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Woodworking Remodeling Design Dilemma

HELP (Renovated Staircase)

last year

last modified: last year

Hello, we just recently finished our renovation and are stuck on how to fix the side of our stairs. The issue is we had to use a shoe mold but to me it just doesn't look right, does anyone have any suggestions as to how we can fix this? That piece of trim highlighted in the circle is out of place but was needed to cover the gap. Desperately need help with suggestions. We want this to look nice and not an eye sore this was a major house reno. Thanks in advance !!

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Comments (11)

wishiwereintheup
last year
I agree, it does look like an oopsie. Why wasn't the baseboard extended to the end and notched out to fit under the tread?
Sammie J
last year
I would bring the baseboard all the way across the final step...you can trim/notch the top if it doesn't fit under the tread. Finish the 2nd step with trim as you did the top step, instead of bringing the trim down the way you have it.
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Comments (21)
And Parry Sound ON is NOT easy to get to - I've shipped cork floors to Parry Sound....it cost THREE TIMES to get it there than to Barrie or Orillia. So that $50K option is not even CLOSE to the real cost of this thing. Moving the WALL will be $15K - $20K. The cost of materials and man power in that area of Ontario are UNBELIEVABLY high. Transport costs for ANYTHING will be triple that of "civilized" areas...like Barrie. So...moving the stairs will be more than $50K....and then the wall moving will probably require a structural beam. Those beams are $5K in Toronto....but once you get into Parry Sound, they triple in price just for transport. See where we are headed here? I've seen "bunkies" cost $30K in that area (prefab then moved onto the property). That's easy peasy money to spend in that neck of the Ontario woods. If $50K is not in your budget, then I recommend that you save your money, get into the swing of things with extended family living around you and THEN decide the final layout. The existing home will either be "good enough" or you will need to do a complete tear down with a redo. Or you could do what many in cottage/lake country do - add more buildings to your property. So many of these properties have 3-5 "out" buildings added simply because it is cheaper/easier/faster to have them prefabricated and then brought in then it is tear down and build new. The building season out there is VERY short. Mud is a constant battle. Winter comes early and stays late. Big transport trucks can only go into these areas if they are DRY and COMPACT and there is NO RAIN in the forecast for at least two weeks. I've seen many people have to bring in gravel to their driveways/access roads (a few thousand just for that) so that they could get a delivery....and then the fall storms set in and nothing was possible until late May the next year. Things get interesting in these areas of our great country. And interesting normally translates into "expensive". Please take your time with this. You have a stunning property that will take quite a bit of time figuring out what NEEDS to be done (like a new roof) vs. what you WANT done. Plan ahead and always plan for delays and bad weather. It will keep you sane.
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Comments (7)
Make sure you work with a finishing carpenter TOGETHER with your iron monger. FYI: Finishing Carpenters are the most expensive guys in the wood working industry. They are the one's who build stairs (15+ different codes to consider). They are the one's to refurbish stairs. They are the one's to resurface stairs - while maintaining all building codes that go with them (did I mention the 15 different code requirements...that's a lot of code...to pay for). Do you have SEVERAL thousand? Do you have a plan for the upstairs AND the main level flooring so that the Finishing Carpenter has a start/end place to work with (those 15 code requirements need the start and end points...see where we are going)?
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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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Comments (9)
Honestly, even without context, what you have looks very nice. I don't know why you would change it. I just changed mine to metal balusters, but what I had was builder grade junk from 1995. What you have was nice when built and is still nice. The balusters aren't plain, but they're not busy either. No need to jump on the metal baluster trend. Also, you will find if you get a quote that stair work is pretty expensive. So if there isn't a pressing need, spend your money elsewhere.
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kculbers
last year
Your molding does looks a bit off. I had a new oak staircase installed a few years ago, and used simple narrow molding. Of course, your area for molding is a bit more complicated. I attached a possible fix, in my hand drawn picture: remove the wide molding at floor level, and install the narrow molding in the areas I have in pink.
User
last year
last modified: last year
I might be thinking the same thing as wishiwereintheup. It would look something like this. I feel like this still looks weird?

so maybe also remove the piece of thin vertical molding as well?
Sammie J
last year
Seattle's 2nd pic!
kculbers
last year
I agree! Seattle’s 2nd picture.
cpartist
last year
No baseboard on the side of the stair. Have the baseboard die into the stair where it meets the wall.
PRO
Beth H. :
last year
last modified: last year
that is some horrendous finish work. up close it's just sloppy. caulk shouldn't be used to fill holes. wood filler is used. then it's sanded. primed, then painted. caulk if for the large gaps next to floor and other wider spots.

I agree though, the way the trim work is done is all wrong.

Diff ways to do it. I'll post pics so you can see.
PRO
PPF.
last year
This should have been done as the stairs were being built/remodeled. Going to be difficult to do now that things are finished.

I'd remove much of what is there and add a board (or boards) shaped like this. They need to be mitered into the risers, not just applied on top of what's there now.

And the skirtboards and base should be integrated. What's there now looks like someone worked on the stair and then the base trim was added later.

And the light switch by the door should have been moved to the left away from the casing.
elcieg
last year
Hello, B P. Many good responses. Where are you?
B P
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Hello, I cannot thank everyone enough for the feedback, I am pleasantly surprised by all the great feedback and effort everyone put in. Essentially we were doing a big renovation and the stair was rounded on the end and we decided to square it off,. We did not realize it was going to look like this until it ias too late. I am going to show a new contractor some of these suggestions to see what can be done. Thank you to all !! I hope it's not too late to fix

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