A good client has a step down to his dining room. A couple of weeks ago, his mom missed the step and ended up with some serious bruises. Now, he’d like something done to the nosing to make it obvious.
He doesn’t want a railing, and, didn’t go for the go-go strip light idea. Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with him either<G>
So, something inlaid or applied? I’d rather not have to refinish the whole floor, or, tear up and replace the nosing. The old finish is water based poly. The house is also like an art gallery, so keeping the dust down and the fix tasteful is also a consideration.
Anybody done this before?
EliphIno!
Replies
Here's the operating theater...
EliphIno!
Buck,
Change the color of the nosing to make it stick out? Doesnt look like it drops much an inch or two?View ImageGo Jayhawks
Walnut or ebony nosing!
Better yet, a few years (or more) back there was an article in FWW about Coloring porous woods like ash and oak with dyes and contrasting fillers, made for some really wild looking boards.
That would certainly grab your attention as you approached!
Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
Edited 4/6/2003 5:54:11 PM ET by Mr T
Aye guys, all my thoughts too.
I didn't even work on the house, but if you look around the corner, you can see the infamous cypress kneed table.
If you were to inlay a walnutty strip (doing everything in place), how would you finish it? I'm sure it would need some sanding. I could redo just the nose, but how would I keep a ridge of poly from forming at the nosing/flooring junction?
Or, is there a coloring agent that will go through the poly into the oak, while leaving the surface intact<G>
I could remove the round over and replace it with a darker wood, but I still have a refinishing problem...there's a trend going here.
I could let in a brass inlay or two, perhaps, but I've only done that when I could sand the floor...
Thanks, at least I know I'm on a communal track.
EliphIno!
BS Billy,
Black PU paint. Mask off nosing, paint, and rag off to show grain.
KK
Ahhh, can you tell me more? Like what is PU paint? And might it come in colours other than black? EliphIno!
really stinky paintMr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
Inlay a strip of corian just back from the edge, or rip off the nosing and replace it with a corian nose.
Do it right, or do it twice.
Polyurethane, duhhh.(g) Ask the guys at the paint store about nonstandard colors. Purple should stand out.
KK
Definitely some sort of inlay to make it visible.
You can run the router with a guide and dust sucker with no troubles there.
I'm thinking you could do something unique with an epoxy mix and pigments with masking tape along the edges to keep from sanding and refinishing.
I am growing to hate that feature in a design. I see a lot of them and I see a lot of people fall, mostly oldsters.
I was ata reception last summer and I opted to stand at the welcome position to waarn folks about a step down like that. One old lady said sure thing sonny I know it's there, been coming here forever. She stopped at top to visit with me for a few minutes and then turned away and launched herself right in front of me. I can still see my hand chasing her through space, two inches short of catching her. She broke a cheekbone and a hip.
You get old and the bones grow brittle, your eyes give out so you can't see the bumps in the road, and then someone goes and builds a stepdown to trip you. It's a conspiracy, I tell you !
.
Excellence is its own reward!
I'd try to talk them into a builtin bookcase, paint grade, usable from both sides, no back just shelves and verticals.
Of course, the painted nosing is the easiest.
Hey, 'Snort-
How's about a series of shallow grooves, or round depressions a' la Chinese checkers, or perhaps low profile plugs. Things like these would work like speed bumps. Just had a wild hair that 'tactile' might be a good complement to 'visual'.
Ken Hill
Thanks for the plethora of picks. We're going to look at PU (quick, ain't I?) paint and see if we can find a nice organic rusty one to go with the cypress knees!?! EliphIno!
Some ideas and methods to play with or consider.
Router a 7/8 up to a 2" wide slot about 3/32" deep along the stair edge. Set back to your descresion. Do twin paraell if it floats your boat.
Inlay a "thermal set" strip of wood edge banding. Flavors and colors galore. Even hyper ornate.[Ready made designs]
Put a clean face cloth between your iron and the inlay. Set the iron at 5 maybe 6 [medium to medium high but not max or the finish will cook / boil / blister] and no steam.
Prefinish the inlay. Spray urathane works well. Experiment with the cut till you are happy with demensions and the complete set of the banding.
I would use the Bosch "M" series bits. Unreal in the sharp department. Dry coat the bit to help avoid burning and gumming because of the current poly finish. Limits burning and discoloration. A Bosch router can be set to within 1/128". Don't forget to use a router guide and hook up a shop vac to the router.
