I have a question about the carpeted stairs that go to my basement. The stairs are narrow in terms of run at 8" deep and the rise is 7". There are 15 steps total that go straight to the carpeted basement floor. They feel short and choppy when walking on them and there isn't enough room for our feet with just an 8" run. The underside of the steps are in an unfinished part of the basement. There is room at the bottom of the steps for a landing if the steps need to be remade and they go longer.
We are going to get hardwood floors in the upstairs (carpet now) and new carpet in the basement this spring. We can't proceed with the new flooring until the steps are fixed as they feel dangerous.
I want to know if I need to have a contractor replace the stairs, or if it is possible to add a nose to the steps to increase the run depth. Also, the wood that makes up the rise and run for the steps is 2" thick. Could a thinner board be used instead to gain some rise and run space?
We haven't decided whether to carpet the steps or go with wood - I am not sure if either would make a difference in terms of fixing our problem. For example, if we wrap the steps in hardwood - could we extend the run and add a nose to make it longer?
Any advice would be appreciated.
We are going to get hardwood floors in the upstairs (carpet now) and new carpet in the basement this spring. We can't proceed with the new flooring until the steps are fixed as they feel dangerous.
I want to know if I need to have a contractor replace the stairs, or if it is possible to add a nose to the steps to increase the run depth. Also, the wood that makes up the rise and run for the steps is 2" thick. Could a thinner board be used instead to gain some rise and run space?
We haven't decided whether to carpet the steps or go with wood - I am not sure if either would make a difference in terms of fixing our problem. For example, if we wrap the steps in hardwood - could we extend the run and add a nose to make it longer?
Any advice would be appreciated.