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A while back as some may recall I purchased a bunch of oak to help out a friend that was needing it gone. My wife was wondering what I was going to build with this wood since the budget is tight and there are house projects that need to be done. Well, here's what I came up with....stair tread caps. Would have spent about twice as much for pre-made treads, so was a good move.
There was originally carpet on the stairs and had been planning to pickup hardwood treads and remove the existing treads. After looking at the layout of the steps I realized the bottom step was shorter than the rest and the top step was taller than the rest. To correct this I figured it would be best to just cap over the existing treads.
For those that haven't done stair treads before, there is a layout tool that can help get almost perfect fitting treads. This one belongs to my dad. You loosen the two large knobs on the end, then adjust it for length with the 4 wing nuts in the middle. When you tighten the two larger knobs, they press the guides against the trim on each side. You then take the tool and lay it on your tread marking your lines for the cuts, which are at the perfect length and angles.
Here they are all cut for length and test fitted. I'm pre-finishing them before installing. Will be using tile for the kick boards, so will get some 1/2" concrete backer board under the old treads to fill in the gap and tile over both to fill it in.
Got their stain and drying.
P.S. A big thanks to Larry on the tip of removing the excess glue with a chisel, was a big time and sanding belt saver.
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