Help with Unfortunate Stair installation problem
In the final stetches of a remodel that started with a burst pipe in our Los angeles townhouse. We moved out for two weeks for floors to be replaced with white oak engineered wide plank that is taller than our prevoous floor and also has self leveler applied where there was previously none. Turns out some of the new stair treads dont clear the existing railing- something we didn’t realize in time to troubleshoot.
I was in consistent contact with the flooring contractor and the installer about all kinds of details and seeing photos of progression. However the installer didnt bring this issue to my attention and installed the solid stair treads with a notch to fit around the existing railings which did not clear the height of the new flooring.
We have already received agreement from our GC and the flooring sub that this is not acceptable work (everything else looks great throughoutit) and needs to be fixed, and that will happen next week. How to fix it is the question. Would obviously prefer a simple fix which does not involve tearing the whole living room’s new flooring and asjusting the height of the railings. Our GC has come up with the idea of redoing the bottom two stairs and finessing them to make each one a 1/4 inch shorter to clear the railing, so that a full tread can be installed. He thinks will not be noticable to the eye, or feel off while one is using the stairs. i also wonder about removing the bottom rail on both sides but that probably would look strage and may not be to code.
I would be so grateful if any pros have opinions on this situation or better ideas for a fix. Thank you!!!!
Comments (12)
kodiac23
2 years agoEmily R.
2 years agoRelated Discussions
help! new concrete stairs improperly installed
Comments (19)Thanks so much for the input. Means I'm not crazy. Yes, I called the contractor & he agreed to redo the steps. They knew very well they weren't right. He will demo them & start over. When I'd hired them, I was very clear that the priority was safety, as my elderly mother was to be using them to access her in-law suite part of the house. They are not attached to the house, but part of the yard, at the end of a stone paver patio going down to lawn (inset with flagstone walk in the grass), replacing a set of wooden slat steps, so I didn't think a permit was necessary (not electrical, plumbing, structure), so no inspection. But when I called I told him my mother had already stumbled on them (true). I'm relieved they will redo them, but I'm worried they're just going to do them badly again, and wishing I'd done it myself. here's a picture, link to a before picture. garden stairs The risers were jarringly irregular: 5.25", 4.5", 5.25", 7.5", 6.5", and 7", the doozy being the >2inch drop in the middle. He said he would redo them all at 7.5", different # of steps, as if he were limited in the riser size. I originally want to follow the slope of previous stairs, which would have meant a shallower rise, more appropriate for a garden stair. 7.5 seems steep to me, and means a shorter run. I don't understand why he can't measure the rise & run & build a form to distribute them evenly over the same span? Is it really that tricky to build to size? Are there some standard forms out there or do they just not know what they're doing? If he does it with 7.5 risers, same total height, won't he need different railings, with a different angle? I'm very close to just asking him to demo, and firing them for this job (they also put in a mortored flagstone walk to our front door, which they did a good job on). If I did that, what would be a fair settlement for the work they did do? I'd pay them in full for the walk, and 20% of the stairs job? (they demo'd the previous stairs & hauled the debris). Would they be upset, or relieved to be off a job that's been problematic? 50% and call it a loss? I'm anticipating the cost on the stairs is ~3k (they didn't itemize it separately from the front walk job). sorry to ramble!...See Moreexterior stair problems
Comments (7)Lido, do you have any pictures of your steps? Nonskid paint is a must, definitely! Carol, I have never heard of topping pressure-treated lumber with stone. Have any more info? I know tiling on top of any kind of wood substrate outside with extreme freeze-thaw cycles is mucho tricky. Building brick steps is light-years out of our league. The precast concrete steps did come in an admittedly rather pretty brick-veneered option but they were very expensive and even the cheesy-looking ones weren't all that cheap because installation ran up the price for both plain and fancy styles, with our major frost-heaving they can't just be plunked on the ground, and then upgrading railings from the tacky metal ones was another pricy add-on. Casey - mahogany sounds lovely, but it seems very nearly a sin to paint it, no? ;-) ;-) I've never seen Spanish cedar, just Western Red cedar, but I will check with the fancy-foo-foo specialty lumberyard in the next county. This would actually be easier if we didn't have the stupid city codes regarding the handrails to deal with. There are several premade railings I've found that are attractive and appropriate to the style of the house, but they're always too large to meet code (maximum of 2 1/2" "grasping surface", which is pretty puny - the usual recommendation is to attach a skinny round railing to the inside of the larger railing which is REALLY ugly). I've seen a couple of railing setups that would do at Vintage Woodworks but their best options for exterior use are cypress and redwood. If I can find good cedar I can talk to my carpenter about how murderously expensive it would be to copy a handrail I like but isn't made in exterior-appropriate wood. I am already going to have him do the newel posts and balusters but those are just square posts with chamfered edges to match the porch columns, I could do them myself if I could hold a router anymore. :-)...See MoreStair Problem
Comments (15)FWIW, I think the new treads on my staircase -- unfinished oak -- were about $75 each . . . So, I'm guessing I have over $1200-1800 in materials for oak treads, oak balusters, oak handrail, etc . . . My new stair treads were part of a much larger project, so I haven't pulled out the costs, but, I'd estimate $3000-5000 at least to hire someone to redo the stairs. I would guess you'd need to replace the entire treads, and, thus, probably your balusters and handrail . . ., so, yes, live with the carpet until you can't stand it. A cheap alternative to oak treads, if you can DIY the labor and want cheap materials . . . is to use pine stair treads and stain them. I did that for our basement stairs (java gel stain by general finishes), and I love it. White risers. Black stained treads. Is dinged and banged up thoroughly from heavy use of just a few months, but the stain is durable, so, it just looks banged up, but the stain doesn't wear away. I *hate* carpet (it's all, all, all gone!! Woohoo!), but I wasn't going to pay $$ for basement stairs . . . so the stained pine was a good compromise for me. (I wouldn't want to pay labor costs to stain/finish pine treads . . . as the labor is such a huge part of the cost . . . I had my GC lay down the treads - quick and easy -- and then I did the finish work.)...See MoreStair Tread Install - Prep Question
Comments (12)Wait! Not using nails??? Hold on. You are fully aware that Gorilla glue fails faster than you would ever think possible, RIGHT? Do NOT rely on gimicky glue commercials. They are cr@p! Too many times things fail at precisely the wrong time with these 'As seen on TV' products. Use the correct PL product along with nails. 'Cause what's another $40 on the RIGHT glue vs. the lawsuit over an improperly installed stair tread causing back/head/neck injuries? And a bounce means 'movement' up and down as you stress the plank (bounce = same as a trampoline bounce...bounce means vertical movement)....See MoreJenn Powers
2 years ago
PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
2 years agoJenn Powers
2 years agoJenn Powers
2 years agoJenn Powers
2 years agoUPDATE: our GC and floor sub both took total ownership for this mistake in the stair install and had the crew come out and totally rebuild the stairs so they now clear the railing. it looks much better. Thanks all for your input. i think this is definitely a confirmation on why it is essential to work with contractors who come with personal recommendations from people you trust.
The unfortunate part is that the lack of attention to detail the install crew showed with the stairs has led us to find a ton of other issues with the detail and finish work throughout. pics attached of the other fun surprises we’ve found.
Our sub has been having them make things right and they have so far fixed about 5 problem areas (including a landing that they initially ran in the wrong direction). However, the quality of the detail and finish work continues to be subpar so are now insisting on a different prrson so do the rest of the finish work, which our GC is again supportive of. someday, we will be done with this!
PROHALLETT & Co.
2 years ago
Emily R.