Basement stairs

Project from 2019.   The rough stairs to the basement in the new house were really rough. As part of the basement finishing project the stairs had to be replaced. The pine treads were warped, ill fitting and the nails pulled loose. There were no risers, etc. I decided there would be no visible fasteners.
 
 I found oak treads at Floors and Decor at a reasonable price and started. Then the lady upstairs had the idea to use porcelain tiles on the landing….. and it turned into a bigger project.  Finished the moldings and placed the bottom 2 treads tonight.
 
 I used glue instead of screws or nails so nothing would be visible. In order to increase the gluing surface, I screwed and glued blocks alongside each horizontal surface of the stringers; so, the side stringers have 3" wide surfaces and the center has 4 1/2" - lots of surface for the glue. Oh, most of the horizontal tread cuts on the stringers were not level, so the blocks solved that. The treads were glued with Loctite Premium construction adhesive, supposedly 3X stronger than the next best. It appears that this claim is true, there are no squeaks, creaks, popping, etc. and best of all, no holes.
 
The hand rail was the cheap, skinny type used by builders, only about 1 1/2" high. I cut a piece of poplar the same width as the bottom and glued it on. Then another piece 1" wider. This piece was rounded over on all 4 sides and glued on the bottom. So, by adding some some scrap poplar, I was able to use the original rail, saving about $100 and ending up with a better rail that those at HD.

I must admit that my wife came up with the design, especially the ceramic tile on the landing.  It usually happens that ways; she sees something in a magazine and says how nice it would be.  and of course, I say "Hold my beer and watch this." 
 
 The boxes were easy once the angle was established; the challenge was size and spacing. The book "Decorating With Architectural Trimwork" by Jay Silber gives great formulae for this.  I highly recommend this book.  Just don't let the wife see it as it will give her all sorts of ideas.