Got an apt that is on the 2nd and 3rd floor with interior staircase. Staircase has had carpet since I've owned it. Don't like carpet. Stairs turn 90 degrees with a small landing. Took the carpet off the landing and put down oak laminate. Would like to get rid of carpet on the stairs themselves but they are built of plywood. Figured I can tile the rises and they wouldn't look bad, possibly quite nice. But what to do with the runs? Don't think it's feasible to pull out the plywood and replace with oak runs. Any creative solutions out there?

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

My only concern is the noise increase from no carpet, if it is shared housing. Lots of condo complexes, for example, prohibit removing carpet from stairs.

I don't know what to do with plywood stairs unfortunately. Plywood is pretty much made to be carpeted.

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Solid or engineered wood can be sound deadened with the proper underlayment.

I would caution against slippery wood on a landing. We had it at our old historic house and the kids kept falling on the turn. I finally carpted the landings only.

On the treads the best thing is a full vinyl tread though they look clunky and are pretty pricey.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

No kids in the place. I found instructions explaining how to put hardwood on the runs and risers. I may do that. Or, I may put laminate on the steps if I can find acceptable laminate stair nosing. Looks like Lumber Liquidators may have some.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Let me know how this works out. I hope to redo the floors in my house--replacing wall to wall with hardwood, or laminate. I prefer hardwood. Are there treads and nose pieces available for covering the complete stair?

As for laminates---How good are they? I like the look and feel of wood. Is hardwood a better product?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Over the years I've mostly used solid unfinished hardwood and finished it myself. However, I've put down some inexpensive Sam's Club laminate the last couple of years. I started using it in a basement over concrete because hardwood wasn't possible. The finish on the laminate is far superior to anything I could put on hardwood myself. But the same would probably apply to prefinished hardwood. The problem with prefinished hardwood from a landlord's point of view is that it's simply for me to repair damaged finish if it did it myself--just stain and polyurethane. But repairing prefinished hardwood invisibly seems very difficult.
Laminate looks as good as hardwood but does not have the feel of hardwood underfoot. But laminate can probably be installed in a third of the time for about a third of the cost. It can also be replaced quickly, unlike hardwood which is fastened to the floor.
From what I have read, there is stair nosing for both hardwood and laminate that can be retrofitted for stairs designed for carpet. The nose of the stair must be cut off. However, you have to make up the tread from the material. In my case, probably one single piece of laminate would cover the tread. I also probably have enough left over oak hardwood I could use with oak stair nosing if I wanted to finish the stairs myself.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I had a similar problem and went for cork flooring that was manufactured in the form of long wide laminate flooring runs - they click in place just like laminate. Cork is warm under foot and not too loud when walked on.

For the stair nosings I screwed on aluminium strips:- a 90 degree angle bit and a grooved edge for grip. It has been fixed now for about 5 years and is daily abused by children and adults a like... it seems to be holding up well.

The cork flooring system I used is made by Wickanders - I don't know if they sell stuff in the US

I hadn't thought about aluminum stair nosing. That may be the ticket. I could get cheap Sam's Club laminate like I already put on the landing, cut pieces to fit both the tread and the riser and then cover the nose with aluminum. This would avoid having to cut off the existing nosing to put wood or laminate nosing in its place. Quick, visually appealing, quiet because the laminate has a foam backing, and inexpensive. And if anything happens to a tread it is easily replaceable. I like it.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I reinforced my nosing by gluing it with that sealant type glue that says it lasts for 20 years or so. Shop around for your aluminium strips if you do decide to do this - I found a vast difference in prices for the same quality stuff and it does mount up when you work out how much you'll need.