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Flooring Design Dilemma Basements

Help! Retread carpeted basement stairs (tight space)

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hi! I'm hoping that someone might have some ideas/suggestions for us on how to retrofit boxed basement stairs with tight space on both sides. We literally just got done refinishing our basement and the stairs were the final thing that we're looking to change, so that the entire room is aesthetically pleasing. We ripped up the ugly carpet on our basement stairs, thinking it'd be easy to reinforce the current stairs and add retrofitted treads and risers over them, rather than replacing the current treads/risers, since they're still in good condition. However, we're now realizing that this project is going to be harder than we'd expected because the walls jet over the stairs/stringer on both sides. I'm not sure if you can tell by the pictures, but the current treads are tucked under the walls. We've had one carpenter come take a look and said that the only option to retread would be to break down the walls in order for the stairs to fit, or he could sand and stain the current treads and add a runner on top to make things easier. Obviously, tearing down walls is not an option for us, since we just refinished the basement and are looking to cut our costs at this point.

We'd love to find a way to either retrofit the current stairs without tearing down walls or re-carpet them, as a last resort. We don't think it'd be cost efficient or worth the time to pay to have the stairs sanded/stained just to cover them with runners (especially since we're not sure how nice they'll turn out, given that although they're sturdy, they're not the most beautiful looking treads).

Has anyone experienced a similar issue and if so what did you end up doing? Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Comments (14)

houssaon
3 years ago
I think I would get a low pile carpet for the stairs or sand and repaint the stairs.
PRO
Flo Mangan
3 years ago
I have had a stairway similar. We did paint and put a runner (cheap, cause we had 4 kids and no money! Lol). Then I went crazy vacuuming carpet AND cleaning side wood and along edges of carpet where everything collects. So eliminate one problem and just carpet with wool if you can afford it edge to edge. Find a cool look.
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Thank you so much for the responses! I fretted about it overnight, but decided this morning my main goal was for it to withstand the boys, their friends, and the dog, and I think of all the colors I considered, this was the one that would do that. And, it's not the end of the world if it is not the perfect choice. I always second guess myself in decorating, and it usually ends up fine. Trying to keep it in perspective:) sueb20, you have reassured me so much! Your basement is beautiful - I'll be thrilled if ours ends up looking close to that! I'm envious of your stairs - love the hardwood. I even thought about putting laminate in the basement (that is how much I dislike carpet - carpet never feels "clean" to me). Did you build your media area? If not, where did you get it - I love it. The cords and components are a fact of teenage life, but yours is contained and organized - yay! I had to laugh when I saw all of the "guitars" in the basket..I can't wait to get ours out of the upstairs family room. Busybee3, I originally intended to get a flecked carpet, as I definitely think it would hide the most. Laying out all the samples, the flecks just weren't speaking to me - go figure. Love the idea of a sage carpet - my favorite decorating color! braider, thanks for the link - very useful for me to have in the future!
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Comments (15)
My carpeted stairs were one thing in this house I hated when we bought it. It was a good grade carpet but it was cream colored and impossible to keep looking clean. It became as worn from vacuuming and cleaning as it did from use. Our main floor was hardwood but the upstairs rooms had that same carpet. Since it was new when we bought and other things were priorities - time and money-wise - I lived with it for 12 years. When we remodeled the kitchen in 2014 we had the same flooring person who refinished the downstairs install wood upstairs & on the stairway. Best thing we've ever done to this home. My dogs were familiar with bare wood stairs because we have them in our lake place. They trod a bit more gingerly the first week or so, but adjusted quickly. Obviously, there's more sound than with carpet. But even when we have guests with kids who stay with us I don't find it bad. The one thing I'd caution about is if you wear just socks in the house, it can be slippery. We wear slippers in winter & sandals designated for indoor wear only in summertime. Cost-wise, like anything else you do in your home, I would want to hire someone who is reputable and does quality work. You don't have to break the bank, but consider you're talking about a permanent fixture of your home.
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Comments (14)
ker,,right there with ya! I get it. hire wisely. do your research. read up on what you want. Perhaps you could remove that carpet so you could see what's under there? There are so many options, it's hard to even mention only a few. Take a look at Google Images search for "Stairway redo" of "Builder Basic Stairway remodel" and see what you like I like the nice runners on stairs. you can get new treads for about $30 each (depending on size and wood species) that a stair guy could install. hopefully keeping the current risers and just painting those. If the stairs are not up to code, once you touch them, they will need to meet code. A pro stair guy will know (hopefully) as opposed to some handyman guy that isn't aware of 'run/rise' requirements on a staircase. (I learned this lesson the hard way 10 years ago) We had a house we were going to flip (kept it for a rental) and the feng shui issue was a concern in this neighborhood 1980. nothing in this house had been touched for 30 years. we had someone rebuild the landing and turn, which we found out was completely out of code. So we redid it ourselves. hired someone to do the railing and the spindles. I did all of the staining and painting. If this had been today, I would have done stained or painted treads, a runner, and some sort of wall treatment. something like this. But that redo was back in 2011 and these trends weren't around! so if you want something like a runner, you can try having your treads stained,, stained, painted risers, jute or sisal runner. I like this look. prob the cheapest out of your options just to use what's under the carpet. everything will have to be sanded very well, primed and painted.
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Comments (10)
It looks like you have a stringer and baseboard but no skirt board. Underneath the carpet is almost certainly raw wood. What kind of wood? Particle board, plywood, solid wood--pine, oak...? It's the sideboards that seem problematic. They look sort of easy to do, if you happen to have a table saw. You don't need & would not use a table saw to cut a skirt board. (If that is what you mean by 'sideboards'.) If you plan to use vinyl on the stair treads, then you will need skirt boards to cover the gaps (which I assume are necessary with vinyl treads.) . When the carpet comes off, come back & post another picture.
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PRO
Flo Mangan
3 years ago
Here are some examples.
ShadyWillowFarm
3 years ago
We painted ours.
acm
3 years ago
agree with a paint (usually dark is good for basement steps) or an inexpensive Berber-style carpet, wall to wall.
User
3 years ago
I'm trying to figure out what shotty walls means. Is the o supposed to be an I? I'm guessing it's a typo but I'm weirdly fixated on trying to figure out what it means....
User
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
What are shotty walls?

