Abstract:
A refaced staircase having original treads and original risers with replacement treads and replacement risers is disclosed. The original treads include nosings that overhang the original risers. A replacement riser extends down from each original tread, the replacement tread being placed over the original tread and overhanging both the nosing of the original tread and the replacement riser. The replacement tread may include a scotia facing the original tread that hides the seam between the original tread and the replacement riser.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a division of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/972,323 filed Aug. 21, 2013 at Attorney Docket No. 1-1312-DIV, which in turn is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/850,660 filed Aug. 5, 2010 at Attorney Docket No. 1-1312, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,516,771, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/231,774 filed Aug. 6, 2009 at Attorney Docket No. 1-1312-P, each of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0002]    The disclosure relates generally to the field of staircases, and in particular, to a refaced staircase. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0003]    A conventional residential staircase includes horizontal treads and vertical risers extending vertically between the treads. The front portion or nosing of the tread usually overhangs the adjacent riser. The overhang is typically between three-quarters of an inch and one and one-half inches in residential construction. The front end portion of the nosing is often rounded or curved, that is, has a bullnose. 
         [0004]    Renovating an old residential staircase is often carried out by placing new treads over and against the existing old treads, and placing new risers over and against the existing old risers. 
         [0005]    The overhanging portion of the old tread is conventionally cut off flush with the old riser before installing the new riser. The new riser is placed against the old riser and the newly exposed front surface of the cut tread. 
         [0006]    Cutting away the tread overhangs adds to labor cost and requires cleanup of sawdust and cuttings. Furthermore, placing the new riser directly against the old riser often results in a refaced staircase that does not comply with building codes. The resulting rise/run of the refaced staircase is often such that the refaced staircase is no longer in code compliance. 
         [0007]    Known methods of refacing a residential staircase have other disadvantages. 
         [0008]    Jung, U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,273 discloses a method wherein a replacement tread is placed on and overhangs the old tread. A replacement riser fits in a bottom groove formed in the overhanging portion of the replacement tread and then bends back to be supported against the old riser and against the bottom of the next lower old tread. The construction is relatively expensive and so is not practical for refacing. 
         [0009]    Abdollahi, U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,975 discloses a stair system that might be adaptable to refacing an existing staircase. The vertically spaced ends of a replacement riser is captured in grooves or dadoes formed in the upper replacement tread and a lower back molding supported on the lower replacement tread. The construction is relatively complicated and so is not practical for refacing. The back molding is visible, impairing the smooth transition between the lower replacement tread and the replacement riser. 
         [0010]    Lopez, US Patent Application Publication 20080271390 discloses an apparatus for refacing an existing staircase. The apparatus includes a replacement tread, a nosing on the front end of the replacement tread, and a replacement riser attached to the nosing and extending from the bottom side of the replacement tread near the front end of the tread. The nosing of the old tread is removed and the apparatus is then placed directly over the old tread. Having the replacement tread and replacement riser formed as an integral member makes the apparatus bulky to transport and handle. Installation on uneven floors can be difficult. 
         [0011]    Defahr et al., US Patent Application Publication 20070028534 discloses a stair system in which an original staircase construction is finished with hardwood floor material to form the finished appearance of the stairs. A finishing tread preassembled from strips of wood is placed over lumber of the staircase. The lumber has a conventional rectangular cross-section. The tread has a nosing member that attaches to and covers the front face of the front-most strip. The nosing member covers the front flat face of the lumber tread. A replacement riser is attached to and bears directly against the original riser and is spaced horizontally away from the lower end of the nosing member. Although the Defahr pre-assembled tread could be used for refacing, the pre-fabricated tread is intended to be placed over treads having a rectangular cross section. 
         [0012]    Thus there is a need for an improved refaced staircase. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0013]    Disclosed is an improved method of renovating or refacing an old staircase and the refaced staircase that results thereby. The method does not require removing the old staircase, does not require skilled labor and could even be successfully carried out by “do-it-yourselfers”, and can keep the staircase in compliance with building codes. The component parts are easy to transport, handle, and install. 
         [0014]    The method of refacing a staircase having an existing tread with a nosing overhanging an existing riser, the nosing having a curved or bullnose front end portion includes the steps of: 
         [0015]    (a) attaching a replacement tread over the existing tread of the staircase, the replacement tread having a nosing that overhangs the nosing of the existing tread; and 
         [0016]    (b) attaching a replacement riser adjacent the existing riser extending above the existing tread, the replacement riser having an upper end facing the existing tread, the replacement riser and the original tread defining a seam between them, 
         [0000]    wherein when the replacement riser and replacement tread are attached, the nosing of the replacement tread extends downwardly past the original tread to at least the seam between the replacement riser and the original tread. 
