You have beautiful laminate flooring and wonder if you should finish your concrete stairs with laminate to give the space a cohesive, designer feel. First of all, is it possible? Can concrete be covered with laminate? The answer is yes. In fact, if you’ve ever covered wood stairs, the process is similar, except installing the trim is a bit more involved.

what you will need

To perform this task you will need:

• Construction glue PL200 or stronger
• Jigsaw for cutting laminate
• Chop saw for cutting metal corners
• drill with a concrete drill bit
• electric screwdriver
• plastic plugs
• broom

I recommend using metal nosing, as they are stronger and will hold up better on concrete stairs. (The foil tips that come in a kit are also more complicated, as the tracks have to be in exactly the right place, and there isn’t much standardization – each manufacturer makes a slightly different size/style of foil tips.)

to do

Start by sweeping the stairs and cleaning up any shavings or dust. You will need a clean surface for the glue to properly adhere to the concrete and laminate. Once the area is clean, start the risers first.

Measure, mark, and cut each laminate plank to fit the riser with the groove side down. Glue the riser and the back of the board together, and secure the board in place again, making sure the groove is at the bottom of the riser. Once all of the risers are glued down, you are ready to start with the moldings.

Start by measuring and cutting the metal tips to fit. Mark on the concrete where the screws will go, then using a drill with a concrete bit, drill the holes. Place a plastic plug in each hole. Number the corbels so that you match each one to the correct tread when you screw them on later.

Measure, mark and cut each laminate plank to fit the tread with the groove side facing in to match the bottom of the riser. Arranging the planks so that the riser groove meets the tread groove creates a clean, professional edge at the corner. Glue down the tread and the back of the board and secure it in place, making sure the groove faces inward.

Stair nosings are meant to finish the look by hiding the edge of the stair. Unfortunately, with concrete stairs, this can be a bit tricky, as the edge of the stairs is often thicker than the actual stair. If this is the case, cut a laminate board so that it is wide enough to cover the concrete curb and glue it to the curb face at each step. Then secure the trim over the top by screwing it through the laminate tread into the pre-drilled holes in the concrete. (If you’ve already covered the face of the lip with laminate, you can glue the nose to the laminate for extra adhesion, then screw the top of the nose into place.)