Replies

1. 
   301 | May 05, 2004 07:18am | #1

   I worked for a crazy stair-builder for a short while and can report this to you.  He made treads out of solid wood (oak-red or white).  The ends were held on with buiscuits and the whole tread would be held down with 1 large tube of construction adhesive and 10-12 screws.  The screws had a cap over them and the whole thing was throughly sanded.  I cannot explain why the joints between end and edge didn't open up, but they didn't.  I always assumed it was because the humidity and temperature in a modern home are reasonably stable.  But that is only a guess.  I have never seen treads made out of particle board or plywood but I assume they do exist.

2. 
   barry444 | May 06, 2004 04:46am | #2

   most carpenters will nail the return piece of molding on and glue just the miter. the nails will flex enough to allow some seasonal movement. it is not a perfect solution but it is quick and perfectly acceptable method. with that said commercially avaible treads are made with the return molding already fastened.these use a tongue and groove with the miter glued and the remainder held in place with a rubbery adhesive that allows for movement.these are  piston tight joints as would be expected of  a manufactured object.

3. 
   BobSmalser | May 06, 2004 07:11pm | #3

   "How else could you build a solid hardwood tread and attach the trim to the end grain without the wood movement becomming a problem? "

   You'll see a lot of older stair treads made from vertical grain stock that moves half as much as flatsawn boards.  In a 8 or 9 inch VG stair tread, that's not a lot of movement.

   Usng traditional routered housings and wedges also provides some give to the structure, as like the miters at the molding corners, only the wedges are glued in.

   “When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.

4. 
   UncleDunc | May 06, 2004 08:29pm | #4

   The cover story in the current issue of FWW, #170, is a chest of drawers with molding around the top. Attaching the molding to the sides is analogous to the tread situation, but even worse because the chest is deeper than the tread. The molding on the sides of this chest is attached with dovetail keys glued and screwed to the carcase with a corresponding dovetail slot routed in the back of the molding. The molding is glued only at the miter, as aletav suggested, so the carcase is free to swell and shrink with the seasons without disturbing the molding.

   The other suggestions you've gotten here and at Breaktime are probably more than adequat for stairs, but the dovetail keys would be a premium solution.

1. 
   dperfe | May 06, 2004 08:46pm | #5

   Thanks,

   I'm thinking of doing pretty much what Piffin had drawn, perhaps a tongue and groove. Although, the dovetail idea seems interesting.

   Thanks,

   David P.

   Edited 5/6/2004 1:54 pm ET by dperfe