Made with particles of wood the laminate flooring not only look good as accent walls or on your floors, but you can also place these laminate material on your steps as well and create a really nice look – especially if you have it on your flooring in conjunction with the steps. Some people might think that putting laminate on your steps is a difficult project to do, but once you have proper directions, it’s actually something you should be able to do on your own. Let’s go over the steps on how to do this.
Preparing Your Flooring
The very first thing you will want to think about is the fact that the steps are a high traffic area. Because of this, you need to pick a rating that allows for more foot traffic or more wear and tear. Below you can see a guide on what each rating is for:
The first 3 are for residential homes. The last 3 are for commercial buildings. For steps, you might want to consider third option since this is rated for residential homes and heavy traffic. This will cost you a little more than first option for example, but it’s going to be worth it because it will be more stable and durable and will last for years to come.
Another thing to consider is the slipperiness of the wood laminate for stairs. This might not mean much to you, but if you have pets or kids in the house, it will matter what kind of wood planks you have for the laminate. In this case, consider getting a laminate flooring that is textured such as hand scraped rather than traditional solid wood. The hand scraped will have a little more of a rough look and texture to it. If you really want the traditional style, consider trying high gloss versus low gloss.
Lastly, make sure no matter what type of laminates you order, that you buy 10% more than what you will need for the steps. This is so just in case you make an improper cut when preparing the planks.
Allow The Floor To Acclimate To The Room
A material like laminate needs to adjust to the room it’s going to be installed in. Remove the wood from whatever packaging it came in and leave it in the room you are going to install it in for at least 48 hours.
Remove Your Old Carpet
Chances are you have carpet on your steps. You will need to remove this as well as the tack strip – the wood strip that has those tiny little nails in it, that’s what the tack strip is. Make sure that you wear gloves while doing this. Take a pry bar and lift the carpet up from the edge and pull generously. It should come up. Next, take the pry bar and remove the tack strip from the steps. You need to make sure that every step is level – get your leveler out and see. If not, then you need to take a belt sander and sand the step down until it’s level. If you don’t do this, it will cause the boards to not sit correctly on the steps.
Cutting The Wood
Next, you need to measure your planks to make sure that they fit on the steps correctly. Make sure that you get one plank on each step and that it’s thick enough to place on the entire step. In many cases, you can even contact the store you are going to be buying the laminate. from and see if they can pre-cut it for you. Just make extra sure you measure correctly.
Installation Time
The next step is to stand at the top of the steps and start from top to bottom. This way you won’t trap yourself upstairs. Take some liquid nail glue and make a zigzag pattern on the bottom of the wood and place it on the step. Work your way down from top to bottom until you reach the bottom. Some people will include risers and treads, but this instruction guide did not.
Finish Touches
Make sure that you clean the stairs immediately after installation. Make sure that no glue seeped out from the edges and make sure that any dust from sawing them is cleaned off too. You should try to avoid walking on the stairs for at least 24 hours until the glue dries.