When it comes to installation, laminate or hardwood is a tiresome and time consuming process. And because of this, it demands a lot of patience on your side. It’s a bit different than the installation of solid stair treads. Quite often people like the stairs to match the laminate or hardwood flooring , especially when they are close to the staircase. The main task is to cut the treads and stair noses in such a manner that they remain as close to the sides as possible and to ensure that the stair nose, treads and risers are firmly attached. I would like to note that it’s not important whether you are using nails, glues or an adhesive.

In US homes, it’s often that the stairs are covered with a carpet and this creates even more work. You need to get rid of any overhang and all the staples that were holding the carpet in place. Also, check the treads beneath the carpet; they could be loose or warped up.

Having removed all the staples, scrape the stairs to get rid of all debris. Some of the treads wouldn’t be flat and need to be corrected. Else, you may use a belt sander to remove high spots. In extreme cases you may be required to change the tread with a board of the same thickness. Use screws rather than nails which often remain loose.

Then you need to decide the kind of riser to be used. You could use the flooring you are installing on treads or have painted wood for a riser. It’s good to be using 1 X pine or polar. Some people prefer painted raiser to make the stairs stand out.

Now we are coming to the costs. Stair nosing is expensive, but generally you can make two stairs with a single length of nosing. Get your hands on pine or polar in case you want to include risers. Compare the prices from a few sources and get the most competitive prices. This is how you can calculate the quantity of flooring needed. Usual width of stair is 3 feet and is one foot deep, making it three square feet for the tread and double the amount in case you intend having the riser too. Be sure to add ten percent to your calculated figure. The extra volume is needed to cover waste and mistakes you may make. Moreover, the extra comes handy when any replacement is required in future.

Using appropriate tools of dependable quality facilitates the execution of the project. Apart from the usual hand tools you’ll need miter saw, circular saw, nail gun, and table saw. Avoid using quarter round to cover the gaps on stairs. It doesn’t jell and makes the stairs look smaller. If you must cover the gaps, use matching putty for the purpose, which in any case you’ll need for filling the nail holes.

So, you can see it involves a lot of work! It’s worth spending time to plan your project in detail for its successful completion in minimum time.

When we say “having a good looking laminate floor”, we usually think of having concrete stairs finished with laminate to get that unified look with a designer feel. Of course, you could certainly cover concrete with laminate. In fact, the process is quite similar to covering wooden stairs, though the nosing installation is a bit trickier.

What You’ll Need

Here is a list of items you’ll need for a successful completion of this project:

* PL200 or stronger grade of construction glue
* Skill saw for cutting laminate
* Chop saw for cutting metal nosing
* Drill with a concrete bit
* Electric screwdriver
* Plastic plugs
* Broom

It’s better to use metal nosing, as these are stronger, and allow for a better hold on concrete stairs. Laminate nosing that is available in a kit form, is trickier to install as the tracks need to be very precisely in the right spot, and there is hardly any standardization for this product with the result that different manufacturers offer a slightly different size/style of laminate nosing.

What to Do

Step one is to sweep the stairs and get rid of any shavings or dust. Unless the surface is thoroughly clean, the glue would not adhere properly to the concrete and laminate. Having thus cleaned the area you can start with the risers.

Measure, mark and cut every laminate plank so that it fits the riser with the groove side facing downwards. Glue the riser and the rear of the plank, and lock the plank in place ensuring once again that the groove is at the bottom of the riser. Having glued all the risers, you can start on the nosing.

Measure and cut the metal nosing to fit. On the concrete mark the points where the screws will go, and using a drill that has a concrete bit, drill the holes. Insert a plastic plug in all the holes. Count the number of the nosing to match each one to the correct tread when they need to be screwed later.

Measure, mark and cut all laminate planks to fit the tread with the groove side facing inwards to meet the bottom of the riser. Positioning the planks in such a manner that the groove on the riser meets up the groove on the tread results to having a clean professional edge in the corner. Glue the tread and the backside of the plank and lock the plank in place, taking care that groove faces inward.

The purpose of stair nosing is to finish the look by capping the lip of the stair. Regrettably, with concrete stairs this is a bit tricky as the lip on the stairs is frequently thicker than the actual stair nosing. In such a cse, cut a laminate plank wide enough to cover the concrete lip, and glue it down to the face of the lip on each tread. Follow it up by securing the nosing over top by screw nailing it through the laminate tread into the pre-drilled holes in the concrete. (In case the lip-face is already covered with laminate, you can glue the nosing to the laminate for additional adherence, and then screw nails on the top of the nosing into place.