Stairs
Interior stair rebuilds and refinishing across Toronto and the GTA, put back straight, solid and quiet.
The parts of a stair and what each one does
The stringers are the notched boards down each side and they carry the load. Treads are what you stand on, risers are the vertical faces between them, and a newel post anchors the guard at the bottom and at every turn. The balusters are the spindles filling that guard, with the handrail across the top of them.
Work on a stair splits two ways. Refinishing keeps the structure and renews the surface: treads sanded back, worn risers replaced, a dated railing swapped for a new post and baluster set. A rebuild replaces structural parts, which is where you end up once a stringer splits or the steps are uneven.
Rise and run is the part homeowners underestimate. Every step should land within a few millimetres of the ones around it, because your foot learns the rhythm in two steps and then stops paying attention. That is why the odd step is the one people trip on.
Signs your stair is asking for work
Stairs take more traffic per square foot than anything else in the house, and they let you know when they are worn out.
- Squeaks on the same two or three steps every single time
- A handrail or newel post that shifts when you lean on it
- Carpet just removed, with painted or pieced together boards underneath
- One step clearly taller or shorter than the rest of the flight
- A basement stair with no handrail, or an open side with no guard
How we rebuild a stair
Look underneath first
Where the underside is open we check the stringers, wedges and glue blocks before quoting. That is where the real condition shows.
Strip and assess
Carpet, staples and underlay come off. Under old carpet the treads are often construction grade lumber, and that is when the refinish decision gets made.
Sort out the structure
Loose treads are reglued and refastened from below where there is access. Split stringers and failed blocks are replaced, and uneven steps corrected while it is open.
Treads, risers and railing
New treads or claddings go on with the nosings aligned, risers fitted behind them, and the post, balusters and handrail set so the guard is rigid.
Sand, finish and cure
The flight is sanded, stained or painted, then left alone. We say when it can take traffic, because walking on a finish early is how it gets marked.
What a stair job includes
Underside inspection
Stringers, wedges and glue blocks checked wherever the flight is open below.
Squeak correction
Loose treads reglued and fastened properly rather than screwed through the face.
Consistent rise and run
Steps brought into line so no single one catches you out.
A solid newel post
The post is anchored into structure, not nailed to the skirt board.
Handrail height and grip
A continuous rail your hand can actually close around.
What affects the cost of stair work
The first question is whether the flight keeps its structure. Refinishing and re railing a sound straight run is predictable work. Rebuilding one, or correcting a flight where every step is slightly different, means cutting new stringers and reworking the framing top and bottom.
Shape drives the rest. A straight run between two walls is the simplest case there is. Add a landing, a set of winders, or an open side needing a guard for its full length, and both material and fitting hours climb together.
- Refinishing against cladding against replacing the treads outright
- Whether the flight is straight, broken by a landing, or turning on winders
- Railing style, since wood balusters, iron spindles and glass are three different jobs
- Removing carpet and dealing with whatever is found under it
- Correcting rise and run, which is structural work rather than finishing
What else usually comes up
Flooring
The flight and the floors at either end have to match. Tread thickness, nosing profile and stain colour are chosen against the flooring.
Concrete
Front steps and exterior stairs are concrete work, not carpentry. Spalled, tilted or cracked steps are repaired or poured again.
Painting
Painted risers and stringers under stained treads is the usual finish. Preparation has to be thorough, because every surface here gets touched.
Recent renovation work
Stairs and the other trades we run inside a house. Tap any photo to see it larger.
No photographs in this set yet.
Questions about stairs
Sometimes. Where the treads are solid wood in reasonable condition, sanding and finishing them works and is the least expensive route. More often what appears is builder grade lumber riddled with staple holes and old paint, and then the choice is capping them or replacing them.
Movement, usually a tread rubbing on a stringer or on the riser behind it. The root cause is normally glue blocks underneath that dried out decades ago and let go. Fixing it from below with fresh blocks is the clean repair.
Yes, and the basement flight is the one that most often has none. The code wants a graspable handrail on a flight above a certain height and a guard along any open side. The fastening has to land in framing or an anchored post.
Cladding caps each existing tread with a new one and a new nosing. On a sound flight it looks identical once finished and means far less demolition. It adds thickness, so the top and bottom steps have to be worked out to keep the rise even.
Get a free quote
Tell us how many steps, whether the flight is straight, and what is on the treads now.
Talk to us
Tell us the address, what the problem is and when you would like the work done, and we will come back to you with a written quote. If it is easier to talk it through, the phone is the fastest route.
Stairs worth fixing before someone trips
We will look at the flight, check it from underneath where we can, and put the options in writing.