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Treads, risers and nosing
Hardwood treads, LVP stairs with matching nosing and carpet-to-wood conversions for Arlington homes, with every riser measured before new material adds height.
Family-owned · Licensed & insured, Lic. #238190 · Financing available
Stair flooring installation in Arlington, TX is mostly about two-story homes where the builder ran carpet up the stairs, and the owners now want the steps to match a new wood or vinyl floor downstairs. Stairs take more labor per square foot than any other part of a flooring job, because every tread and riser is cut and fitted one at a time, and the finished steps still have to meet the residential code for rise and run.
We handle solid hardwood treads with new risers, luxury vinyl plank wrapped over the existing stair with a matching nosing, and carpet runners over finished wood. Before any of them, we measure each riser and tread, because adding material to a staircase changes the height of the first and last steps more than most people expect.
Each stair quote covers the following, listed so you can see where the labor goes:
If the new floor downstairs is solid or engineered wood, we can order treads in the same species and finish them to match; our hardwood floor installation page covers the floor side of the project.
Most Arlington stair projects end up as one of these three. The right one usually depends on the floor at the bottom of the stairs.
| Option | How it is built | Feel and upkeep | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid hardwood treads | Retrofit or full replacement oak treads, with paint-grade or matching wood risers | Solid underfoot and can be sanded later; slicker in socks | Homes with hardwood or engineered floors nearby |
| LVP with matching nosing | Planks glued to each tread and riser, with a stair nose made for that product line | Water resistant and quiet; worn nosing is replaced, not refinished | Homes with new luxury vinyl downstairs |
| Carpet runner | A strip of carpet over wood treads, leaving wood exposed at both sides | Softer, quieter and better traction; needs regular vacuuming and eventual replacement | Households that want the wood look with more grip |
LVP on stairs is glued down, not floated, so it cannot shift under a heel. If you are putting vinyl in downstairs, see luxury vinyl plank installation for choosing a product line that offers a matching nose. Runners are installed by our carpet installation crew after the wood treads are finished.
Stairs are priced per staircase, not per square foot, with these factors called out:
Plenty of two-story homes in Southwest Arlington, Mansfield and Viridian were finished with builder carpet on the stairs, and under it there are often plain treads with a rounded bullnose, built to be covered. Converting them is common, but the height math is easy to miss. Under IRC R311.7.5, the tallest and shortest risers in a flight cannot differ by more than 3/8 inch. Cap each step with a new tread while the downstairs floor stays put, and the bottom riser grows by the full tread thickness while the top one shrinks. We plan tread thickness and floor heights together so every step stays inside the rule.
Why choose us
3/8 in.
max riser variation in a flight (IRC)
Adding a tread cap to every step leaves the middle risers unchanged, but it raises the bottom riser and shortens the top one unless the floors above and below change too. The code allows no more than 3/8 inch between the tallest and shortest riser in a flight. We measure all of them, add in the thickness of any new floor going in, and choose tread thickness so the finished stair stays within that limit.
7-3/4 in.
maximum riser height (IRC R311.7.5)
Builder stairs are rarely perfectly square, and some already have risers close to the 7-3/4 inch maximum, which leaves little room for extra height at the bottom step. We scribe each tread to the walls, choose retrofit treads or full replacement based on the existing structure, and glue and fasten every piece so it stays quiet. Where your stair cannot take added thickness, we tell you before any material is ordered.
CRI 105
residential carpet installation standard
A runner over new wood treads keeps the wood look while adding traction and cutting noise. We install runners to the Carpet and Rug Institute's CRI 105 residential standard, with the carpet pulled tight into each joint between tread and riser and the borders measured so the exposed wood is even on both sides of every step. Each step is secured on its own, so the runner does not creep or bunch over time.
Free estimate
One call books your in-home measure, and you get a written, itemized quote after the visit.
Mon to Fri 7 AM to 6 PM · Saturday 8 AM to 2 PM · Financing available
Our job-site standards
No surprises on install day. These standards apply to every room we touch, from a single bathroom to a whole house.
We test concrete slabs and wood subfloors before installation and record the numbers on your job sheet.
We check the floor with a long straightedge and fix humps and dips to the flooring maker's tolerance.
Material, underlayment, prep, removal, trim and labor are listed line by line, so you can compare bids.
Floor protection on walkways, plastic dust barriers where we cut or sand, and doorways kept clear.
Debris hauled out, tools stacked, and rooms left usable at the end of each workday.
We walk every room with you, fix anything you flag, and leave labeled spare boards or tile for future repairs.
FAQ
Yes, in most cases. After the carpet, pad and tack strip come off, we cut the rounded bullnose flush with each riser and install retrofit treads and new risers over the existing stair. If the original treads are damaged or the heights will not work, we replace the treads fully instead.
Yes. On stairs, LVP is glued to each tread and riser rather than floated, and most product lines offer a matching stair nose that covers the front edge of each tread. The result matches an LVP floor exactly and resists spills, though worn nosing pieces are replaced rather than refinished.
IRC R311.7.5 sets the limits: risers no taller than 7-3/4 inches, treads at least 10 inches deep and no more than 3/8 inch of variation within a flight. Even when a flooring job does not involve an inspection, staying inside those numbers is what keeps people from catching a toe on the first or last step.
No. Many homeowners pair stained treads that match the floor with white painted risers, which makes each step easier to see and hides scuffs differently. Prefinished treads seldom match a site-finished floor perfectly, so for a close color match we finish the treads on site along with the floor.
Finished hardwood is slicker than carpet, especially in socks. A satin or matte finish helps a little, and a carpet runner helps a lot. Some homeowners add a runner to the stairs while keeping bare wood on the landing, which keeps the wood look and adds grip where it counts.
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Installation
Call for a free in-home estimate. We measure, test the subfloor and leave you a written quote.
Call (817) 555-0123Mon to Fri 7 AM to 6 PM · Saturday 8 AM to 2 PM · Licensed & insured, Lic. #238190
