I’m soon to be remodeling my house including rebuilding my staircase and my wife has her heart set on bloodwood floors. My question is concerning the stair treads, I know it’s common to use 5/4 lumber to make the treads but I have found bloodwood only in 4/4 (too thin, or is it?) and 8/4 (too thick and expensive). My question is, is it possible to use the 3/4″ hardwood floor planks as treads? Here’s what i’m thinking, put 3/4″ plywood on stringers and top with hardwood planks, The risers (which will be painted) will cover the ply. There will be one routed housed stringer which will accept the ply and tread as normal. Also I would have to mill the leading edge of eack tread out of thicker material say 1″ with bullnose in front and 3/4″ rabbet in back, with the return done the same way. Anyone seen anything like this done before? Am I on the right track or should I scrap the idea. P.S. is’ent the way I’m describing this how landings are normally constructed on hardwood staircases? Thanks
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If it is true South American Bloodwood, 3/4 is plenty stiff enough IF you have a center stringer, and do not exceed a span from support to support of about 22''.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Edited 7/14/2004 2:25 pm ET by SPHERE
I built my own stairs exactly that way only because I needed to get rough construction stairs in place fast. Mine is a spiral. I later trimmed with finished treads.
Makes for a solid set of stairs
You could stiffen the bloodwood treads with battens on the bottoms. Put one on the leading edge to give the tread a thicker look, and one on the back edge and one in the middle, or maybe four total.
stair landings have 3/4" flooring applied, w the leading edge receiving a "stair nosing" milled from 5/4 stock the rear section is undercut down to 3/4" thickness, to match height the flooring the bullnose overhangs the riser by 5/16", hiding the joint for a clean appearance
you can use the bloodwood flooring for treads, good idea to use the plywood layer below, w ply face concealed by riser as you said use a third center stringer like sphere suggested you said no 5/4 stock is available to make the undercut "stair nosing" as above, a trick is to use the 4/4 thick flooring, bullnose the leading edge, and mill the same material for a small cove molding to fit @ top of riser/under tread overhang to dress the joint have seen 3/4" oak treads used w and w/o the cove molding looks better w it, gives illusion of thicker, beefier tread
recommend use adhesive on stringers under ply, also under flooring on top of ply to secure/quiet treads made of t&g bloodwood
no pre-made wood filler for bloodwood, make your own w clean, fine sawdust; mix w "Glitza wood flour cement" to make color matched filler, avail gallon can stuff stinks and is flammable, so watch that use it on stairs & flooring short pot life, mix small batches
on the web, try: florida wood have seen some stair parts or moldings from them, good quality maybe have your treads already fabricated
Also remember that the finished rise of every single stair has to be the same within, I think it's 3/8". That includes the rise from the floor to the first step. If you don't have them all the same there'll be a tripping or stumbling hazard. So you have to work out your heights carefully.
I built up the treads for my stairs out of 3/4 maple with tread edging, and then put it over 3/4" ply.
Worked great.
Try these guys. They may have it, or be able to find it in 5/4.
I took my FiL there over the 4th, and they had a piece of 8/4 mahogany 36" wide and about 10 ft long. Now THAT is a table top.
https://www.emersonhardwood.com/cchw/product.asp?cID=98621850867507
http://www.gilmerwood.com/
Thanks for all the input and ideas, I'm still not sure what approach I'll take but at least I got some great feedback and am armed with more choices than when I began.