Looking for advice on redoing side entry and stairs up and down?

I have a landing with 3 stairs up to the main floor then 10 steps down to the basment. I have some ugly carpet there now and I want to make it look more friendly. I heard tile is bad for stairs, fall risk plus it can crack easily. I was thinking of laminate flooring. Anybody have any other ideas? or cool diy website that has step by step procedures? thanks in advance. Mark

Public Comments

1. Depending on the subtance of the stairs; IE: hardwood already/ Plywood/ some other form of planking/tread; you might get away with refinishing and using rubberized tread no slip pieces. Certainly TILE is not advised; though a rough slate tile would probably work. Aesthetically any hardwood LOOK would make the stairs more attractive. Without knowing what's under the carpet it's difficult to advise exactly. Steven Wolf
2. Put tile on the landing. Buy a oriental patterned runner for the stairs. Use carpet rods to hold the runner in place. Adds a nice look. Use a rug over the tiled area that you can wash often. It should match or coordinate with the runner.
3. We have laminate flooring on our steps. They also make a laminate flooring that looks like ceramic tile. You could always put the ceramic tile on the back (vertical) of the steps and then on your landing.
4. Yeah, getting away from carpet at the entry is good idea. Gets dirty too easy. Slate's OK. But expensive. You can get porcelain that mimics slate's texture. Plus durable. I like to have a wood 1" or so nosing, where the tile ends at the stairs. That should minimize the possibility of cracked/chipped tile, if you are moving something heavy up or down the stairs. Plus if the nosing gets dinged up it is relatively easy to replace of repair. The stairs themselves I'd go with all wood. I prefer 3/4" hardwood, but laminate is a nice alternative. Easy to clean. I think you are on the right path.
5. I would use a concrete sealer coating like is frequently used on garage floors. It is colored (like a blue or a gray) with color specks in it for traction. You will cover up the ugly concrete, fill any cracks, add a splash of color and give yourself a firm grip.