In recent years, wooden staircases have become more and more sought after. If you’re thinking of fitting a hardwood floor to your staircase, the end result can be really impressive, but it’s important to plan the job carefully before jumping in with both feet.
Before choosing which wood flooring option might suit your stairs, it’s a good idea to double-check whether or not a wooden staircase is in fact the best solution for your family. While a well-fitted, good quality wooden staircase can look stunning, if you have young children, pets or elderly or infirm members of your family, you may in fact be better off sticking with carpet. From a safety point of view, a wooden staircase, while looking great, is no doubt a slippier option than carpeting. So do bear in mind the safety of your whole family before you make your final decision.
Once you’re sure that a wooden staircase is absolutely right for you and your family, you’ll need to decide whether you will fit solid or engineered wooden flooring to your staircase. Whichever way you decide to go, you’ll be able to create some stunning staircase effects.
Solid wood flooring, as the name suggests is made from planks, which are created from one single piece of wood, for example, oak or walnut, whereas engineered wooden flooring is based on a combination of wood and other materials. Engineered wood flooring is made of three layers of hardwood plus a layer of plywood or MDF and is finished off with a layer of hardwood. Because of the make up of the top layer of engineered hardwood flooring, the look of both solid and engineered hardwood flooring is pretty much the same.
If you choose to fit solid hardwood flooring to your staircase, one of the main advantages is that the edge of the tread can be worked to create a nice finish. Often called a bullnose profile, the attractive, rounded effect on the edge of each step or tread can be created in solid wood by machining the wood. If you are fitting a hardwood floor over an existing softwood staircase, it’s important to remember to remove the original bullnose to make way for the new tread.
If you decide to use engineered hardwood flooring, it won’t be possible to machine the board to a bullnose (or similar) finish so a stair nosing will need to be introduced. Either way, it’s essential that a solid fix is achieved for safety and stability.