How to resuse existing stair treads

[Leland S.]

Hi - I have some old poplar stair treads that I need to figure out what I'm doing with. I have light bamboo upstairs and darker vinyl flooring at the bottom. Several contractors wanted to replace the whole staircase, but my latest contractor who got permits says the clearance at one point up the stairs to the ceiling wouldn't' be to code so we wouldn't be able to touch the steps! I don't see how that is possible, the only way would be to carve out a diagonal in the upstairs bedroom closet, which I guess is what the city inspectors would want. Regardless, I'm stuck with these old treads and not knowing what the heck to do with. I hear poplar is hard to stain too and there are a lot of carpet staple holes in the wood too.

Your ideas are appreciated! See picture. 

[Leland Barrow]

Gel stain can be used on almost any surface. It is very consistent in color and durable. I use it all the time on faux wood and facades. If carpet was removed from the stairs then be careful that they meet code with riser height. I have never pulled carpet off of stairs that the stairs met code. The issue is that the stairs become a trip hazard and of this is a hold and not a flip property then your liability is tremendous. People are so in tuned to coded stairs that they will trip when the heights are wrong or uneven. I have pulled out a couple of stair cases because it was easier to do it right and less expensive than working with the builder grade crap. From just the picture I would even them out, fill the gaps with wood filler and use a gel stain that is closest to matching.You can pound the staples in and just use wood filler to cover the hammer marks if you use a darker gel stain. You can paint the risers a contrasting color for a custom look. Although dark treads with lighter colored risers is a better look in my opinion. 

You can buy trim faux wood pieces that include bull nose caps, conversions etc in the laminate flooring section. They are designed for laminate floors. You can sand those lightly and use gel stain on them. Stairs can make or break a first impression. Wood to carpet to wood seems like it would look odd. Painted would probably look odd.