ᐅ Poor Installation of Wooden Treads on Concrete Staircase in New Construction

Hello house building forum community,

I need your help and advice on how to proceed. Here is the current situation:
We had oak treads, oiled, installed on a straight concrete staircase in our new build, along with corresponding risers, by a supposed professional. The treads were fixed using two-component foam adhesive, but the concrete was not primed or pretreated in any way beforehand. The installer attached the treads using just the foam.
After about one month, 75% of the treads had become loose. The installer said this can happen, but he couldn’t guarantee that the treads would hold if reattached with foam. In his opinion, the treads only hold securely if screwed in. My wife was then convinced, and the installer fastened each tread with two screws. The drilled holes in the treads were covered with plugs, although almost every plug is clearly visible due to the wood grain. Well, I thought, I’ll have to live with that as long as the tread holds.
After about two months, a few treads became loose again despite the screws. The installer agreed to tighten any loose treads as needed. Based on this, I had another installer inspect the installation. He found that the treads were poorly mounted from the start, with too little foam, and that screwing treads in this way is actually outdated nowadays.
Now, the installer is offering to refund about 10% of the price and to have the treads refitted by another professional.
Should I accept this offer?
The treads were incorrectly installed twice, and my wife and I were poorly advised. This seems insufficient to me.

I would really appreciate any advice you can give me.

Best regards,
bierbaron

Hello,

bierbaron schrieb:

We have oak treads, oiled, installed on a straight concrete staircase in our new build, with corresponding risers fitted by a supposed professional. The treads were attached using two-component foam, without any priming or other surface preparation on the concrete beforehand. The installer only fixed the treads with the foam.[...| In response to this, I had another installer inspect the installation. He found that the treads were originally mounted with too little foam and were simply poorly installed, and that screwing the treads down is actually no longer common practice nowadays.

I'm not a wood specialist... but in my opinion, you got two real disasters here...

On our construction sites, the substrates (in this case concrete) are properly cleaned and primed, and the treads are definitely not fixed with some kind of foam—mostly cheap rubbish—but rather with adhesives specifically designed for this purpose, available from specialized suppliers. Of course, this is more elaborate and also more expensive... but it lasts and is durable!

bierbaron schrieb:

So now the installer is offering to refund about 10% of the price and have the treads fixed again by another professional.
Should I accept this offer?
The treads were basically installed incorrectly twice, and my wife and I were also given bad advice. That seems insufficient to me.

It would be great if you could share some advice.

Whether you should accept this "offer" or not, I cannot really advise since I don’t know the invoice details. I can only say one thing for sure—if it were my staircase, the installer wouldn’t have dared to drill into the treads.

Regards, Bauexperte

Thanks in advance for the reply.
Well, if it had been up to me, he wouldn’t have drilled a hole there either. But at that time my wife was convinced by simple arguments like no guarantee that everything won’t become loose again, removing the steps makes a big mess, replastering the steps, and so on.
Well, the 10% is under 500€ (around 540 USD)... of course, new steps are out of the question.

Regards, Bierbaron

So why accept only 10%? He installed it and tried to fix it, but it still doesn’t work. Have it redone, preferably this time by a company that has experience with this.

Has the "craftsman" already been paid?
If not, I wouldn’t pay anything.

I have been dealing with this problem for six months now. Of course, everything has already been paid for.
The repair work that has been offered to me will be carried out by a different technician. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Well, his offer is 10%, but I would naturally prefer new steps that are properly installed. However, according to him, that is not possible.

Regards, bierbaron

bierbaron schrieb:

Actually, the steps were installed incorrectly twice, and my wife and I were also given the wrong advice

.... you should get advice from a professional beforehand .. wooden steps are connected using tapered hardwood battens, which are first fixed to the concrete steps with heavy-duty anchors ...