Vinyl Flooring Installation in Stone Mountain, GA

Stairs are where a flooring project gets fiddly. When a new floor runs up to a staircase, you have to decide whether the steps match it, stay as they are or get their own treatment. For vinyl flooring installation in Stone Mountain homes with stairs between levels, this page explains how glue-down vinyl tile is fitted to treads and risers, what happens at the nosing, and how the stairs meet the landing and the floor below.

Our stair work uses glue-down vinyl. Rigid-core click-lock plank can also be fitted to stairs with its own trim system; the plank itself is described on our LVP installation page for Stone Mountain.

What is under the carpet on the stairs

Many staircases being converted from carpet have treads that were never meant to be seen. They may be particleboard or OSB with a rounded front edge, and they usually carry staples, tack strip on every step and patches of glue. Each tread is checked for squeaks, looseness and damaged edges.

Loose treads are refastened. Badly damaged ones may need a new cap or full replacement before any vinyl goes on.

Dealing with the rounded nosing

Carpet-grade treads usually have a bullnose that overhangs the riser. Vinyl stair nose pieces are made to fit a square edge, so the overhang is often cut back flush with the riser to make a clean corner, or the tread is covered with a new square-edged cap. Which method suits depends on the stair and the trim profile you choose, and since it changes the work on every step, it is settled before pricing.

Treads, risers and stair nose pieces

A typical vinyl stair has three parts on each step. The tread is covered with vinyl cut to fit and glued with the adhesive the manufacturer specifies for stairs, which may differ from the one used on the floor. The riser gets its own piece, either the same vinyl or a painted surface for contrast.

The nosing is covered by a stair nose molding that coordinates with the floor. Because it takes more wear than any other part of the staircase, it is usually glued and mechanically fastened as the trim maker directs.

Landings and the top step

A landing is treated like a small floor, held to the same substrate standard and glued with the same adhesive as the treads. Where a landing drops to the next flight, its edge gets a stair nose so the change reads as part of the stair. At the top, the upper floor and the first step down share a single nosing piece, and the height of that upper floor decides which profile fits.

Keeping step heights consistent

Adding material can change step heights unevenly if it is not planned. When a cap goes on every tread, the risers in between keep their height, but the first step grows taller and the top step shorter unless the floors at each end rise by a similar amount. Uneven steps are a trip hazard, so we measure the rise at the bottom and top and choose materials to keep them close to the rest.

Moisture, adhesive and edges at the bottom

Where a staircase ends on a concrete slab, as basement stairs often do, the floor at the foot of the stairs gets a moisture check before anything is glued. Along the sides, the vinyl meets the skirt board and is cut tight or finished with a small trim piece.

At the base, the bottom riser meets the new floor. If that floor is also new vinyl, the two can be laid out together so the pattern lines up from the floor onto the first step.

Stair rebuilds and Stone Mountain permits

Stone Mountain is in DeKalb County, and permits inside the city go through the City of Stone Mountain Building Department. If stair work turns into rebuilding a staircase, changing a railing or other structural changes, ask that department whether a permit is needed before the work begins.

Vinyl stair questions

Can vinyl go directly over my existing hardwood stairs?

Often it can, if the treads are solid and the finish is sanded or primed as the adhesive maker requires. Hardwood treads usually have a rounded nosing too, so the same decisions about trimming it back or capping it apply. Before covering them, consider whether refinishing would give you what you want, since solid hardwood stairs can often be sanded and stained instead.

Are vinyl stairs slippery?

They can be if the surface is smooth and glossy, especially for someone in socks. Choose a matte or textured wear surface, and look for stair nose pieces with a grooved or textured top. Keeping treads clean and free of polish helps as well. If anyone in the house is unsteady on stairs, a sturdy handrail matters more than any flooring choice, so check that one is in place.

Do vinyl stairs have to match the floor at the bottom?

No. Matching gives a continuous look, especially in an open layout where the stairs are visible from the room below. Contrast can work too, such as vinyl treads with painted white risers, or a darker stair than the floor. What does need to match is the stair nose and the tread: the nosing should come from the same product line or a compatible trim maker.

Count your steps and call

Count the steps, note any landings and check what covers them now, then call 404-409-4448. We can look under the current covering, measure the rise at the top and bottom, and give you a written estimate for the stairs alone or together with the floors around them.