Oak stairs with carpet runner

[echotrail]

We are going to replace the fully carpeted stairs in our home with a carpet runner and I will be replacing the old treads with oak. My wife wants the risers to be painted white. I will use oak for the treads, but is it neccessary to use oak for the 22 risers if they are going to be painted anyhow? I can buy pine risers at a much lower cost but are there downsides of using a softer wood for the risers?

Thanks.

[nofishfisherman]

I assume your carpet runner will cover the middle section of both the risers and treads. If so I've known people who did that same exact thing and they used pine for the riser. The main concern would likely be that if people were to kick the riser as they walk up the stairs the softer pine woudln't hold up as well over time but since you are using a carpet runner where people walk that should protect the riser from any damage.

The exposed area of riser is more for look and shouldn't take as much abuse.

I'm actually thinking about doing that same thing in my house right now.

[echotrail]

Nonfisherman;

Your right the stairs are 36" wide and the runner will be 24", leaving a 6" white painted exposure on each side of the runner.

[PurpleFloyd]

A good alternative is to use Birch or Soft Maple for the risers instead of pine. They will look much better and will not be as soft or prone to twisting, cracking and pine sap bleed through as pine will. Poplar is soft bit is also a better option for paint.

[Snowking]

i agree with purple floyd the cheap route would be poplar then soft maple or birch. I also see a lot of builders just putting the oak on the 6 inches on the end and then double pad the carpet to make the carpet fluch with the oak

[CAMAN]

Or you could go with an MDO plywood, which would probably be your cheapest option, be the most stable, very durable, and hold paint very well.

[traveler]

Snowking; I'm sure glad I don't work with those builders!

Absouloutly do NOT double pad the carpet to try to make things "even". First, it's terrible for the wear of the carpet. Second, the stairs are not the place you want an overly soft "feel". Last, having done about 1,000 runners in the last 33 years of installation, they aren't suppossed to be level/flush. The carpet is going to be higher, and thats how it should be. It actually looks better that way.

Have your installer use a thinner, denser pad (3/8 or less, 8 or 10 lb. density). The height of the pad should just fill the void when the carpet edges are rolled, to keep them from bulging on the ends. Or you can have the carpet edges bound, another good option. And the thinner, denser pad will improve the life of the carpet as well.

The ONE time a couple years ago that I had a contractor with the brilliant idea of having the carpet level with the treads...he built the ends up with oak and wanted the carpet flush, and sold the customer on that idea. It doesn't work...the carpet is one thickness at the crotch, another on the tread, then conpresses as it goes around the nose, exposing the edges of the oak there. It

was a fiasco, the customer wasn't happy as he'd been given unrealistic expectations, and I didn't like it either.

It of course, COULD be done...if you knew the exact height of the carpet/pad, and had a carpenter willing to "shape" the forward corners of the oak so they were thinner, but way to much hassle. My .02 anyway...

[CAMAN]

I agree with Traveler. I've been up and down stairs with just the side treads and they are the worst. And they don't even look that good IMO.

If you want to pinch pennies, put the nice wood on the edges and build up the middle with cheap plywood, but DO NOT double pad the carpet.

[Sifty]

+ 1 with Travler.

Double padding can also give you a "slippery" stair.

Sifty

[Snowking]

thanks travler i didnt know that.

[PurpleFloyd]

Or you could go with an MDO plywood, which would probably be your cheapest option, be the most stable, very durable, and hold paint very well.

Yep. MDO can be a great choice but it is not always readily available and some places don't like or can't order small quantities. But if you have a table saw good enough to give clean rips from 4x8 sheets that is the routes I would go too. No expanding or contracting with changes in humidity and no grain reveal to worry about.

Plum Creek MDF is also popular with paint grade projects and while not an exterior grade product it is generally less expensive and easier to find.

[CAMAN]

Yep. MDO can be a great choice but it is not always readily available and some places don't like or can't order small quantities. But if you have a table saw good enough to give clean rips from 4x8 sheets that is the routes I would go too. No expanding or contracting with changes in humidity and no grain reveal to worry about.

Plum Creek MDF is also popular with paint grade projects and while not an exterior grade product it is generally less expensive and easier to find.

I know Men@rds carries it, I believe it's around $40 for 1/2"x4'x8' and $50 for 3/4"x4'x8'