Adding some nose

[highup]

I have a set of steps to do. Two flights of 6 and 7. Steps have a nose. The landing between the flights doesn't.
The stairs are woven runners with finished edges. The landing will be wall to wall and over the nose below...... oh wait, it doesn't have a nose.
I'd like to add one. What's the best material? I'd probably cut the current 3/4" plywood underlayment back an inch and a half and replace it with a piece 2 1/2 inches wide, forming the bullnose.
These steps have, as I recall, old for treads. The nose, if I make it, will be totally covered, so in theory, it don't matter.
Thoughts?

 

[C.J.]

What size and how much overhang? Does a 2.5” piece give you enough fastening room behind the fulcrum to handle some fat ass stepping on the 1” nose.

 

[JPfloor]

Yea, 2.5” is a little risky. As long as you’re going through the trouble I’d cut it back a little further. Maybe put a strip of the 3/4” under the nose to bulk it up a bit so visually it’s the same thickness as the rest of the steps. Maybe hit the nose with the router to round it off a bit…

 

[highup]

What size and how much overhang? Does a 2.5” piece give you enough fastening room behind the fulcrum to handle some fat ass stepping on the 1” nose.

As far as the tread thickness, It's probably an inch. It's been a year ago when I first measured up the job. I'm going to see if I can look over some images that I took when I first went there.
I do recall down at the warehouse in the rack with all the leftover or unused moldings, there is some solid oak bullnose. It probably has close to an inch of nose thickness and I suppose it's two and a half inches or maybe three and width.
The carpeting is pretty thin and it's going to wrap around and be tacked under the bullnose. I can't find any short staples for my electric tacker. I hate shooting 9/16 into solid oak, especially with thin, woven carpet.

 

[highup]

Yea, 2.5” is a little risky. As long as you’re going through the trouble I’d cut it back a little further. Maybe put a strip of the 3/4” under the nose to bulk it up a bit so visually it’s the same thickness as the rest of the steps. Maybe hit the nose with the router to round it off a bit…

The stair width is probably less than 3 ft wide. I'll have to check out my drawing. I don't think I have a large enough round over bit, but there's a couple places in town I can get one if I decide to make up a nose piece. When I was there the homeowner figured it would look okay if I just laid The landing piece all the way over and down the riser. This would make it a simple box of step. All of the stairs have a nose on them and I think it would look weird not having a nose on the landing. I think it would look weird because the upper and lower set of stairs will have wood showing on the edges so if it goes down the riser on the lower set, the lower runner will butt up to it. The carpet is dark, thin and patterned. Personally I think if the landing carpet wrapped under the nose and stopped then the lower runner could either start up against that wrapped edge or leave the riser open and begin the lower set of stairs at the base of the riser. The same could be done on the upper set.
The house was built probably in the late-40s to fifties and it may have shiplap at a diagonal underneath the 3/4" plywood that makes up the landing. It might even be two layers of plywood. There is a closet underneath and I can creep around under there enough to check out what the structure consists of. From the top side I can drill down through it and find out it's overall thickness before I start carving into it.
It's a nice home, they made three different choices on carpet, and none of them cheap. I just want to make them happy with the end result.
The carpets quite thin. Is there ever a time to do a runner with no pad?
The carpet of course is wool.

 

[highup]

Ah, one year ago, November 22nd.

 

[JPfloor]

My Number one choice would be to strip off a layer of plywood, finish the landing with oak and a nose, Keeping the wood border and runner throughout.

Number two choice would be to definitely build a nose on that landing so that you can end the runner up under the nose rather than draping the landing over the riser.

Last resort for no reason I could think of would be to drape that landing over the riser. In my humble opinion that would not look right at all…

 

[highup]

My Number one choice would be to strip off a layer of plywood, finish the landing with oak and a nose, Keeping the wood border and runner throughout.

Number two choice would be to definitely build a nose on that landing so that you can end the runner up under the nose rather than draping the landing over the riser.

Last resort for no reason I could think of would be to drape that landing over the riser. In my humble opinion that would not look right at all…

The customer took a year making their decision and spent probably a couple thousand dollars in the process. Nope, ain't going to change. I agree if you draped it over the edge of the riser and down to the first step of the bottom set it would look crappy. That's the reason I wanted to add a nose is to stop the edge from continuing downward.
The first step of the lower set of stairs could start butted up to the riser instead of continuing up to meet the rolled over edge.
I think we're on the same page.

