# Desperately need advice



## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Hi, we hated the carpet on our builder grade stairs so we ripped it off. I painted the risers but the treads were not good enough to leave exposed, so I bought these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stairtek-1-in-x-11-5-in-x-36-in-Prefinished-Gunstock-Red-Oak-Tread-BTRO113600250/202019899

Glued them on and they looked beautiful, and that is when all the trouble started. A guy who did some tile work for me (who supposedly knows how to do this, told me to use liquid nail. My husband thought liquid nail too but it made the treads warp, and we had to take them off. Most went back to normal, one is a little cracked on the seam so that might go back in pieces.

My husband was recently diagnosed with cancer so I am on my own with my Son to try to fix this. Yesterday, we soaked the liquid nail on the stairs with mineral spirits, then got it off with scrapers.

I now have to get it off the treads, but I think I should not use mineral spirits on them since they are not a solid piece, they are pressed, although they are very nice looking.

I know you probably don't think much of this type of thing but it was the best we could do, my Dad was a woodworker and I wish I had his skill.

I am looking for advice as to how to best get the (dried) liquid nail off the backside of the treads without wrecking them. I am thinking scrape and sand, I have a pocket sander but that would take a while, and some decent scrapers. If I use mineral oil, it could wreck the glue holding the treads together and water could warp them again.

Do you think sanding/scraping is the best course of action? Also, when we put them back on, I don't have a nail gun, we do have a drill, is that good enough? What is the best screw to use given what I have? I can't get to the underneath of the stairs unless I tear down the ceiling above my basement stairs, which I really don't want to do, but I would not mind small screws, but nothing that is going to look terrible. My husband seemed to think holes had to be pre-drilled. I can get him to give me a quick lesson but that is about all he can handle right now. He will be starting chemo soon.


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## Mahdeew (Jul 24, 2013)

Pretty expensive stuff. I think maybe the reason they warped was because of the liquid nails. If you can take that off and just nail them in with finishing nail you may be better off. If you have a sharp chisel that might be the best way to get the glue off. It will more likely clog any sand paper or file.


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## joey502 (Mar 30, 2014)

I am not sure what advice to give you on your project, I have never replaced stair treads before. I do sincerely hope that your husband recovers quickly. I will keep your family in my thoughts.


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## Grandpa (Jan 28, 2011)

I think I tried to remove that stuff once. It wasn't made for removing. It is made to stay. I agree on the scrape and chisel method. I think I tried to sand it off and it just clogged the paper. If you nail it only, then you will have squeaky steps and no one wants that. you might try liquid nails and nail it to hold it down until the adhesive dries. Do one step and let it sit for a few days. The clean up is easier.


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## Tim457 (Jan 11, 2013)

A cheap chisel is the easiest way to get construction adhesive off that I tried. It keeps curing harder so the sooner you get it off the easier. If you don't have the strength to push the chisel through it, use a rubber mallet or hammer or whatever. Put the flat side of the chisel up and the bevel down and adjust the angle until you are taking off just the adhesive. You get used the angle.

Go to any of the big box or hardware stores and get the cheapest wide chisel you can find. Harbor freight has cheap sets, but you might be able to find a single 1" or wider chisel that would work for less.


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## Earlextech (Jan 13, 2011)

Use a sharp chisel to remove the excess liquid nails.
Step treads should never be glued down. I would use 12d finish nails into predrilled holes. Some non-adhesive caulk under them would help them level. Two or three nails across the back edge of the tread. Solid wood moves as humidity changes, the liquid nails locked it in place and since it couldn't move it warped.
Also, leave the treads in the house for two weeks before installation so that they acclimate.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Hi, thanks for all the advice. We did have them in the house for about a month before we put them on. I am home today because we had an appt. to find out the pathology of the cancer and I couldn't sleep, but then they put it off again because the pathologist had to send it out for further testing so we are in wait mode again. I have spent the better part of the last hour chiseling glue off of one tread, I am 80% done. We were reading on the liquid nail site and it said heat at 140 degrees or baby oil loosens it. I have a blow dryer but it takes to long to get to 140 even on turbo mode, but I did use it to loosen up a few spots. I am finding freeform chiseling works best for the most part. I am pretty strong for a woman (I lift free weights so that helps) but man this glue is a pain. My husband told us to try mineral oil, which won't wreck the treads like mineral spirits would, so my son went to get another chisel and mineral oil and to return the 2 cans of spirits we didn't use on the stairs. So if we don't have a nail gun, can we secure the treads well enough with just finishing nails? That would really work? I have some PL Premium by Loctite my Brother told me to get (he does re-models) he said use that and finishing nails, I don't know why I didn't think to ask him BEFORE we did anything, I guess I thought my husband and the tile guy knew, but you could not tell from reading the ingredients that the glue was water based, we checked because the treads clearly said don't use water based glue on the back of every one. I can't help being ticked at liquid nail, they should be very clear about that.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

