Hardwood stair tread cover: which one?
I'm planning on pulling out the carpet and installing hardwood tread cover on the stairs between main and second floor of my townhouse. It's L-shaped, with a 3 feet x 3 feet landing at the middle. Total 13 steps. I had originally wanted to use Simple Tread from Alexander Moulding, which is carried by Home Depot. But after I pulled up a bit of the carpet, I discovered that the height of the first step, without the carpet, is 7 inch. The stairs lead to tile floors at the bottom, and I don't want to replace the flooring. So if I put the Simple Tread product on the stairs, the first step would be 8 inches. The rest of the stairs are 7.5 inch in height. A height difference of 0.5 inch between first and second step would not meet code. Now, does this half inch difference really matter?
An alternative solution is the tread cover from Rona, manufactured by Uberhaus Select:
https://www.rona.ca/en/tread-cover-10385000
It's only half inch thick, with "pressed wood" at its center and oak veneer on top. Has anyone used this before? Would 0.5 inch be too thin and break off easily, creating a falling hazard? This tread height would give exactly the same step height for every step.
A third option would be to find a 3/4 inch stair tread cover. I found a few local independent flooring shops that carry them. They're made of solid wood. It would create a 1/4 inch difference between 1st and 2nd step. Edit: Looks like this doesn't meet code either. So Rona it is, until I measure otherwise.
The cost of all three products all seem reasonable, assuming that I don't scrap too many pieces while attempting to do it myself. So it comes down to safety.
An alternative solution is the tread cover from Rona, manufactured by Uberhaus Select:
https://www.rona.ca/en/tread-cover-10385000
It's only half inch thick, with "pressed wood" at its center and oak veneer on top. Has anyone used this before? Would 0.5 inch be too thin and break off easily, creating a falling hazard? This tread height would give exactly the same step height for every step.
A third option would be to find a 3/4 inch stair tread cover. I found a few local independent flooring shops that carry them. They're made of solid wood. It would create a 1/4 inch difference between 1st and 2nd step. Edit: Looks like this doesn't meet code either. So Rona it is, until I measure otherwise.
The cost of all three products all seem reasonable, assuming that I don't scrap too many pieces while attempting to do it myself. So it comes down to safety.
Last edited by BlueSolstice on Feb 5th, 2018 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.