This time, I’m taking on vinyl flooring on stairs. In the previous post, “DIY Self-Renovation: Stairs ① — Assessing the Existing Staircase”, I still had no idea how I would finish the stairs, but today I’m going to try to complete them in one go.
It looks like a fairly demanding job, but I’ll give it my best. All right—let the self-renovation begin!
▼ Originally, the entire staircase was covered with carpet.
At first, I had neither the budget nor the energy to do much, so I thought I would leave it as it was. But the old carpet was badly stained and worn, and because I have asthma, I was also concerned about dust and mites in it.
So I decided to remove it after all. First, I stripped all of the needle-punch carpet from the staircase.
▼ The staircase after removing the needle-punch carpet.
Vinyl Flooring on Stairs — How Should I Install It?
The trouble was, although I had removed the carpet, I still had not decided how to finish the stairs.
Should I use oil stain on the wood, as I had in the other rooms?
No, no—that won’t work!! Adhesive from the old carpet was still on the wood, so getting a clean finish looked difficult.
Then how about paint?
That won’t work either!! Even though we do not wear outdoor shoes inside, these are surfaces we step on, so I was worried the paint would wear and become damaged.
Then what about the same cushioned vinyl flooring I used in the upstairs hallway?
The color would work well, but—
Vinyl flooring on stairs!? How am I supposed to do that?
Do I wrap it around each step!?
After going back and forth with myself, I finally decided to “cut the vinyl flooring into separate pieces for each part of the staircase and apply them individually.”
The reason is that I do not particularly like cushioned vinyl flooring. So, at the very least, I wanted it to look like “wood flooring” at a glance. Rather than folding or wrapping the material around the stairs, I decided to cut it into smaller pieces and apply each one separately.
You might say, “Then why not use real flooring instead of cushioned vinyl?” But for me at the time, the cost and the amount of work were completely different. Cushioned vinyl is easy to cut with a utility knife, making it a practical material for this self-renovation.
Even today, Sangetsu’s flooring guide describes cushioned vinyl flooring as easy to install and suitable for renovation work.
So that settles it: cushioned vinyl flooring it is!
Installing Vinyl Flooring on Stairs — Risers, Nosings, and Treads
▼ First, I apply the vinyl flooring to the risers.
▼ Next comes the stair nosing, followed by the tread.
However, when the material is applied this way, the white backing of the cushioned vinyl shows at the joint between the stair nosing and the tread.
▼ The white backing was visible along the joint.
Finishing the Joint with Anti-Slip Trim
So I covered and secured the joint with a trim piece that also serves as an anti-slip edge.
▼ As you can see, it turned out quite nicely.
And so, step by step, I applied the vinyl flooring on stairs as separate pieces—
▼ And with that, the staircase is finished!!
At the start, I had not even decided how to finish the stairs, but somehow I managed to complete them!
All right—on to the next area of the self-renovation!