The other thing we have to do, that we didn't think to do in the first place but we now realize, is we have to use a board (not really a level, it is more just a matter of straight) to make sure the builder grade treads we are fastening the nice treads to are even. We realized some of them are lower in the back by the riser. Now that the glue is off we can use the pocket sander and my husband says just a board to make sure it is even before we put the treads on. That was probably causing the warping as well, right?


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## TechTeacher04 (Mar 17, 2014)

Invest in an oscillating tool and a scraper blade. While time consuming you can scrape most of the adhesive off. Then try solvents or sanders.


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

+1 on the oscillating tool with scraper blade. Will save you a LOT of time and effort.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Where are you located? There's a chance that someone here on LJs might be close enough to come and give you a hand.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

+2 for the oscillating tool. Go to Harbor Freight and get their $15 single speed tool (price varies, but really cheap, esp. with a 20% off coupon. The tool comes with scrapers.

I scraped up the glued-on underlayer from old linoleum from an entire kitchen floor using one of these. Far easier than any hand method. Oh, pick up some cheap earmuffs at HF too, as the oscillating tool is very loud.

Best of luck to you and your family.


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

Cyndi, I hope your husband gets better.

+3 on the oscillating tool. They make great power scrapers and just a ton of other uses yet to be discovered. The scrapper blades will work but you may want to get some cutter blades too. I've learn to keep the old cutting blades to use for scrapping in some instances. Now if you're like me your jaw is going to drop when you see how much they want for the dinky little blade. I just suck it up and buy the three pack, you'll save nearly 33% of the cost of buying three blades. I have learned to get the Bosch brand, so far they offer the best value and last the longest. Look for the ones that say metal/wood on the blade. They cost the same has the wood only blades except you'll notice a slight radius on the cutting end of the metal/wood blades. The wood only ones are straight across the cutting end. This radius end makes a noticeable difference in the amount of control you'll have using the tool.

Use a countersink/flushbit (depends on who you're asking) to drill the screw holes before applying the screws. I like to use the Teflon coated deck screws because they don't snap the head off like the cheaper screws will (bright finish,galvanized, or zinc coated) & they are usually self-tapping. Look at the pointed end you'll notice a small groove cut across the threads. The deck screws will also have better heads, ie, #2 Phillips/combo square drive or a torx drive head. Where the cheaper ones usually are #2 Phillips only and cam out easier stripping out the head. #2 square drives are usually the cheapest & least frustrating that I like to use.

Don't forget to apply glue to the stringer/tread connection or your stairs will squeak.


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## runswithscissors (Nov 8, 2012)

Devann is right about the cost of blades-even from Harbor Freight. But if you happen to be anywhere near a Grizzly store, they have blades just as good as anybody's for about 1/3 to 1/2 the price. Their blades are universal-fit all brands of oscillating tool. You can get them mail order, but I realize you may not have the luxury of time before you have to tackle that job.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

The treads, without a doubt should be glued down, the PLPremium your brother suggested is what I would recommend 1st.
Providing the treads are straight and flat, predrilled finishing nails should be all you need to hold the tread in place until the adhesive sets up(wear gloves when gluing…the only way to get it off your hands is to wear it off).

Lay them all in place before you install them permanently. You may want to put the treads with 'very' slight cupping at the bottom of the stair. Anything below the waist will typically reflect the least light, and the cupping will show less. If any of the treads are cupped to a more noticeable degree, replace them.

I'm not really sure what you mean by this…you may not need to do anything to the plywood tread. The PLPremium is an excellent gap filling adhesive.


> The other thing we have to do, that we didn t think to do in the first place but we now realize, is we have to use a board (not really a level, it is more just a matter of straight) to make sure the builder grade treads we are fastening the nice treads to are even. We realized some of them are lower in the back by the riser. Now that the glue is off we can use the pocket sander and my husband says just a board to make sure it is even before we put the treads on. That was probably causing the warping as well, right?
> - Cyndi1


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

JoeinGa, that is really nice, I live in southeastern Michigan, and boy could I use some help if anybody is willing. I am going to work on actually laying the retreads again today.

