Let's talk stairways.....with laminate flooring

[Jenrae]

I haven't been on the boards in a long time as I can't seem to keep up with everything on my plate, but I REALLY could use some advice!

 

The question is what is it like to have laminate flooring on a staircase?

And the many other questions that arise in my stressed out mind.....

Is it safe?

Is there a raised edge on the front part of the step, or is it level with the laminate on the tread?

How do your dogs do on it?

Would I be better off installing REAL wood treads on the stairway and then using laminate upstairs?

Would I be better off having carpet on the stairway? Would that look odd having carpeted stairway and the rest is laminate?

 

Anyhow, I need to get some input from those of you who have stairways and laminate flooring. I'm trying to decide the best material to use on the stairs, considering I am planning to use laminate in the main area of my home. I'm concerned that the laminate would have a little raised area on front edge of each step because of the bullnose piece that is used on the front of each tread, and it may be a trip hazard, for me or my rather large rambunctious dogs.

 

I have one of those funny homes with a small entrance way, then you must choose to go up the stairs to the main living area, or you go down the stairs to the lower level that has the family room. (In my area we call this a split foyer home.) In the down stairs area we have wood look luxury vinyl planks, but plan to use the laminate upstairs. I don't think it would be possible to put carpet on the stairways, would it?

 

Please save my sanity and give me your experience!

 

 

 

 

[Susan C.]

There is carpet on my stairs... it is smashed, but I like the cush..

 

I don't know if I would introduce a 3rd flooring all in same line of sight.. have you thought about buying new "steps" and staining it to match the laminate? That would get rid of the ledge at the corners, I don't like that either.

[Guest]

Maybe do laminate but with a carpet "runner" up the center part.  The laminate would match the rest of the flooring but the carpet MIGHT do away with a lumpy edge (I don't know about that).  My concern is that laminate can be slick...and in the rainy northwest, I think about entryway issues a lot.  I about killed myself sliding around on a stone entryway...yeah it looks great but...SLICK, especially coming in out of the rain.  

[Guest]

We have laminate wood flooring up our stairs. And they're the steepest angle allowable by code that isn't a ship's ladder.

 

They can be slippery in sock feet but not too bad otherwise. The nosing on each stair makes a WORLD of difference in how secure they feel and we glued it all down epically, so no creaking or movement of the materials.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Arctic Mama

[trulycrabby]

We have laminate going up the stairs from our basement with carpet stair treads on the steps.

[Jenrae]

There is carpet on my stairs... it is smashed, but I like the cush..

 

I don't know if I would introduce a 3rd flooring all in same line of sight.. have you thought about buying new "steps" and staining it to match the laminate? That would get rid of the ledge at the corners, I don't like that either.

 

Yes, I like the cush that carpeting on the steps provide too! But, yes, I don't think it will really work "look wise".

 

Yes, I did think of purchasing new steps and staining them, just don't know if that would look odd, hence, the reason for turning to the hive. I think it might be better than using the laminate on the steps, but unusure of how it will look.

[Jenrae]

Maybe do laminate but with a carpet "runner" up the center part.  The laminate would match the rest of the flooring but the carpet MIGHT do away with a lumpy edge (I don't know about that).  My concern is that laminate can be slick...and in the rainy northwest, I think about entryway issues a lot.  I about killed myself sliding around on a stone entryway...yeah it looks great but...SLICK, especially coming in out of the rain.  

 

We are considering using a carpeted runner as you suggested, but then it will actually be more work to keep the steps clean as we will have to use the beater bar for the carpet and an attachment for the laminate part. ughhh....I was so trying to decrease the work load and have a pretty staircase.

 

I do worry about how slick the laminate will be for the dogs. The last thing I need is a dog with a broken leg or hip!

[Jenrae]

We have laminate wood flooring up our stairs. And they're the steepest angle allowable by code that isn't a ship's ladder.

 

They can be slippery in sock feet but not too bad otherwise. The nosing on each stair makes a WORLD of difference in how secure they feel and we glued it all down epically, so no creaking or movement of the materials.

 

Hmmm.....I do like the idea of using glue! I will have to remember that if we proceed with laminate!

 

Does it feel like the bullnose front is higher than the laminate on the step? Or is it such a minor difference that you don't notice it?

 

Do your dogs seem to make it up and down the steps ok?

[Jenrae]

We have laminate going up the stairs from our basement with carpet stair treads on the steps.

 

Do you have dogs? I guess you have to use the beater bar on the carpet and then an attachment for the edges, correct? If you have found an easier way to keep it clean, please share!

 

How did you atttach the carpet to the laminate? Double sided tape or staples?

[Guest]

We are considering using a carpeted runner as you suggested, but then it will actually be more work to keep the steps clean as we will have to use the beater bar for the carpet and an attachment for the laminate part. ughhh....I was so trying to decrease the work load and have a pretty staircase.

 

I do worry about how slick the laminate will be for the dogs. The last thing I need is a dog with a broken leg or hip!

 

Simplify your cleaning:  don't use the beater bar.  Many carpet manufacturers state that your carpet warranty is void if you use a beater bar on them.  I can't remember why.  Anyway, I have a carpet runner, and I use the, oh I don't know what you call it, that little vacuum head you are supposed to use on sofas or something, and just do each step.  It takes about 8 minutes to do the stairway, but it is a little more physical labor.  

 

I use the beater bar on my wood floors, I take my advice for what it is worth.  (The beater bar jiggles the dirt out of the crevices...) 

[plansrme]

Have you considered painting the stair treads?  We flipped a house with ugly carpeted stair treads.  We pulled the carpet off and found beaten-up pine treads underneath.  We painted the treads black and the risers white, and they looked fabulous.  We put three coats of black paint on the treads, and it seemed like it would be quite sturdy.  If you google "painted stair treads," you will find plenty of examples.  We got nothing but compliments on the stairs when they were finished.

