Stairs & trim in Terrell, TX

Pull a corner and look at the board thickness first. Solid boards from the 1880s to 1920s usually have plenty of material left and refinish beautifully. Replacement only makes sense if the boards are cupped past sanding, water-damaged near the exterior walls, or if too many are missing from old plumbing runs. We'll tell you honestly which you're looking at before you spend anything.

To a point, and we're straight about the limit. On a pier-and-beam house we can shim and sister joists, re-deck bad sections and bring the surface flat enough for plank or tile to sit right. What we can't do is correct a foundation that is still moving, that's a foundation contractor's job, and doing the floor first just means doing it twice.

Once the slab is dry enough to test clean, which we check rather than guess at. New Terrell slabs can still be giving off moisture months after pour, and that's what ruins a glue-down. Floating LVP is more forgiving and can often go in sooner. Estimates are free, we bring samples out, and we can usually start within about two days of you deciding.

Usually, if the product can be identified. Bring us a spare plank or a photo of the carton and we look for a nosing from the same line first. If it has been discontinued, a stain grade nosing finished on site gets closer than a stock profile in a similar color. We would rather say a true match is not achievable than install one that reads wrong on every step.

Most residential flights run two to three days once material is on hand, and the stairs are out of service for part of that. In a two story house with one staircase we sequence the work so the flight is walkable overnight, or split it and do half at a time. Tell us at the estimate if someone in the household cannot manage a detour.

No, and most people choose not to. White painted risers under a stained tread is the standard look in newer Dallas area homes and it ties the staircase back to the baseboard and casing already in the house. Matching stained risers give a darker, more solid result. Decide before the treads go down, because cutting paint in cleanly around finished treads is slow work.