allowed - 1 1/8".

Place it on the front edge of your hardwood staircase tread. At the correct depth, your gauge should touch both the front edge of your treads and the front of your stair riser (below). Scribe and cut your treads to the proper width. Your finished tread width should be, the measurement from the front of your starting riser to your second riser + your overhang.

Example: Riser to riser = Tread width(9 1/2" + 1 =10 1/2") Finish width equals 10 1/2"

Check with your local building code to find out what minimum and maximum width requirements allowed. Normal stair tread width are 10 1/2" and 11 1/2". Minimum hardwood stair tread width is 9".

Use a temperature sensitive subfloor liquid nail for your glue and nail assist installation. The glue will cure in cold temps and will help prevent squeaks.

8. Mark the location of your stringer on your riser. Apply a generous amount of liquid nail onto the hardwood staircase stringers. Place the tread in place, then install 2 nails per stringer. Then install your scotia molding, using a brad nailer to fasten it in place.

Note: The stair tread only needs to sit tight, on your stair stringers, for your hardwood staircase installation. Gaps along the front can be covered up by your scotia molding. Consider raising your riser or adding a filler strip, if the gap is wider than the width of your scotia molding.

Note: Do not be concerned with squeaks at this time. As long as you applied enough adhesive. When this sets up, it will eliminate your squeaks.

9. Repeat, steps 2 through 8, until you've reached the top.

10.Cut in your stair nosing and scotia. The overhang of your stair nosing should be the same as your  tread overhang. Fill your nail holes then sand and finish.

Use kraft paper to make your templates. Make triangle cut-outs so you can stick blue painters tape to keep the template from sliding around.

1. Start by making a rough template of your existing staircase winders. Use the rosin paper, for your template. This does not have to be exact. It's only a rough template, for our slab. Label each template, top1, top2, and top3. Don't forget to label the front.

2. Starting with your largest template. Line up 3 stair tread together. The middle piece, should be sq. 4 sides, first.Do that by ripping it on your table saw. Only remove the rounded edge. Afterwards, use a block planer to square the cut edge. If, you have a power planer, use this tool with it's guide, to keep this edge square to the top face. If, you have access to a jointer that's even better.

Glue up your slabs

3. After you've squared up the middle piece. Re-assemble the 3  treads. Place the template on top, align the front edge to the front label. Adjust your pieces accordingly to minimize waste.

Note: You maybe able to use a good size piece of waste for your other slab.

Now, trace your template onto your staircase winder material. Make marks on the face of the winder to locate your fastener. This mark should be on both sides of the joining joint. Example: edge 1&2a, 2b&3, 1 represent front piece, 2 = middle, 3 = back piece. They should be 1 inch minimum away from the cut edge and 6 inches apart.

Use a Kreg jig to drill holes on the back of the treads.

4. Using your Kreg Jig, pre-drill your mounting holes for your staircase winder tread. Pre-drill holes from the underside of your tread. Holes should be drilled on edge 2a and edge 3.

5. Apply a generous amount of wood glue to joining edges 1 and 2a, then fasten with screws. Then apply glue to joining edges 2b and 3 and fasten with screws.

6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for remaining 2 winders.

Glue, screw and clamp your slabs together and allow to dry

 7. Remove existing old stair winder. Clean, check for level and adjust if necessary, then prepare for installation

Tip: It maybe easier to remove tread in small broken strips than 1 large tread.

8. Make triangle cut-outs in three locations. Preferably, near the corners of template. Using the cut-outs, tape your template onto winder frame.

Stick the template back on the winder frame

Leave roughly 1/2 to an 1 inch of spacing, between template and scribing surfaces. This should be any surface that the winder must rest tight on. Secure the template good. You need to get an accurate scribe in order to have a proper cut staircase winder.

9. Using a utility knife, trim off, any template material hanging off the front edge. Trim it flush to the front edge of your riser.

Using your scribe block, scribe the shape of the winder onto the kraft paper. We used a bullet level as our scribe block.

10. Using the scribe block, scribe and make reference lines along all surfaces. In our photo we used a bullet level.

11. Remove template, then attach it to the proper winder slab.

Tip: Before attaching your template. Make a overhang reference line to the front edge of your winder. You can get this dimension from your existing stair tread, This should between 1 and 1  1/2".

Place the template on the corresponding slab.
And transfer your scribe onto it.

Align the front edge of your template with this reference line. Secure down template with tape. Place your scribe block on the reference lines you've made on the template and trace it onto your hardwood staircase winder.

12. Cut out your winder, using a table saw or jig-saw. It will be more accurate on the table saw, becareful of kick backs.

Tip: If, you make your cut with a jig-saw, leave a little material, then finish it with a belt sander. You may need to make relief cuts on some edges, set your blade at an angle to make your cut.

Test fit your cut-out, tweak as needed, then apply a generous amount of temperate sensitive polyurethane subfloor adhesive and a few nails

13. Test fit your hardwood stair winder, adjust if necessary. Apply a generous amount of polyurethane liquid nail on your winder frame.  Glue should be applied to all nailing surfaces. If you have a plywood winder box frame. Apply a generous dob of adhesive in any areas, that maybe a void.

14. Mark location of your stringers onto adjacent risers, front and back.

15. Install your hardwood staircase winder, and apply nails along stringer locations.

Staircase winder with decorative sides and iron handrail system

16. Repeat steps 7 through 15. for remaining hardwood staircase winder installation.. Then cut and install your scotia molding with brad nails.

17. Fill nail holes, sand and finish.

Enjoy your new stair winders! Plenty of carpentry knowledge to learn here. Now, you have the know hows of constructing and installing a hardwood staircase winder.  If, you have questions, contact us. Did you find this article helpful? Don't forget to click "Like" and "Share", so we can bring your more helpful information.

Don't have a hardwood staircase tool, You can purchase one at The Stair Tool.com