Creating Your Staircase – Choosing the Right Wood

When building a new set of stairs, or remodeling a current staircase, there will be many things to consider. Stairs create a focal point, and aside from their practicality, can add a grand decorative feature to your home. Among many of the decisions you will have to make is choosing the wood for your stairs. Different woods offer various colors, grains, and textures and can establish or enhance the overall design style for your space.

If you are looking for an affordable hardwood try one of these:

Ash: Ash varies from light to dark grayish-brown in color. It has a medium to coarse texture similar to oak with consistently straight grain.

Beech: Stronger than oak or maple, beech is typicallya pale cream color, sometimes with a pink or brown hue, that is fairly straight grained. It is considered to have good workability.

Hickory: Very strong, Hickory is often considered more difficult to work with, but offers beautiful color variations. Grain is usually straight with a medium texture.

Poplar: Being one of the most economical and affordable domestic hardwoods, Poplar is a popular choice. It is a softer wood and is easy to work with. It is usually a light cream to yellow with grayish streaks.

Red oak: Hard, strong and rigid with a pronounced open grain. Has a light to medium reddish-brown color.

White Oak: White Oak has a light to medium yellowish brown color. White Oak has a fairly course grain. It is a great value due to its durability and price.

If you want more choices, consider one of these moderately priced options:

Birch: Hard, strong and fine-grained. It is similar in color to maple and finishes well.

Cherry: The heartwood varies from light brown to a reddish brown. It has a close grain and is fine in texture.

Hard Maple: An extremely hard wood that ranges from reddish to nearly white in color. Fine in texture.

Mahogany:Ranges from a pale pink to a deep reddish brown. Color will usually darken with age. Grain is straight with a medium to course texture.

Walnut: Hard with a fairly pronounced straight grain. It is light to dark brown in color and finishes well.

Article by Amber Burkhart