         [0017]    The replacement riser, in possible embodiments, is flush with the front end of the original tread. 
         [0018]    The replacement tread preferably overhangs the existing, original tread the same distance that the original tread overhangs the original riser. 
         [0019]    The replacement riser extends from the replacement tread and preferably has the same thickness (typically three-quarters of an inch) as the tread overhang at the top of the replacement riser. The installed replacement riser is then flush with the overhanging tread. Repeat for each step, preferably working from the bottom of the stairs and up the stairs to the upper landing floor. Finish by installing a replacement tread on the upper landing floor. 
         [0020]    Preferably the replacement treads have a thickness of ¾ inch. Many staircase renovations are undertaken because new hardwood flooring is installed on the bottom landing floor. Hardwood flooring is conventionally three-quarters of an inch thick and the new flooring raises the elevation of the lower landing floor by the thickness of the flooring. Using a tread thickness the same thickness as the hardwood floor keeps the rise/run of the refaced staircase the same as the original. 
         [0021]    If the staircase is refaced without changing the lower landing floor, the thickness of the replacement tread at the first step next to the lower landing floor and at the upper landing floor is preferably relatively thin, preferably about three-eighths of an inch. Using a relatively thin tread at these two end locations of the staircase will keep the rise/run of the staircase in compliance with building codes. 
         [0022]    If the tread overhang of the original staircase is greater than three-quarters of an inch, the replacement riser can be shimmed against the original riser to be flush with the tread overhang. This maintains the same tread depth as the original tread. 
         [0023]    Preferably the replacement tread has a nosing with a scotia that overhangs the original tread and extends downwardly beyond the upper end of the adjacent replacement riser. This covers the joint between the replacement riser and the overhanging original tread for added support of the riser and provides a desirable ornamental effect. Preferably the replacement tread and the nosing scotia are preformed as an integral piece and are prefinished for ease of handling and installation. 
         [0024]    The replacement treads and risers are preferably cut to appropriate lengths equal to the stair width of the staircase prior to beginning installation. These cuts can be made outdoors to keep the house interior clean. 
         [0025]    The disclosed stair refacing has a number of advantages as recited above. It can also be useful for new construction. Often staircases are manufactured off-site and then installed while the house is partially complete. Construction workers and equipment going up and down the staircase will damage the staircase. Instead, the staircase manufacture can manufacture the staircase frame off-site and workers and equipment can then use the staircase frame. A refaced staircase can be formed over the tread and risers of a staircase frame using finished hardwood risers and treads to complete a finished staircase after home construction is essentially complete. 
         [0026]    Other objects and features will become evident as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing sheets. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a refaced staircase; and 
           [0028]      FIG. 2  is a side view of a replacement tread used in refacing the staircase shown in  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0029]      FIG. 1  illustrates a refaced residential staircase  10 . Any previously applied carpeting or additional flooring materials were removed from the staircase prior to refacing. The staircase extends between a lower landing  11 L and an upper landing  11 U, and includes a number of original treads  12  and original risers  14 . In the illustrated embodiment each tread  12  overhangs a riser  14  by a distance  16  of one inch. Each tread further includes a bullnose  13  located on a front edge or front end  15  of the tread  12 . 
         [0030]    The staircase  10  has been refaced using a number of like replacement treads  18  and like replacement risers  20 .  FIG. 2  is an enlarged view of a single replacement tread  18 . 
         [0031]    Each replacement tread  18  is placed on and supported on a respective original tread  12 . The back end  22  of the replacement tread  18  butts against the original riser  14  with the replacement tread  18  overhanging the original tread  12  by a distance  24  of one inch, that is, the replacement tread  18  overhangs the original tread  12  by the same distance the original tread  12  overhangs the original riser  14 . Industrial adhesive is preferably used between the replacement tread  22  and the original tread  12 . The back edge of the replacement tread  18  can be nailed or otherwise through-fastened to the original tread by fasteners  23 . Note that the nails or fasteners  23  being placed sufficiently towards the back edge of the replacement tread  18  are hidden by the replacement riser  20  and will not be visible when installation is completed. 