Here is an update…soaked the treads with Goo Gone (all my son could get at Home Depot) and baby oil, think the Goo Gone worked better, for a couple of days after I got the liquid nail off the first 2 and it took 3 hours. Then, using chisels (my son used the sander a little but I stuck with the chisels) we knocked the other 10 of them out in another 3 hours, so softening the liquid nail definitely helped, but neither one of those things effected the treads. Liquid nail dries black (I think?) there was from off white to black color variation. The bottom of the treads isn't beautiful to look (who will see that anyway) but the liquid nail is off.

Today I am about to start prepping the builder grade treads so they are even from back to front (as some are lower back by the riser), the builder grade stairs are just that, the molding around them is not bad. Then I agree with the one at a time thing, probably going to do a test tread. We will have to try them out and make sure the treads don't have problems either, but I think they should all make it, a couple developed cracks we will have to fix, but we have stuff to do that. I hope I don't have to replace any as they were not the cheapest retreads, and they are not plywood, they are gunstock oak, the builder grade stairs (treads and risers) are pine, but we did not think it was good enough to refinish those, which was what we were originally going to do, I did do the original risers, which now need fixing up because of the liquid nail mess and the cleanup of that. The retreads are not one solid piece, each tread consists of about 5 pieces glued/pressed together, where a couple of (small) splits developed were in those seams. Here is a link to what they are again, irks me they went down in price by almost $5 each since I bought them.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stairtek-0-625-in-x-11-5-in-x-36-in-Prefinished-Gunstock-Red-Oak-Retread-XBTRO113600250/202018676?N=5yc1vZbcrq

They are really nice looking retreads if I can manage to get them on to stay this time. Once I accomplish that, I will have to get my husband to show me how to cut the molding right. We have 2 kinds of molding we bought (unfinished, I have to stain it). One is this we bought to go across the top of every riser, we were going to just do the top where the carpet is tucked but then we decided it would look nice the whole way.

http://www.bairdbrothers.com/Poplar-12-Rope-Moulding-12ROPE-P584.aspx

The other one is this, to go where the tread and riser meet at the bottom.

http://www.bairdbrothers.com/38-x-38-Poplar-Quarter-Round-B923-P2094.aspx

I have a cheap plastic mitre box thing I got from Home Depot to use to cut the molding (you can also do straight cuts), but I need a little instruction so I don't mess it up. My husband said the molding is too delicate to do on the table saw (which I also don't know how to use yet, but I am determined to learn).

I hate to ask him to do anything but really all he has to do is tell me what to do and I can do it.


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## HerbC (Jul 28, 2010)

If you still have the receipt you should go talk to the manager at HD and ask if they would give you credit/refund for the difference…

If you don't have the receipt but paid by credit card you can get them to print a new receipt for you and then talk to the manager…

Five dollars a step would be better in your pocket than theirs.

Good Luck!

Be Careful!

Herb


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

I am not sure what you mean by cupping?

To explain what I am talking about, I am sanding the pine treads to get them even from back to front as I can, so the retread has a flat surface to adhere to. I have some of the retreads down (4 of them) just sitting on the treads not glued. We think one of them needs a little more flatten out time but we might just leave it in place on the tread and let it flatten, would that harm it if it is not glued or nailed down? We also have to glue/clamp one of them with a little split, so that one is off, we have a clamp but we have to dig it out of where it is stored tomorrow.

What is the maximum amount of space the PL Premium would fill? The video I watched just put the PL on in a zig zag pattern and I don't understand how that would work without us sanding first? You can take your hand and run your fingers from the back of the tread by the riser to the front of the tread and you can feel how it goes down in the middle but is higher in the front and back, and on many the back (by the riser) is a little higher than the rest of the tread. When I was sanding them, I could see it is not the same across the tread (from one side of the tread to the other), say if I checked 6 different places with a board across it to see if it was even back to front, I would get 3 different sized gaps, which makes it more complicated but I basically split each step into 3 sections, left, center, right and did it a section at a time to get it even (as I can) back to front, till the board I am using to test sits flat enough, not perfect but flat enough that it seems like it would be ok.