[Guest]

Hmmm.....I do like the idea of using glue! I will have to remember that if we proceed with laminate!

 

Does it feel like the bullnose front is higher than the laminate on the step? Or is it such a minor difference that you don't notice it?

 

Do your dogs seem to make it up and down the steps ok?

Yes the nosing is higher up, that's part of what makes it feel more secure, like a 'stop' on the edge. Nobody has ever commented negatively on it. We don't have a dog but I wouldn't be worried unless they were the clumsy sort because k imagine their paws would catch the edge just fine. A lot of dog/stair issues are psychological rather than physical that I've seen - cute, wimpy animals :D

[Tap]

We had wood stairs for a while when I was growing up and my parents put carpet runners on both staircases after about a year, and a few bad slip/falls.  I think every one of us cartwheeled down those stairs at least once. We had 10+ ft ceilings so there were a few extra stairs from a regular house. 

Socks+stairs+kids=several doctors visits in my house growing up.  

 

My parents left all the wood flooring the same so it would match and added carpet runners on the stairs. The carpet also made it much quieter as people went up and down the stairs.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Tap

[Tammi K]

We have a split foyer home with laminate up to the kitchen area and carpet down into the living room area.  We have never had an issue with the laminate being too slick and we are always bare-footed or in stocking feet.   Although the kids did learn that it is safer not to run on the stairs no matter their footwear.  But, then, that should just be common sense, right.   :coolgleamA:  (I refer to darling daughter who ran up the stairs and going around the corner from the lower half to the upper half kicked the wall with her little toe and caused some pretty nasty damage to her toe joint.  But, that wasn't a laminate issue. It was a 'klutz' issue.  To quote her, "Clumsy is the new sexy."

 

No one seems to have a problem with the 'lip' on the edge of the steps.  As far as I know, no one has ever tripped because of it. 

 

The dog does fine on it.  No problem there.  I do find that the laminate section gets a lot more 'dust bunnies' and has to be swept more frequently than the carpet needs to be vacuumed.  Carpet hides a multitude of dirt. :tongue_smilie:   

 

 

[sbgrace]

My mother slipped on carpeted stairs and had major injury, crushing her shoulder. My nephew fell down wood stairs and broke his femur. I think  stair safety rules, like always hold the rail and no playing on steps, is most important no matter what type of stair.

 

I have wood stairs leading to laminate (marmoleum) in the other areas. I put clear tread patches on the wood, and my kids have to hold the handle on stairs. My gut inclination is that the dogs would probably handle carpet better, and they wouldn't scratch it like they might other step flooring. However, carpet isn't necessarily safer for humans imo.

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2016 by sbgrace

[KungFuPanda]

Laminate stairs are SLICK in socks. I think the safest and prettiest thing to do is the stair-runner-carpet thing.

[J-rap]

Could you put something like this on the steps?  (Anti-Slip Treads.)

 

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-9778/Anti-Slip-Tape/Anti-Slip-Treads-6-x-24?pricode=WY493&gadtype=pla&id=S-9778&gclid=CjwKEAjw_oK4BRDym-SDq-aczicSJAC7UVRtIm9RaboDLHpid899G-XgQ3cBwnfdSzBBRXoc83Vq-BoC5Lzw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

 

 

[G5052]

The only place I have carpet in my house is on the stairs. It was considerably cheaper to carpet them with a softer, industrial-grade carpet in a darker color than it was to redo them with a runner and/or anti-slip treads.

 

They're very quiet and easy to maintain. I have just a hand vacuum that we use once a week.

[prairiewindmomma]

In our old house, we only had carpet on the stairs.  It looked awful and it was terribly difficult to keep clean.  We've had friends who have gone with painting the treads and it fit with the house, and those who have gone with real wood steps despite having laminate elsewhere.  If we ever have another house with stairs, I would go wood treads.

[Plink]

Laminate isn't as durable as wood treads, so I would decide based on how long you intend to keep the house.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My best friend had laminate stairs and I hated them.  I am generally barefoot inside the house, and I found the raised edge to be very uncomfortable to step on, especially going down.  I'd try to avoid the edge, but that forced me to walk down sideways.  

 

I also thought they were noisy.  I felt self-conscious going up and down the stairs, especially at night, because I always thought people could hear me and it may disturb them.

 

I much prefer carpeted stairs in my houses.  I have still slipped on the carpet if I wasn't paying attention, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as it would have on wood or laminate stairs.  They do get dirty in my house, as my teenagers' rooms are downstairs, and they're always carrying food and beverages down, and splattering.  Still, it took 10 years to get to the point that, now, we need to think about replacing the carpet.

 

 

 

ETA: missing words, "self-conscious" and "hurt"  (and a note-to-self: Your sentences will make more sense if you edit them before posting them)

Edited April 5, 2016 by Suzanne in ABQ

[Guest]

My best friend had laminate stairs and I hated them. I am generally barefoot inside the house, and I found the raised edge to be very uncomfortable to step on, especially going down. I'd try to avoid the edge, but that forced me to walk down sideways.

 

I also thought they were noisy. I felt going up and down the stairs, especially at night, because I always thought people could hear me and it may disturb them.

 

I much prefer carpeted stairs in my houses. I have still slipped on the carpet if I wasn't paying attention, but it didn't nearly as much as it would have on wood or laminate stairs. They do get dirty in my house, as my teenagers' rooms are downstairs, and they're always carrying food and beverages down, and splattering. Still, it took 10 years to get to the point that, now, we need to think about replacing the carpet.

...and it is fairly easy to replace a carpet runner.