Adding Traction to Stairs

Adhesive Strips

• 1

  Use a fine-grit sandpaper or steel wool to remove the slick surface from high-gloss varnish or urethane finish on wood stairs before proceeding.

• 2

  Clean the surface to receive the adhesive strip with a non-greasy cleaner. Rinse and dry the surface thoroughly.

• 3

  Lay the strips out to check the spacing before pulling off any backing. One strip should go along the front of the tread within an inch of its edge. Do not, however, try to wrap a strip around a bullnose edge; the strip must lie exactly flat.

• 4

  If you wish to use a second strip, place it 2 to 4 inches behind the edge of the first strip. Treads average between 9 and 13 inches deep; placing strips in the 4 or 5 inches closest to the edge covers the part of the tread used first to climb stairs as well as provide a boundary when going down.

• 5

  Measure across the bottom and top steps and snap a chalk line to mark the center of the staircase on the edges of the treads. Snap lines on either side of the center line to mark the ends of the adhesive strips for added guidance if desired.

• 6

  Remove the adhesive and lay the strip closest the edge across the center line, starting on the bottom step. Check with a ruler to make sure it is straight. Continue laying first strips to the top step. Repeat, working from the bottom to the top step, with the second strips.

Tread Covers

• 7

  Clean the stairs. If they are carpeted, vacuum the runner carefully and check for any areas that require re-tacking to secure the carpet.

• 8

  Mark a center line and lay out the tread covers to ensure that their edges line up.

• 9

  Apply contact cement or adhesive as directed in the instructions. Alternately, if instructions dictate nailing, tap in nails along the front surface into the edge of the tread.

• 10

  Place the tread down after the adhesive has set up, lining it up first on the edge of the tread and laying it down across the tread, smoothing as you put it down. If you are nailing the cover, add the nails at the back corners. Continue up the stairs, checking positioning with each cover before gluing or nailing.