         [0032]    The replacement treads  18  preferably have equal thickness dimensions  25  to maintain the same rise between steps, but the tread thicknesses of the uppermost and lowermost replacement treads can vary within code allowances to accommodate the transition from the landing to the stairs. For example, the lowermost replacement tread  18  may be relatively less thick to reduce the rise between it and the original lower landing  11 L.  FIG. 1  illustrates with the phantom line  50  the top surface of a thinner tread  18  that may be used to transition from the landing  11 L to the stairs. 
         [0033]    The illustrated replacement risers  20  are each attached to a respective original riser  14  but are spaced from the riser  14  by respective sets of shims  26  placed between the original and replacement risers  14 ,  20 . The illustrated embodiment employs a pair of shims  26  to space a replacement riser  20  away from an original riser  14 : a lower shim  26  against the lower replacement tread plate  18  and an upper shim  26  against the upper original tread plate  12 . Each replacement riser  20  extends vertically from the upper surface  28  of the adjacent lower replacement tread  20  (except that the lowest riser  14  extends vertically from the lower level  11 L) to the lower surface  30  of the adjacent upper replacement tread  20 . 
         [0034]    In the illustrated embodiment the replacement risers  20  each has a thickness dimension  31  of about three-quarters of an inch, that is, the thickness of the replacement risers  20  is less than the overhang distance  24 . The shims  26  each have a respective thickness dimension  32  of one-quarter inch, equal to the difference between the overhang distance  24  and the riser thickness  30 . The shims  26  locate the outer surface  34  of the replacement riser  20  the same distance from the front end  36  of an adjacent lower tread  18  as the outer surface  38  of the adjacent original riser  14  is from the front end  40  of an adjacent lower original tread  12 . The resulting tread depth (distance from the front end of the tread to the back riser) of the replacement tread  18  is the same as the tread depth of the original tread  12  before refacing. 
         [0035]      FIG. 2  illustrates a preferred embodiment of the replacement tread  18 . The replacement tread  18  includes a flat, horizontal tread plate  42 , a decorative nosing  44 , and a scotia  46 . The scotia  46  has a vertical inner exposed surface or face  48  that is perpendicular to the tread plate  42  and is spaced inwardly from the front end of the tread  18  the overhang distance  24 . Upon installation, the scotia  46  is located immediately next to the adjacent lower replacement riser  20  and partially overlays the lower replacement riser  20  to hide the seam between the tread  18  and the lower replacement riser  20 . 
         [0036]    The replacement treads  18  are preferably manufactured to be a one-piece, pre-finished member to save time at the construction site. 
         [0037]    The preferred method of refacing the original staircase  10  in which the thickness of the replacement risers is less than the original tread overhang is as follows: 
         [0038]    (1) Install the first set of shims against the lower-most original riser; preferably a lower shim is braced against the lower landing and an upper shim is braced against the lower surface of the lower-most original tread, the shims sized to locate a replacement riser flush with the front of the lowermost original tread; 
         [0039]    (2) Install the lowermost replacement riser with its cut edge (if Step 1 requires cutting the replacement riser) up adjacent the lower landing and the factory edge facing the lowermost original tread; 
         [0040]    (3) Install the lowermost replacement tread first, using full coverage construction adhesive between the replacement tread and the original tread; 
         [0041]    (4) Secure the lowermost replacement tread by nailing or fastening the back edge of the replacement tread to the original tread, preferably locating the nails or fasteners to be hidden by the replacement riser so as not to be visible when installation is completed); 
         [0042]    (5) Install the next set of shims; preferably a lower shim is braced against the upper surface of the replacement tread and an upper shim is braced against the lower surface of the adjacent upper original tread (but a different shimming arrangement can be used depending on the relative height and thickness of the replacement risers); 
         [0043]    (6) Install the next replacement riser with its cut edge (if Step 1 requires cutting the replacement riser) up adjacent the lower surface of the adjacent upper original tread and the factory edge against the replacement tread); 
         [0044]    (7) Continue up the stairs, refacing each next upper original tread and original riser) as described in steps (4)-(6); and 
         [0045]    (8) Trim the topmost replacement tread if necessary to match up with carpeting, flooring, or the like installed on the upper landing. 
         [0046]    In alternative embodiments of the method the shims can be attached first to the replacement risers so that the steps of installing the shims against the original riser and installing the replacement riser against the shims are performed substantially simultaneously. 
         [0047]    It is understood that the one or more embodiments disclosed herein are capable of modification, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail ourselves of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.