 

[C.J.]

I’ve ran a wooden closet rod through a table saw before. Now you have a decent sized 1/2 round that you can construction adhesive and screw in place. Certainly a lot easier than messing with subfloor n such.

 

[JPfloor]

I’ve ran a wooden closet rod through a table saw before. Now you have a decent sized 1/2 round that you can construction adhesive and screw in place. Certainly a lot easier than messing with subfloor n such.

that could work... maybe add a little something behind it to add depth. Glue and screw.

 

[highup]

I’ve ran a wooden closet rod through a table saw before. Now you have a decent sized 1/2 round that you can construction adhesive and screw in place. Certainly a lot easier than messing with subfloor n such.

If I do this, I'd like the nose to extend further out so it's more like the stairs. Id like the landing carpet to wrap around the nose and back far enough to be stapled. A half round alone isn't deep enough to tack and look good.

 

[C.J.]

You’re one of the few guys that seems to get paid for what they do so I say go for it. Cut the subfloor back, add some blocking then install a new section so you have a bullnose.

 

[JPfloor]

Or...... rip down a 2X4 to 2X2ish. If you don't have a router bit hit it with the belt sander. Glue and screw....

If you stretch the carpet real tight that'll hold her up! LOL

 

[Don Monfils]

When I worked as a helper over 30 years ago,
the boss would often make a stairnose out of two pieces of tackstrip stacked on top of each other.
He would pound down the pins and put a few extra ring shank nails in the strip.

 

[highup]

You’re one of the few guys that seems to get paid for what they do so I say go for it. Cut the subfloor back, add some blocking then install a new section so you have a bullnose.

Nobody's asked the price and they don't plan to. I usually just write a bill that I think is too much and they always say, "is that all"?
I don't have to compete with other guys. I also don't work all that much so it is what it is.
I just went out and measured a job for local architect that's recently retired. I carpeted his house in the mid 80s, recarpeted the house about 15 years ago. My brother and I carpeted his office 10 years ago, I fixed some bubbles in a glued down carpet in an addition they put on. Then they converted a small carport into an exercise room. I carpeted that plus a couple of weird shaped steps.
They've never asked me for a price. Today I measured a funky shaped spare bedroom with angles. The room even has three 8-in piling that come up through the floor. Two are against the walls and one is 3 ft out away from the wall. ...hey, I said he's an architect
They wouldn't ask a price on this one either. I just hand them a bill and she writes out a check for more than I charged.

 

[highup]

Or...... rip down a 2X4 to 2X2ish. If you don't have a router bit hit it with the belt sander. Glue and screw....

If you stretch the carpet real tight that'll hold her up! LOL

But where do you find a decent 2x4? I bought a half inch round over bit today. Actually a pretty nice one for 15 bucks. A lumber store stopped selling router bits and they sold their display to a local discount store. The bit I bought has a bearing and a half inch shank on it so I can use that in my router table if that's what I end up doing. The bit is from the exchangeablade company. I also bought a quarter inch slot bit for nine bucks, it's on a quarter inch shank. The piece I add on could be tongue and groove now. Sometimes I think too far outside the box.
Something else popped up and I may need to do it first, then this set of stairs. In the meantime I need to go look at the structure under the stairs, get a game plan, and to find an appropriate piece of wood to make the nose out of.

 

[JPfloor]

There is the outside chance you might be overthinking this…

Shoot a couple of screws in there, if it holds, it holds… As for the quality of the wood, I can’t see how that would matter much.

 

[highup]

I overthink everything before I commit. I've been in that sorry state my whole life so why stop now.

 

[kwfloors]

I usually cut a cheap 1"x2" I get from the building center to the size I want and PL adhesive and screw it on.

 

[highup]

I stopped over at the house to look at the landing again and measure the overhang on the steps. The steps vary from just over 1 and 3/8 in to 1 and 1/2 in.
The landing is two layers of plywood, so there won't be any issues cutting the top layer back three inches and replacing it with whatever material I use. Any reason why I shouldn't use plywood to create the nose? I have half a sheet of seven ply, 3/4 in AC and a round over bit.
The stair treads are 1 in thick so I just need to add 1/4 onto the nose portion if I want the same profile as the steps.