Stair bullnose flexing and separating from tread
There is zero physical support under the bullnose pieces, leaving a gap between the bullnose and the tread. This causes the pieces to flex under normal weight and pull apart. Even when installed with screws and the recommended PL adhesive in new construction, these glue-down products fail to hold.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Clamping and driving 4-inch screws through the face of the bullnose and puttying the holesDid this help you?
- 2Scuffing the back of the nosing with sandpaper, a belt sander, or a grinder before applying adhesive.Did this help you?
- 3Using a flexible flooring adhesive instead of a rigid construction adhesive so foot traffic doesn't break the bond.Did this help you?
- 4Cleaning both sides with isopropyl alcohol and weighing down the cap for 24 hours while the glue cures.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“They are a glue down prosuct thst absolutely can not be glued down.”source ↗
“Respectfully, I think my stairs being held together by glue and screws when it's a 5 month old new construction home is totally unacceptable.”source ↗
“Used PL- clearly didn’t work! The installation guide said to use a PL adhesive. Help??”source ↗
“The bullnose on 12 of the 15 stairs are flexing under normal weight and separating from the treads. There is zero support under the bullnose as I can slip a small piece of paper in the space between the bullnose and tread all the way through.”source ↗
Where this came up
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