Hobby carpenter
· Västmanland
· 214 posts
Buying new wooden material for the stairs seems to be very expensive. For example, with Kärsch, the stair nosings cost an incredible amount.
Then it occurred to me - can't you cast (thin) concrete steps for an open indoor staircase? With a built-in stair nosing, that is. With the right mold, it should be fairly simple, I think. But that's not what I'm mostly asking about; rather, do you think concrete material on an indoor staircase would be too heavy for the construction? Is there a risk of everything collapsing? How much weight is such a step designed to withstand? The steps, in our case, are attached to a wooden frame running on the right and left sides.
What do you think?
Then it occurred to me - can't you cast (thin) concrete steps for an open indoor staircase? With a built-in stair nosing, that is. With the right mold, it should be fairly simple, I think. But that's not what I'm mostly asking about; rather, do you think concrete material on an indoor staircase would be too heavy for the construction? Is there a risk of everything collapsing? How much weight is such a step designed to withstand? The steps, in our case, are attached to a wooden frame running on the right and left sides.
What do you think?
It is considerably more worthwhile to replace the entire staircase rather than just repairing the steps.
Normally, a staircase is not constructed to bear too much weight, it depends a little on the model of the staircase, whether the stringers are attached to walls or if they stand on the floor and rest against the frame.
I believe that the staircase can easily become wobbly and the concrete risks cracking.
Normally, a staircase is not constructed to bear too much weight, it depends a little on the model of the staircase, whether the stringers are attached to walls or if they stand on the floor and rest against the frame.
I believe that the staircase can easily become wobbly and the concrete risks cracking.
Fine concrete might be a bit too coarse, but perhaps fiber-reinforced self-leveling compound. But then the problem is if the stairs move a lot.
Hobby carpenter
· Västmanland
· 214 posts
You think so? But to build a new staircase, you have to hire people, and I was hoping I could repair it myself...Backeborta said:
Is it not possible to refurbish the existing one in some way then? Sand, paint/stain/varnish/soap/wax etc.? I'm working on an old staircase myself (a sturdy but quite worn-out one) and we decided to sand it down, stain it with oak stain + wax, and paint the risers + stringers white. To get, and maintain, a somewhat old-fashioned style which we have in some of the other things in the house.
Hobby carpenter
· Västmanland
· 214 posts
Sure, it's certainly possible, but it's a hell of a job because the plastic mat on it is stuck like glue and then it's a pine staircase (or spruce, who knows) so the wood doesn't look that great either. The nicest would be with oak stair treads and a white "frame", but that costs a fortune.mrVoodoo said:
If you're a bit meticulous and careful, you can cut risers from oak parquet with an oak strip as a stair nose. A lot of sawing and measuring, but it's cheap if you don't count your own time. Additionally, there are milling tools available to make the staircase bare wood, so it's relatively easy with the right tools.
Hobby carpenter
· Västmanland
· 214 posts
I'm not familiar with the milling tools; I've used an electric planer to strip the plastic mat.Havsutsikt said:
I've checked out Kärsch oak parquet:
http://www.kahrs.com/SE/Consumer/Products/Floors/WoodSpecies/Pages/SelectWood.aspx
And it was cost-effective, although there will be some waste. But if you buy the stair nose for them:
http://www.kahrs.com/SE/CONSUMER/PRODUCTS/ACCESSORIES/Pages/Mouldings.aspx
It costs a fortune. A stair nose costs almost as much as a package of parquet, and I need fourteen of them. Frustrating.
That's what I meant, do you have to have a grooved stair nose? Can't you just use a plain strip, or a milled strip that doesn't fit in the parquet? Glue with appropriate adhesive. I think it should work. However, the price list for accessories for stairs is usually set according to the cost of a new staircase. So if you get a "new-old" staircase for around 10,000-15,000, it's cheap compared to buying a new one.
Hobby carpenter
· Västmanland
· 214 posts
Exactly, it surely is, but still a lot of money. I'm unsure if I can make parquet+strip look good, plus there's that whole issue of finding a strip that looks exactly the same as the parquet floor you're laying... Tricky. But thanks for the feedback anywayHavsutsikt said:
Well, what you should use to get the stairs bare is a varnish router from Metabo (as far as I know, they are the only ones with a varnish router in their range, maybe they have a patent), I bought one myself just for the stairs. Okay, it might not be entirely price-justified to buy one just to fix a single staircase, but I saw quite a few upcoming renovation projects where it could come in handy. I imported mine from England.
Cleared all the large surfaces on the stairs in about 1 hour with the varnish router, now I only have small corners and the stair edges left to clean. With the right sanding machines, hopefully that will be relatively easy too. In a stair renovation, having the right tools is really essential, otherwise, you become crazy, depressed, gray-haired, cranky, and generally aggressive after a while.... A couple of good friends spent 3 days on their stairs before giving up, as they hadn't even reached halfway after three days of constant sanding and scraping
Covering it with parquet is clearly cheaper than buying a staircase kit. Maybe you can mill your own matching stair nosings in matching wood? IF you manage to find matching wood, that is.
Alternatively, find wood that a carpentry can cut into suitable veneer for you? So you get exactly the same wood for steps and moldings. Then you have a bit of work gluing the veneer together, etc., but maybe that’s not a barrier for you?
Cleared all the large surfaces on the stairs in about 1 hour with the varnish router, now I only have small corners and the stair edges left to clean. With the right sanding machines, hopefully that will be relatively easy too. In a stair renovation, having the right tools is really essential, otherwise, you become crazy, depressed, gray-haired, cranky, and generally aggressive after a while....
A couple of good friends spent 3 days on their stairs before giving up, as they hadn't even reached halfway after three days of constant sanding and scraping Covering it with parquet is clearly cheaper than buying a staircase kit. Maybe you can mill your own matching stair nosings in matching wood? IF you manage to find matching wood, that is.
Alternatively, find wood that a carpentry can cut into suitable veneer for you? So you get exactly the same wood for steps and moldings. Then you have a bit of work gluing the veneer together, etc., but maybe that’s not a barrier for you?
Stairs for 12000 sounds like a bargain price, or are they freshly removed from some construction site. Otherwise, an Oak staircase is usually around 80-120 thousand SEK depending on railings etc.
. Otherwise, an Oak staircase is usually around 80-120 thousand SEK depending on railings etc.Closed oak staircase with white stringers, 14 steps, would have cost us 35-40k 2 years ago, excluding installation. I bought Lundbergs staircase renovation kit and painted the stringers white. Total cost was about 9000:-. Turned out great. It felt ridiculously expensive then, but in hindsight, it was probably quite cheap for a "new" staircase.
I also looked at the "Kährs solution" but concluded that it would have only been a few thousand cheaper. It would also have taken more time to put that puzzle together.
I also looked at the "Kährs solution" but concluded that it would have only been a few thousand cheaper. It would also have taken more time to put that puzzle together.