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Stairs get walked on harder than almost anything else in a home. Every trip up and down lands on the same few inches of each tread, so the finish wears through at the front edge long before the rest of the house shows it. The question we hear most is if those treads can be saved.
When refinishing works
If your treads are solid hardwood, usually oak, and the wear is mostly in the finish, they can be sanded and refinished. Stairs are done by hand with detail sanders and scrapers, one tread at a time, so they take longer than a flat floor. The payoff is big though. Stained treads with white risers are one of the quickest ways to make an older entry look current.
Matching the stairs to a newly refinished floor is also simple when everything is sanded and stained in the same visit.
When to replace the treads
Some stairs aren't worth sanding:
- Treads that are cracked, split or loose and squeak no matter what
- Pine or particleboard treads that were built to sit under carpet
- Nosing that's chipped or rounded off from years of use
- Stairs that are too thin to sand without going through
In those cases we pull the old treads and install new hardwood ones, often with new risers. If carpet comes off and you find plywood underneath, this is usually the path.
Covering over with new treads
Another option is fitting new hardwood treads over the existing structure. It's handy when the stairs are sound but the surface is rough, and it avoids tearing out the stringers. We'll measure the rise and run first, because adding thickness to each step has to stay even from top to bottom.
Planning the job
Stairs are priced per step, not per square foot, so we'll count them and check the wood during the estimate. If you're also doing floors, doing both together saves a trip and keeps the colors consistent.
Our own crew handles stair tread installation and refinishing from the Coventry showroom. Book a free estimate and we'll tell you which option makes sense for your stairs.
