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Finish the steps. If you want to put carpeting on later, the hardwood and its finish will still be under there and it'll match the rest of the room, so if even later you decide to go back to wood it'll be there.
This. You can always cover the steps with carpet if you don't like the wood. But to go back and replace carpet with wood steps later will cost thousands. I know because I ripped the carpeting off of the steps in a house I bought several years ago. I had a contractor come out and give me an estimate. He was shocked at how much the treads cost. Then there's the staining and sealing. You also can't use the stairs for several days during this process.
This. You can always cover the steps with carpet if you don't like the wood. But to go back and replace carpet with wood steps later will cost thousands. I know because I ripped the carpeting off of the steps in a house I bought several years ago. I had a contractor come out and give me an estimate. He was shocked at how much the treads cost. Then there's the staining and sealing. You also can't use the stairs for several days during this process.
The treads are going to cost a ton anyway. It doesn’t make a difference when you do it. My parents bought a new home and got wood treads and I don’t think they paid any different than when I redid a home I bought to put in wood treads. I would say put on a carpeted runner. I fell down both my stairs and my parents’ stairs in the past because I slipped.
Wood. I wish we would have done the stairs when we put in wood floors, but my kids were little, and I was afraid they slip and get hurt. But I grew up with wood stairs, and we survived. My IL's put down these tread things on theirs because they are getting older and they have an elderly dog. And it still looks great. Besides, vacuuming stairs is a pain in the behind.
My inlaw is carpet installer. It does not require professionals to have carpet cleaned, regular vacuum does just fine but, it is very easy to mess up steps carpeting and, end with something that looks ugly, annoys the hell out of you and starts tearing apart quickly. Steps have to be done by very good installer and done right.
And if you decide to carpet, do bullnose, not cascade.
The treads are going to cost a ton anyway. It doesn’t make a difference when you do it. My parents bought a new home and got wood treads and I don’t think they paid any different than when I redid a home I bought to put in wood treads. I would say put on a carpeted runner. I fell down both my stairs and my parents’ stairs in the past because I slipped.
There are 2 types of treads that go in when building stairs. One is basic lumber which is cheap and the other is a finished stair tread. These are pricey. If you want to add them later then you have to have the lumber removed which can create other problems when being removed.
People can fall on both carpeting and wood. Neither one will prevent a person from falling.
I prefer carpet with a thick pad for the stairs, if I fall I end up not getting seriously injured. And I fallen a few times. I will never have just wood, I did that and when you fall it’s easy to break an arm. As you age we are more fragile.
I prefer carpet with a thick pad for the stairs, if I fall I end up not getting seriously injured. And I fallen a few times. I will never have just wood, I did that and when you fall it’s easy to break an arm. As you age we are more fragile.
^^Agree
Our house has carpeted stairs. When our kids were small, no matter how many times we would tell them to walk, not run, they would run anyway.
All three eventually fell down the stairs. We'd hear the bump, bump, bump, then a big gasp for air, then a scream!
Luckily, the very heavily padded carpet provided a soft landing. No broken bones, just a learning experience.
That which hurts teaches.
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