I don't know so I am asking an expert, but we thought we have to make it as even as we can (no way I can get it perfect as there are so many variations) but just enough so it can adhere properly and not put pressure on the re-treads that might crack them? Each one has like 5 seams that go across where the pieces of oak are glued together when they are formed. Also, what is the best way to apply the glue, is zig zag best? To fasten them down, my husband wants me to use finishing screws, he is going to show me how to do it (hopefully he will be up to it, otherwise I am not sure, but he says nails would split those treads. I can use a drill but he has drill that is not easy to use if you don't know what you are doing (even he admits that) so he has to show me, if he shows me one I can do the rest, and he wants the holes pre-drilled then screwed down after they are glued.

We do see a tiny gap on some of the steps by the top of the riser once the retread is on, but we plan to put molding there, that rope molding is for the top of the staircase where the carpet is tucked, and then under the nose of every tread, we thought that would give it a nice finished look, and the small quarter round is to cover the tiny gap where the retread and riser meet.

I still have 7 more to go so I don't know if any of them will need to flatten more, they look flat so you can't really tell till you put them on the tread. They are cut and numbered so each tread has a corresponding re-tread, there is a little variation in the widths so we had to do that.

Once I glue them down again I don't want to ever pull them up again, so I want to get it right this time.


> The treads, without a doubt should be glued down, the PLPremium your brother suggested is what I would recommend 1st.
> Providing the treads are straight and flat, predrilled finishing nails should be all you need to hold the tread in place until the adhesive sets up(wear gloves when gluing…the only way to get it off your hands is to wear it off).
> 
> Lay them all in place before you install them permanently. You may want to put the treads with very slight cupping at the bottom of the stair. Anything below the waist will typically reflect the least light, and the cupping will show less. If any of the treads are cupped to a more noticeable degree, replace them.
> ...


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

I bought these retreads on 11/4 (of course it took my husband till mid-December to buy the table saw and cut them). I am not sure they will give me the lower price 3 months later? I guess I could try, with my husband's illness we can use all the money we can get. I bought them with my Home Depot credit card and I do have the receipt, but I bought them online, they were not available in either of the stores around here anyway.


> If you still have the receipt you should go talk to the manager at HD and ask if they would give you credit/refund for the difference…
> 
> If you don t have the receipt but paid by credit card you can get them to print a new receipt for you and then talk to the manager…
> 
> ...


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Thank you, I hope my husband gets better too, we will find out how the chemo works after the first course. I don't want to spend money on any more tools right now (I didn't mind using the chisel once the liquid nail was softened up some, it was just taking a long time without using something to help a little).

My husband wants me to do what you are saying, countersink to drill the screw holes, then put them in. I am still working on making sure all the retreads are done flattening (one so far is not quite there but very close, the rest seem to be ok but I am not done checking yet, and getting the treads even (enough) so they are flat enough back to front for the retread to sit on them right and adhere properly. I did not buy screws yet, I will look for the better ones but not sure what Home Depot will have in stock, we also have a Lowes nearby an an Ace Hardware. Will try to find them.


> Cyndi, I hope your husband gets better.
> 
> +3 on the oscillating tool. They make great power scrapers and just a ton of other uses yet to be discovered. The scrapper blades will work but you may want to get some cutter blades too. I ve learn to keep the old cutting blades to use for scrapping in some instances. Now if you re like me your jaw is going to drop when you see how much they want for the dinky little blade. I just suck it up and buy the three pack, you ll save nearly 33% of the cost of buying three blades. I have learned to get the Bosch brand, so far they offer the best value and last the longest. Look for the ones that say metal/wood on the blade. They cost the same has the wood only blades except you ll notice a slight radius on the cutting end of the metal/wood blades. The wood only ones are straight across the cutting end. This radius end makes a noticeable difference in the amount of control you ll have using the tool.
> 
> ...


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

There aren't any Harbor Freights nearby me, but I can order one online. For now I just used the chisel. I have to learn how to use the tools we already have. 


> +2 for the oscillating tool. Go to Harbor Freight and get their $15 single speed tool (price varies, but really cheap, esp. with a 20% off coupon. The tool comes with scrapers.
> 
> I scraped up the glued-on underlayer from old linoleum from an entire kitchen floor using one of these. Far easier than any hand method. Oh, pick up some cheap earmuffs at HF too, as the oscillating tool is very loud.
> 
> ...


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

My brother in law brought us a new shop vac (mine was old and crummy and died a horrible bearing failure death) so I can hook the sander up to that and not hurt my husband, that really helped.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

So here is the stairs before we started gluing on the re-treads (the first time) and before I finished and painted the risers (which I now have to touch up again at the end). Just to give you an idea of what I am attaching the re-treads to. You can kind of see in this pick the treads are not flat, although you can't really see the back to front issue which is why I am trying to even them out.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Here is the top of a step (the bottom one), you can kind of see how it is lower in the middle.



