Remodeling a Stair
Rebuilding these stairs in place preserved a finished ceiling below but added other challenges.
Synopsis: As part of a kitchen remodel, Michael Patterson needed to remove a wall on one side of a stair and then rebuild the stair’s lower half. Because the upper half needed no alterations, and because there was a finished ceiling below the stair, Patterson decided to rebuild the stair in place. Here, he demonstrates each step of the process: fixing the existing stair’s rough stringers, building new treads and risers, making a template for cutting skirtboards, and finishing up with the skirtboard, tread returns, tread brackets, and tread molding.
I recently remodeled a kitchen, which included opening it to an adjacent family room to improve traffic flow and sight-lines. The views and traffic had been blocked by a stairway with a full wall on one side. The architect for this remodel, Amy Stacy, called for the wall to be removed and the lower half of the staircase…
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