Pink Little Notebook
  • Home
  • About
  • Projects
  • Room Bf+Af
  • Contact
  • SHOP
Project Gallery, Staircase, The Mod House Project 9

Tailoring Stair Treads for a Perfect Fit

By Sabrina @pinklilnotebook · On June 18, 2015

This past week we began to work on our stair treads.

All 13 of them! 

The Plan:  To dry fit each step prior to staining.

As you may recall from my previous post,  all our treads were made specifically for our staircase. However, we learned that a little finessing is still required before installation can take place.

unfinishedoakstairtread_PLN

It turns out, each stair tread is given a little extra play on the curved side that goes up against the wall. The reason being is you want to be able to sand that end to the exact radius of your wall for a perfect fit.

Since we are newbies at this, the “stair man” left us with more play than necessary incase of mistakes. We had an extra 2 inches on the one side that needed to be trimmed and sanded.

stairtreaddiagram_PLN

The process is fairly simple but, my gawd, does it take a lot of time and patiences.  Big Joe even came out to give us a hand for this one!

cuttingoakstairtread3_PLN

This is what we found worked for us.  We measured the excess we needed to cut off directly on the stair tread.

cuttingoakstairtread_PLN

Next we created a template out of cardboard to get the exact curve of the step.  We lined this template up with the measurements we just made and traced out this curve on our stair tread.

cuttingoakstairtread2_PLN

We followed the line with a circular saw which trimmed off the excess and left us with a 1/4″ to sand down.

I did forget to take a picture of the sanding but we used a heavy duty belt sander which we rented from Home Depot. The sanding allows you to get an accurate curve with a smooth finish.

dryfitstairtreads_PLN

I will admit the first few treads took a little longer than expected.  It took us a few back and forth trips to figure out exactly what we were doing. However, by the time we finished the first few, we got the hang of it and the remaining stair treads were a breeze to complete.

Since our risers are painted and ready to go, we didn’t want to muck them up during this process.  So we used scrap pieces of risers to account for the width when we did our dry fit.

dryfitstairtreads2_PLN

Luckily since the last three steps are opened on both ends, no trimming was required.  These were made to fit directly over the existing plywood.

We’re getting there!

To fast forward to the staircase reveal, click here!

SabrinaPLN_15

DIYInstalling stair treads and riserspink little notebookstair treadsstaircase refacing projectunfinished oak stair treads
Share Tweet

Sabrina

Sabrina is the design enthusiast behind the blog, Pink Little Notebook, where she explores her creativity through home décor, thrift store finds, DIY projects and her ever growing love to paint everything in sight! She is indeed a storyteller of style and has an extensive mixture of artistic skills and abilities which include everything from make-up art, graphic designing, painting, drawing, and even self-taught photography, just to name a few. Through her blog Sabrina combines everything she has learned over the years and hopes to inspire others along the way!

You Might Also Like

  • Before + After Makeovers

    Final Reveal: My Ice Cream Shop

  • DIY

    Finishing Details

  • DIY

    DIY Laminate Countertops

9 Comments

  • Tera @ TeraJanelle says: June 18, 2015 at 9:22 am

    That staircase!! How incredibly grand. I have stair jealousy. 🙂
    You guys are rocking that staircase build!

    Reply
  • Shelby says: June 18, 2015 at 9:24 am

    That is an awesome DIY project and it looks beautiful!

    Reply
  • celineelise says: June 18, 2015 at 10:14 am

    have you decided on a railing yet??
    this looks like an awesome project, I wonder if its much easier when you don’t have a curved staircase. I cant wait to see what color you chose as a stain!!!

    Reply
    • Sabrina says: June 26, 2015 at 2:57 pm

      We are definitely using our existing railing but stuck on what we should do with our balusters?! Don’t know if we are just going to paint our existing balusters white or purchase new ones. I guess it all depends if I find something I really like in our budget ;p Yes, this would definitely be easier if it were a straight staircase. Materials would be cheaper as well (which is always a bonus)

      Reply
  • Selena Marie from KindredClosets.com says: June 18, 2015 at 2:42 pm

    Wow! Gorgeous! Will you be staining it or sealing it or will you add a natural coating and call it a day? I’m looking forward to seeing the final look!

    Reply
    • Sabrina says: June 26, 2015 at 2:59 pm

      Hi Selena, we are in the process of staining it! We got a custom stain made to match our existing floor colour. All the details will be posted in an upcoming post 🙂

      Reply
  • adelaide says: June 18, 2015 at 5:17 pm

    wow!! i wish I could do this too! such a mice project! well-done!

    Reply
  • Natalie says: June 18, 2015 at 8:04 pm

    Very exciting. Well done on doing them yourselves too.

    Reply
  • Jason says: February 1, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    Looks nice. How did you handle the detail where the the new riser meets the existing skirt board? Typically this joint is mitered but if you didn’t also replace the skirt board, I’m not sure how it can be.

    Reply
  • Leave a reply Cancel reply

    Hi I'm Sabrina
    Follow @pinklilnotebook
    Follow on Instagram
    Follow pinklilnotebook

    Subscribe by Email



    • Popular
    • Comments
    • Tags
    • Yes! You Really Can Paint Tiles: Rust-Oleum Tile Transformations Kit

      May 16, 2014
    • How to Freshen up your Grout Lines (for $2 or less)

      June 30, 2016
    • Thinking about the BLANCO SILGRANIT Sink?

      March 5, 2015
    • Part 3: Home Office Reveal

      May 10, 2013
    • REVEAL ORC Week 6: Combined Living + Dining Makeover

      May 7, 2015
    pink little notebook DIY The Mod House Project Para Paints One Room Challenge Para Blog Crew 2014 bathroom before and after washroom bathroom makeover IKEA kitchen bathroom reno Pink Litte Notebook house remodeling IKEA hack Garaga Garage doors baby girl nursery tile

    Find us on Facebook

    Projects by Room

    Basement

    Bathroom

    Bedroom

    Entry

    Exterior

    Garage

    Home Office

    Kitchen

    Laundry Room

    Living + Dining Room

    Nursery

    Staircase

    • About
    • Before + Afters
    • SHOP
    • Press
    • Contact

    © 2019 PinkLittleNotebook.com. All rights reserved. PinkLittleNotebook.com participates in select affiliate advertising programs. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links on this site or any related social media platforms, PinkLittleNotebook.com may make a commission from that click and/or purchase. All opinions are my own, and all brands featured represent what I personally like and support.