Blog

Our white hard maple treads offer you a superior product at a cut rate. Because of its high janka rating white hard maple is extremely difficult to scratch or scuff. Our white hard maple is now available in three stain colors and a natural (prefinished clear). 

For more information check out our white hard maple page 

Check out our beautiful exotic tigerwood treads! Tigerwood is know for its characteristic bold striping patterns and sleek overall look. Own this elequent species of wood and upgrade your home with tigerwood treads. Check out the tigerwood page for more information.

Polyurethane: Yellows, more durable, stronger odor, takes longer to dry, better for things you walk on, treads

Waterbourne / Water Based Finsih: clear, dries fast, not as durable, less odor, easier cleanup, better for decorative or stuff not walked on - risers, cove, handrail

So what's the right type of wood finish to use when finishing your new stair treads? We'll help you narrow the selection with a few pointers.

So your new stair treads have arrived and it's time to go shopping for supplies, so it's off to the big box store with your shopping list in hand

All wood changes color over time depending on its environment, exposure to sunlight, and other factors, but sunlight has the biggest influence on wood - especially exotic wood species like Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany, and Tigerwood. Domestic species like American Cherry, Walnut, Oaks, Maple and Hickory all amber as well but typically to as lesser degree than the exotic ones.

The white powdery appearance on the surface of our treads is a common issue. What you see is a fine dust that gets lodged in the grain of the tread while the tread is in production. This powder is a by-product of the numerous sandings our treads undergo during the staining process. Our factory uses dust collectors which capture most of the sawdust but some dust particles remain in the air.

There are so many different types of nails out there, but when installing your treads and risers you will want to go with the Finish Nails. Using a 16 or 18 gauge finish nail will sure get the job done and the nail hole will barely be noticeable! 

"Can solid wood treads be installed over existing concrete steps?" - It's rare that a day goes by and we're not asked this question, and the answer is more a choice of words... "can" they, or "should" they, and if I'm going to do it anyway, what's the "best" way?"

We don't recommend installing the treads over concrete and our warranty expressly excludes any failures relating from concrete moisture.

Remember back in school when we were taught about the "Venn diagram"? Well, after all these years, wefinally found a great use for it!

We're often asked what's the difference between Red and White Oak so here's a handy chart showing only some of the differences and similarities between Red Oak and White Oak.

As far as finish, I would recommend Minwax Polycrylic. You can use any other crystal clear finish that's available but I would try and stay away from polyurethane simply because it dries with a yellow hue and can make color matching difficult. The UV finish we use is clear.