I enhanced this photo to show where tread is lower, I made that area look darker. I am sanding so the front and back of the tread are as even with the middle part as possible. I hope this makes more sense now?


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

I noticed that the links you've posted for the new treads in post #1 and post #15 are actually two different treads, so not sure which one you are using.

It's a pretty challenging task to explain how to do this properly with a keyboard….here's what I'm gonna do.
I'll post a couple of pictures I found on the interweb of how this 'could/should' be done, and another link to a website(no affiliation to me) with what looked like some pretty decent 'how to' info. It had a pretty good video link as well that should answer some of your questions, and more than likely bring up some more.lol!
It looks like your not removing the nosing on the existing treads, so that changes things up.

I'll send you a private message with my cell phone # and you can call me any time you like with as many questions as you can think of.
It gets pretty noisy in the shop sometimes, so If I don't pick up, just leave a message and I'll try and call you right back.



















Not really so funny after the fact, but as I was skimming through some of the info on this site…they specifically ask that you don't use 'liquid nails' of any sort to install their treads….and recommend PL Premium….oops.
http://www.stair-treads.com/resources/replacement-stair-tread-information.html


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## devann (Jan 11, 2011)

Cyndi, Myself, while I'm no stranger to building & installing stairs (30+ years), For my 2¢ I would take Tony_S up on his offer . Tony is on my buddy list because of the beautiful stairs he has posted on the site, and he has made some sensible recommendations to your situation. I'm replying here because I have one more tip that will save you money in the future. They make a sandpaper pad/belt cleaner that will extend the life of your sandpaper many times. It's basically a gum eraser that is 1.25"x1.25"x8" that you hold against the sander with the power on to de-gum the sander negating the need to keep replacing pads/belts. You'll have to seek out an industrial tool supplier, as it's not commonly found at hardware stores. I went and got mine out of the shop but the label is already gone so I can't tell you who makes them. I pay between $15-$20 for it, but it'll last me almost a year & I clean lots of sandpaper with it. It saves me $100s in sandpaper cost.


a cupped board is the phenomenon that will usually occur across the grain, on the side of the board that grew closer to the center of the tree. It can also occur when one side of the board has been treated, ie stained, etc, and the other side has been left untreated. Humidity can also be a contributing factor.

When installing a board that I'm going to walk on, (deck board, stair tread, etc) I prefer to put the side of the board that was nearer the tree bark up. Look at the end grain, you'll be able to tell. For stair treads that cupped more than 1/8" across the grain I would replace with a flatter board. If I absolutely have to use a board that has more cupping than desired I'll make a rip cut no more than 1/3 thickness of the board dividing the board into thirds across the grain. This only applies to solid wood and not laminates.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Tony, you are right, I posted the wrong link by accident (in the 1st post) and that explains the difference in price too, they are still the more expensive price, they are these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stairtek-0-625-in-x-11-5-in-x-42-in-Prefinished-Gunstock-Red-Oak-Retread-XBTRO114200250/202185490

They go over the nose so I don't have to take them off. We glued the one tread that was split and it has been sitting since Wednesday drying and clamped, so it should be good to go, it looks good but I haven't taken off the clamp yet.

We had issues from the start with the retreads not laying flat. I didn't glue them the first time, my son did it for me. Once they were all glued on as soon as we walked on them they wabbled front and backward, and the retreads could not warp that fast, that is why we think it is the treads. At first we hoped it would straighten out,but when the retreads started warping we took them off. I have that one re-tread on still not laying flat, I think that step actually still needs more sanding. I was stopped mid-way through it when my shop vac died.

My Brother in Law who was here visiting bought me a new shop vac (nice of him since the bearings on mine burnt out and it died a horrible death) so I don't hurt my husband with dust. That is going to help a lot.

Yes we should have done more reading on the stairtek site, I just trusted the tile guy who talked like he knew what he was doing, but when it comes to stair treads, at least not this pre-finished stuff, I don't think he knew. We knew (because it is printed on the bottom of every retread) that you can't use water based glue and we told him that. I am annoyed that none of us, not him, me my husband or my son could tell from reading the ingredients on the liquid nail can that it was water based, it did not say water, it should be on there prominently on the front, but we didn't see it anywhere. We thought some types of it were not supposed to be water based, some types were, their labeling is terrible.

