Custom stair nose pt 2 WITH LEDs!!!!

I decided to experiment with different profiles for the stairs before I moved onto the final install.

Assorted profiles I made. curved, triangular, thicker...

Assorted profiles I made. curved, triangular, thicker…

However, I decided that I liked the initial square profile and that it was the easiest to make.

I made a jig to hold it in place while I was bending it.

(INSERT JIG IMAGE _&DEL_)

It worked pretty well and I was making the stair nose at a moderately acceptable pace, so I decided to move onto the back part of the stairs. I didn’t want to use any quarter round so I decided to click the back into place using the factory plank edges.

The leaf springs push the lip onto the edge and hold it in place.

The leaf springs push the lip onto the edge and hold it in place.

I am not sure how to explain it with words so I made an animation.

Animation of stair back being inserted.

Animation of stair back being inserted.

I used picture frame leaf springs because they are super cheap. Another advantage of working this way is that if there is any variation on the front of the stringer the spring will just move to the correct place. And, you can remove the back if you need to.

Showing leaf spring placement on the front of the stringer.

Showing leaf spring placement on the front of the stringer.

With the whole thing clicked together it ends up looking pretty good IMO.

Finished stair section without LED lighting.

Finished stair section without LED lighting.

Of course, it needs more LEDs. XD

I found some fairly cool LED channel extrusions but there are only a few options that are cheap. (~$2/m) I wanted to make them super slim, so with the cost and profile constraints I bought a channel that doesn’t offer much diffusion. The illumination is still pretty much fine except for fight under the lip. Switching to some COB lighting, or a higher end channel would solve the problem but for now I am using a mid range 60 LED/m strip instead of the cheaper 30 LED/m strip I started with. This makes it look better and doesn’t cost much.

Two finished stair steps.

Two finished stair steps.

View from above and below

View from above and below.

There has been some concern that the springs will not hold the rise in place well enough if it gets kicked. I do not anticipate this being a problem because

  • It stays in place pretty well.
  • It can be repositioned or even replaced fairly easily.
  • I don’t think that the back riser thing gets kicked that often.
  • I would rather have things give a bit when I ram my toes into them anyway. (It is not a bug, it is a feature!)
  • I can make some changes later if I really need to.
  • I have so many other projects to do.
  • I don’t know how else to do it.
  • meh.

Cost breakdown

16 Steps @ $4.70 each : $75.20
    Channel : $2.50
    LEDs : $ 2.20
Wiring, drivers, connectors: ~ $25 (Although I will be doing a custom setup)

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