However you decorate your home, covering your stairs with wood is always a good choice. Wood fits into any interior. Would you like to refurbish your staircase by covering it with wood? Read here the pros and cons of the various types of wood, find out how much it will cost to have your stairs covered with wood and find the best staircase specialist for your project.
The cost of covering your stairs with wood depends on several factors:
- The type of wood
- The model of the staircase
- Whether or not to use overlay steps
- The staircase specialist
Check out the average prices of covering your staircase with wood below. Nowadays, wooden stair cladding is usually installed as an overlay over the current stair step. Refurbishing your staircase by means of overlay steps is called trap renovation. The advantage of overlay steps is that it can be installed relatively quickly and the work does not create a lot of mess and dust. After all, chopping and breaking is not necessary.
| Wood type | Average cost per staircase |
|---|---|
| Laminate (wood look) | £ 600 |
| Firchwood | £ 925 |
| Beechwood | £ 1.800 |
| Mahogany | £ 2,200 |
| Oak | £ 2,600 |
| Mounting | £ 500 |
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Why clad your staircase in wood?
You can, of course, choose to install a completely solid wood staircase, or go for a soft covering such as carpet. Covering your staircase with wood, however, has several advantages:
- A long life of your staircase, if properly maintained.
- Covering your staircase with wood is a lot cheaper than installing an all solid wood staircase.
- Wood staircase cladding is ideal for people with house dust mite allergies.
- Wood has a natural and warm look, which makes it suitable for any interior style.
Kinds of wood for stairs
There are different types of wood that are suitable for cladding your stairs. In the table below, we have listed the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of wood.
| Wood type | Outward appearance | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firting | White to yellow-brown, straight thread | – Relatively inexpensive – Woodworking is faster than with hardwood |
– Does not last as long as hardwood – Sensitive type of wood, so wear marks more quickly – Dries quickly after cleaning so the wood warps more quickly |
| Mahogany | Red to reddish-brown, straight to slightly cross-grained grain | – Hardwood so wears less quickly – Luxurious appearance – Dries less quickly so low risk of wood warping |
– More expensive option – Moderately bendable |
| Oak | Yellow brown to dark brown, straight grain | – Hardwood so wears less quickly – Luxurious appearance – Highly bendable |
– More expensive option – Wet oak in contact with metal can leave rust stains on the wood |
| Beech | Light brown to light yellow-brown, straight grain, sometimes wavy grain | – Hardwood so wears less quickly – Luxurious appearance – Very bendable – Very sturdy |
– Most expensive option – Prone to burning when drilled |
Whatever type of wood you choose, it is important that you use responsible wood for the stair covering. You can recognise this wood by its FSC quality mark. FSC ensures responsible forest management, taking into account the habitat of plants and animals and ensuring that the wood supply is not depleted. Therefore, ask the specialist for this quality mark so that you can be sure that the wood for your staircase comes from a responsible source. Then choose to have your staircase covered with laminate or PVC. This will create a wood look, but will save you a lot of money. The quality and warm look, however, will be less than with real wood. See the differences between wood and laminate below.
| Wood | Laminate |
|---|---|
| Wood has higher prices | Laminate has lower prices |
| Wood requires a lot of maintenance | Laminate requires little maintenance |
| Because of a coating of lacquer, the wood is moisture-resistant | Special moisture-resistant laminate is more expensive than ordinary laminate |
| Damage is easy to repair | Damage is hardly repairable |
Step plan for installing wooden staircase cladding
If you have decided to have your staircase clad in wood, the professional will carry out several tasks that will take about 1 to 2 days. See what happens in this handy step-by-step plan:
Step 1: Orientation
Do you want to have your staircase covered with wood? Then start with an orientation meeting with your staircase specialist. The specialist will show you different types of wood to choose from. Furthermore, the specialist will give you advice on costs, maintenance and which types of wood are suitable for your staircase. After choosing a wood species, the specialist will order the required quantity of wood.
Step 2: Measuring
When the staircase specialist is going to install the steps, he starts by measuring the steps. Usually, wood is placed on a staircase by means of overlay steps. In this case, the stair specialist uses a stair spider, which measures the dimensions of the overlay steps per step. Steps do not always have the same dimensions. In a staircase with a turn, many steps are different in size. By measuring each step separately, everything will fit perfectly.
Step 3: Cutting to size
After all the steps have been measured, the staircase specialist will cut the replacement steps to size. When doing this, the staircase specialist checks that the steps fit properly. Would you like anti-slip strips on your staircase steps? The specialist also cuts these to size so they fit perfectly on your steps.
Step 4: Mounting
After cutting the covering steps and checking the measurements, it is time to glue them to the staircase. This has to be done precisely because the glue under the treads dries quickly and you obviously want the wooden covering to fit perfectly around the treads.
Step 5: Finishing
Did you opt for laminate treads? These do not need to be finished. If you have your stairs covered with wood, finishing the treads is important. Without a finish, the steps wear out faster. The staircase specialist will sand the covering steps and apply varnish or wax oil. After allowing the varnish to dry thoroughly, your staircase is ready for use. Ask the specialist how long it is best to wait before using the staircase.
Falls in staircase cladding with wood
You can of course get a bunch of planks from a DIY store and clad your staircase yourself, but a lot can go wrong with that. Measuring your overlay steps has to be done very precisely so that they fit perfectly. If you do this incorrectly, the steps will not fit properly and you will incur a lot of extra costs. It is also important that the transposed steps are fitted in a solid and safe way. After all, steps that are not fastened properly can shift and cause you to slip.
Hiring a staircase specialist ensures a professional result. The staircase specialist will not only renovate the stairs for you, but will also help you choose the perfect material and the right sizes for the treads so that you don’t buy too much or too little wood.
Frequently asked questions about covering a staircase with wood
1. Do I opt for solid wood stairs or wooden overlays?
Are your stairs in need of refurbishment or a new look and would you like wooden steps? Then you have the choice between a new, solid wood staircase or installing wooden transfer steps on your current staircase. Installing transfer steps is a lot cheaper than installing a completely new staircase. Especially if your current staircase is still in good condition, you can create a beautiful result at much less cost by using transfer steps.
2. How thick should the wood be for a durable result?
The thicker the treads are, the more durable the result will be. Thicker steps not only wear out less quickly, but their fire stability is also higher. This means that the staircase does not lose its load-bearing capacity when exposed to fire. Therefore, in case of fire, the staircase can still be safely used for evacuation. Stair treads of at least 50 millimetres thick are often chosen, along with overlay treads of at least 10 millimetres.
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