I will check on here again before I get started too, it is one thing after another around here these days, but the steps are dangerous so I want to get them done.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Tony,

I also neglected to mention to you that my when my husband cut the retreads to size before he knew he was sick (earlier in December), he cut the back of the retreads as well to fit our stairs, since we are using the existing risers (which actually don't look bad after finishing and are usable). Because of that they fit the treads properly, there is no overhang, it is just that the treads themselves aren't flat. I am not sure what would have happened if we used PL Premium in the first place? I might be out all of those treads instead of 1 I might have to replace.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

I talked to my husband this morning (he is feeling a little better the past couple of days, but he starts chemo next week so don't know how long it will last). Anyway, he explained to me about the glue and the leveling so I get it now. He said he still thought it was a good idea to get it as even as possible (what I am trying do to is make sure the retreads sit as flat as possible before gluing and aren't wabbling or anything) then let the glue do the rest of the leveling. The one retread that was wabbling IS the retread, that and another one also have cracks that have to be glued (that makes 3 now), the rest look ok but we will see, and the one that wabbled is also still a little warped. I will give it at least another week but then I guess I have to replace that one, it is just that then it will need to be cut sides and back like the others and my son and I don't know how to use the table saw, and by that time chemo will have started and not going to want to bug my husband if he is not up to it, so we will see. Put it by a heating vent so it can dry better, just next to the vent not on it.

So here is the plan, I am going to do every other step (we have the retreads numbered starting at one at the top so I am going to do the odd numbers (since the warped one is an even that works out) so we can not step on them while they cure for 24 hours. I already have 1, 3 and 5 done and they are all laying flat on the treads (kind of weird all the even ones have the issues). I have to glue the cracks and clamp 2 and 4 and get 7, 9 and 11 ready to glue retreads on, then if I have time I might do the other ones I can and then just put them back to glue next time. I am going to use the zig zag pattern like in the video when I glue them.

We are thinking this will work, at least I hope.

Then we have the molding that will go at the top and bottom of each riser, the thicker one at the top, the thinner one at the bottom, I still have to ask my husband to show me how to cut that this weekend before he starts chemo, but I think it will look really nice, we also bought it unfinished (we were not sure their stains would match ours as was limited color choice) so we have to do that.

I am thinking I probably have to nail in the top moldings, the ones at the bottom where the back of the retreads and risers meet can probably be glued?

I don't have any questions at the moment, but I am sure more are going to come up.


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

You might try installing them with stainless steel trim head screws also sold by Home Depot and Loews.


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## SCOTSMAN (Aug 1, 2008)

I have to be honest.IMHO for what it is worth I too think they are very expensive.I wish I was near to you as I would come with my son's and they could help you.Alistair


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Yesterday we were able to get all the treads ready to glue down the retreads, and we glued the cracks in 3 of them, the last one is glued and clamped today, but it is an even and we are doing the odds. We did 1 test stair yesterday, re-tread #1, it has been 24 hours and it is solid as a rock, we don't think we even need screws, but we are going to see. So today we are gluing down 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, that way we can walk on the even treads while the odd ones dry, then tomorrow night we can do 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12. Once we have the treads ready to be nice and flat with the re-treads on them and are using the right glue, this seems to be going along really smoothly. Then we have some touch ups on the retreads (very minor) and then I have to touch up the banister and side railings, then I have to get all the side molding done (big pain, have some sanding done but need to do a lot more) and touch up the risers (not as big of a pain because they were done and just got a little messy with everything going on, so they are not as much work. I also want to cut the molding today so I can stain it and put it on, but it might not be till next weekend when I do that. I have to find some decent nails to use. Home Depot doesn't have the best selection, I know since I got some for molding in my den, may have to go to Lowes. Then I also get to paint the stairway, too much fun. I do think this is going to work this time though, my husband is really happy with the test tread. PL Premium is good stuff, a whole different world than Liquid Nail, never buying the latter again, I am sure there is no job I want to use it for.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

It sounds like you've pretty much got it all under control Cyndi, thanks for all the updates!


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I'm sorry about your husbands health problems and the challenge you've had with these stair treads. I'm glad you have found a solution for their installation. 
It seems for the very high price of the treads you paid you may have been able to pay someone to make new threads and install them for about the same investment you've made for this project. It might be a good idea in the future when you need any carpentry done to ask for help on Ljs first,to save you time and aggravation .
Best wishes to you and your family.


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## Cyndi1 (Jan 26, 2015)

Yes, it would not be a bad idea in the future, I didn't even know about this place before.


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