Edit: We painted our stairs. They look fine.
PRO
Flo Mangan
3 years ago
Hate Berber carpet. Everything catches on it. Sorry just avoid that style.
pleballerina
3 years ago
If you decide to do carpet, don’t go too cheap: it gets slick over time. I had cheap carpet on the stairs in my first house and I slipped on it and fell. Wool would be ready nice if you can swing it!
Maureen
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I’d strip and sand a few stairs so you can see their condition. We did this and had a pro prepare a stain that matched the rest of our floors and once stained they were not perfect, but we are the only ones to notice.

You could also paint them and given their location could have lots of fun with your choice https://nextluxury.com/home-design/painted-stairs-ideas/

If you are finding the paint is getting worn too quickly, at that point you could add padded treads.
User
3 years ago
I think the walls look nice - that's why I'm so confused about some of the statements, which I think (?) have since been edited. It looks like a nice space.

I had basement stairs exactly like this. Sand, paint, add a runner and it's perfectly fine.
Sammie J
3 years ago
I agree with some of the other posters - sand, paint, and add a sturdy runner.
littlebug zone 5 Missouri
3 years ago
Perhaps “shotty” is meant to be “shoddy.” As in poorly done.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
I would carpet in a colour that matches the basement flooring. The reword of these types of stairs is HELL! And I mean a SUPER EXPENSIVE hell-on-earth situation.

I would hate to have the paint on the treads show up as 'lead based'. The age of the stairs indicate this could be very possible. Don't touch those treads (if you want to do something other than carpet) until you have the paint tested for lead.

The age of the house will tell us if lead based paint is a reality or not. How old is the house?

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