Make a pass cut and then a cleaning pass. Hand sand with a fitted block [allow for paper thickness] and multi thousand grit paper [the more the merrier] to remove burrs. Don't play. Hyper clean the slot and every place else too. Micro pieces of crud make for a pain in the inlay
Iron in inlay and clean residual thermal glue with very, very little mineral spirits and lots of elbow grease. The thermal glue squeze out will close any hair line seperations. Tape off the inlay, protect and cover every thing every where. Refinish to blend to the orginal floor. Hand buff
4 to 6 hours for the job.
Paint the nosing. Use urathane paint. Note in short order it will look worn out.
Collect your loot and sky up.
I think I would plow a groove in there somewhere and drop a piece of walnut in....maybe 1" wide. You'll have to brad down a straight edge or use dbl. face tape. You can Mcgiver a 1 gal. milk jug and some pvc fittings and duct tape and make a hood for the router/shop vac.
Ditch
The picture says it all, if there wasn't a door for scale, it would be hard to tell where the floor ended.
A railing would permanantly solve the problem.
I like the walnut strip idea. Along the same line you could cut off the end of the nosing and trim with half round walnut, might be easier to flush up. You also said the house is like an art gallery, maybe the customer could be persuaded to paint a design along the nosing. It would then be completely out of your hands.
I don't believe its your responsiblity, you did a job to the customers specifications and this was the result. Replace the lower floor with a different type of hardwood or run the lower floor on the diagonal if they want a truly visual separation.
Turtleneck
Its not a smile- its a cramp
Nice looking floor, I would go for the walnut inlay strip. When I built my dads house I had a one step drop from the dining room into the living room. Before I even finished the paneling the neighbor stopped over, didn't see the step and darn near put his head through the opposite wall. I promptly filled in the floor to all one level, problem solved, not that it's an option in your case. http://www.northernsunwoodworks.com
I agree with Kkearney.
Polyurethane, simplest, easiest, fastest.
Or you could charge em a bundle and get creative, inlays ect. maybe even contrasting false plugs, the place has a modern look, go with it.
http://www.minwax.com/products/onestep/polyshades.cfm
How about a ramp, or an orange sign that you have to duck under that says "Look down Stupid"
:)Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
On that note , how about the stripeing tape for industial work stations . You know the black/yellow or red/yellow stuff that is about 2" wide.
Add PU stain to the shallow groves.
Look into a veneer supplier.
I use to go a a Saturday morning cabintry school in the Bronx where they sold not much more than veneers and tools.
They have a self stick ( iron down) veneer that comes in all kinds of widths and lengths and thicknesses. They sell a lot of it for refacing doors.
Might just work for you if you could poly over it and feather the poly down to the existing floor beyond the veneer. That trifle bit of a bump might add to realizing one was nearing the step as well as the different colorspecially at night.
Just a thought if the people dont wanna spring for a routed job the right way.
PS....the veneer suppliers name is CONSTANTINE LUMBER in the Bronx, NY. Oldest lumber yard in NY I beleive.
Be thin
NAmaste
andy
"Understanding yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth"
Alan Watts
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 4/7/2003 10:56:06 AM ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)
I'm with the other guys who think a strip of another species/color of wood along the nosing would work well.
The only other idea I could come up with would be to move a piece of furniture over next to the step, on the sunken side. That would give another visual cue to anyone walking through there.
I did a sunken living room in my "Spec house from hell", and regretted it. I'll never do another one. It's turned out to be an expensive pain in the butt.
Uncle Sam wants you...to bend over.
It is definitley an akward situation, and, other than looks, it's got more cons than pros. I agree with the inlay being the tastiest option, but I'm not paying for this. I'll let you know how the PU shopping turns out) EliphIno!
BB,
You might consider using shading/toning lacquer to add a darker tone to that nosing. You could easily take it to the color of walnut......even darker if you like. Or you could hit that cypress with the right mix.
Scuff up the poly with some sandpaper, tape off the seam and lay your drop cloths on the rest of the floor nearby. Shoot the colored lacquer via HVLP. With a good turbine outfit, there's virtually no overspray. It'll be dry enough in 15 minutes to shoot more clear poly on top to protect the colored layer.
I use Mohawk's base concentrate to make up these colored lacquers. If you haven't done this before, you'd best experiment some back at the shop to arrive at your color and it's concentration before whackin' away at the real deal. It's best to shoot several coats of a diluted color and sneak up on the desired result than to try to hit it in one pass.
Just a thought.
Edit for product change............Because of the finishes in use on the floor, you'd want to be using a glazing stain rather than the shading & toning lacquer. Mohawk offers these, as well.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Edited 4/8/2003 10:01:17 AM ET by GOLDHILLER