Stair covering again - please help

Hi All

I'm renovating most of the house and stairs are next on my hit list. I want to cover the treads and risers with a wood veneer and then varnish them. Is this a good idea? I'm planning to use a thin (4mm) hardwood ply on the top of the treads with a 45 degree bevel on the leading edge which I will sand to lie flush against the bevelled edge of the existing treads. the staircase has two turns of 3 angled steps each and half a dozen straight steps. The straight treads are pine and the others are ply. I need to cover them because while the stairs are sound enough, whoever installed the old carpet (14 years ago I think) just glued it to the stairs and added the odd bent nail here and there for bad measure. I've removed the carpet and sanded off the gunk, but the stair treads and risers are irrevocably stained and discoloured and have to be covered over. I'd love to have a wood staircase but cant replace the stairs, and can't use pre made toungue and groove wood flooring because there is no practical way to remove the noses from the existing treads.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

I think what you're going to do will be tricky especially around the nosing area and plywood in my opinion never look right when staining, have you seen the laminated stairs kits which will be a lot easier. The picture below is for the nosing of the treads, more details here

Thanks, I might give that a try, although I was really looking for wood. I know what you mean about the finish on plywood - I've heard of this mythical A grade plywood finish but nobody seems to sell it anywhere near me.

Hi there is a range of stair coverings you can get, these are manufactured in Italy but there are people in the UK who deal with them like http://www.stairplan.co.uk



URL http://www.misterstep.com/kit_stairs/stairs_coverings.htm

Just an idea.

Regards

Lee