Laminate on Stairs With Bad Installation

I want to show how laminate on stairs with bath installation can look. When painting in detail the stairs just look really bad. If I have said before taking the time to measure the treads and riser correctly can make a big difference. Measuring the width correct, and also cutting the ends to follow the angle of the wall needs to be done so.

I am using these photos as an example to show you should not expect when having your stairs covered in laminate or hardwood flooring

I did not install these stairs. I noticed these stairs when I was called to work in this home. I asked my client if I could take a few photos of this as an example for my readers.

Bad laminate stair installation. It shows gaps where the treads and risers were cut to meet the sides of the stairs.

These are things you need to look for if you want to install laminate or hardwood on your stairs. If you are going to do it yourself, don't make these mistakes.

Click on these photos to get a closer look

Bad laminate stair installation. It had quarter round installed on them to hide the uneven fit between the riser and the tread.

Putting quarter round on stairs usually means it is covering up something such as gaps. You want the riser (which is the vertical part of the stair) to set even on the thread below, with no spaces or gaps. As you can see in this photo the nail heads are too big and are not even covered with some matching putty. In this case the nail heads would have to counter the sun with a punch to allow somewhere for the putty.

Bad laminate stair installation. It shows gaps where the treads and risers were cut, and how the stair nose was cut short and filled in with a small piece.

More bad cutting here on the treads and risers. Evidently the stair nose was cut short and a small piece was used to fill it in. It's better to measure twice and cut once as they say. Notice the nail heads every where.