How to fix damaged timber at top of stairs?

[KR1]

Can anyone suggest how to fix this? Moving around furniture it's been damaged on the wood at the top of the stairs

(see photo)

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @KR1. It's marvellous to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about repairing a stair stringer.

I think the simplest approach here would be to cut off the top of the stair stringer and graft on a new piece of timber that's been planed to suit the profile at the top. You might not get an exact match on the timber, but it could end up looking like a bit of a feature. Cutting off the top of the stringer and either replacing it or trimming it down below the damaged section might give you the best result. From there, you could just fill and paint the wall. Since you’d need to be really precise, cutting so close to the wall—probably using a circular saw or handsaw—I’d suggest bringing in a carpenter or tradesperson to help out.

The only other option is to try filling the area with timber filler, though that’ll likely leave you with a patch that doesn’t match the colour and stands out quite a bit. 

Let me tag @Nailbag for his thoughts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[Nailbag]

Hi @KR1 

@MitchellMc has really touched on the two methods to rebuild the damaged section and if it was painted timber then either would work perfectly. But as its stained timber, as he pointed out, both repair types would be obvious.

So a 3rd possible solution would be to simply cut the damaged section off, sand and re-stain and make it look like it's supposed to be that shape. If need be, match the cut on the right stringer end.

Nailbag

[EricL]

Hi @KR1 

I believe @Nailbag's suggestion is the easiest to accomplish, cutting the damaged section off and a bit of light sanding you can then easily paint the surface of the stringer. The added bonus is that it reduces its profile and makes it less of a tripping hazard. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[KR1]

Thanks very much for all the ideas - and also learning that this is called a "stair stringer"!

[R4addZ]

Hi @KR1 

Have you considered the alternative of capping over the timber with a "decorative" metal cover, you would have to get one made up but it would be a much more durable solution. It is fairly obvious that the damage has occurred over time because it stands proud in a traffic area so any repair needs to be able to endure the inevitable wear and tear the future will bring. 

[KR1]

@R4addZ 

Interesting, I hadn't... have you got a picture of what these would look like so I would know what I would be looking for?

Thanks

[R4addZ]

Hi @KR1 

Sorry, no. As I said, you would have to get them made up and could be either stainless steel or possibly Brass. The Idea is that they are made of a thick enough sheet of whatever material so that they can take the future impacts without too much distortion and still look good.

I couldn't find an example of the kind of thing you would need but about half way down the page in the link below shows an external use in copper which may give you an idea of how it could look.

https://www.webfoothome.com/blog/capping-wood-beams-corbels-with-metal