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Stair Supplies

Oak Stair Treads

by Andrew Kozlov

What are the advantages of designing your staircase with oak stair treads? First and foremost, since oak is one of the "hard" hardwoods, it should last decades, if not longer, if properly cared for. Oak is also a wonderfully textured and colored natural wood, so you don't need to cover oak treads over with carpeting as you might want to do with pine wood treads.

Given that your treads will likely see a lot of foot traffic, it's smart to use your strongest wood here. If you want to carve an ornate balustrade or newel post, you could use a more flexible, workable hardwood, such as hemlock. However, when it comes to engineering the most structurally sound component of your staircase, you want to use oak--or a comparably strong hardwood.

Burnished, Solid Oak Treads

In terms of finishing your oak treads, make sure that you paint your resin or stain along the grain. Oak doesn't buzz very much when sanded, and it won't show many scratches. That being said, oak does respond sensitively to environmental factors, such as the humidity level and the temperature in your house. Thus, be mindful of these conditions when you're designing your staircase.

During hot and humid days, your oak treads may swell by as much as a millimeter. You can compensate for this humidity sensitivity. For instance, if you're installing your oak treads during a humid summer, presume that your pieces are expanded when you do your measurements. Conversely, during the winter, when it's cold and dry, give your treads some room to breathe and expand.

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