Veener comes in any "cut " you wish. Straight grain, quarter sawed, rotary, riff, etc ..

I agree with the second guy...partly. He "bullnoses" the end? This is done How? A router? A mitered end is harder to do than a routed bullnose. But you shouldn't need the mouldings if you cut the tread and risers in right. I'm not sure if I follow you on the Volute. I don't understand how he'll veneer the whole thing.."including right over the bullnose" Clear me up.

Tom, thanks for that information of veneers. Now that I think of it, the Mirage engineered oak floor I am getting had a top layer that would be considered a veneer (4 mm thick) and this layer is dry sawn and has very nice grain. It looks much better than the grain on the veneered oak plywood I see at Home Depot which must roatary peeled.
Wayne, I hope I'm not getting my terms wrong. The existing carpet covered stairs I have now has a first step that is rectangular on one end and has a semicircle on the other end where it extends past the bottom post of the bannister. The tread itself is about 11" deep and this semicircular extension of the tread ends up reaching back as far as the 2nd tread or 22" total. No part ot the stair railing or its posts sits on that extension. I thought that extension was called a volute but I may be wrong. When the 2nd guy looked at my stairs he said it would be impossible to get a solid oak piece 22" deep (or way too expensive) and he said he would craft the first tread out of 2 pieces of oak than veneer the whole thing so it looked like it was all one piece. It sounds to me like the nose of the tread will therefore be part of this veneer as well, because he says the whole thing will look like one piece of wood. Now I just saw my neighbor's stairs which are the same layout as mine and his stair guy gave him a solid oak 1st tread with a much smaller extension. I have seen similar offered for sale on the internet for about $100 to $150 and they come in different tread depths and overall lengths. They called it a single volute tread. So I asked the 2nd guy why not do something like that and he went on to say if he ordered something it probably wouldn't fit properly and why would I not want his veneered step. Do you think it would hold up as well as a solid one? That's my concern.
Now about end of the treads that are on the open side (not against a wall), I saw this mitered return both at my neighbors and on the internet where they billed it as the quality way to go. So I inquired of guy #2 if that's how he did it, and his reaction was horrors no. I guess he must rout then end of the tread. Do I assume if it is well done the end grains will not soak up too much stain?
I have asked if I can see some of his work and he says he will arrange it. The company he works for is a hardwood and wood stair store that has been in business for years so I would assume they do top notch work. I am feeling a little like they are not used to someone asking so many questions.

Hi Joan,

Part of the issue is that the stuff most people call 'veneer' is terribly thin and used for furniture, and you're right that that wouldn't last long underfoot. However, a layer of wood approaching 4mm thick would be plenty. The problem is that getting a thick, 22" wide sawn veneer wouldn't be any easier than getting a 22" wide solid stair tread, so you may indeed end up with the rotary stuff, which would neither be durable nor look the way you want. Personally, I wouldn't necessarily worry about the presence of a glue joint; if the guy tries just a little bit, he'll be able to make it quite inconspicuous.

A couple more thoughts:

If you're going to stain these stairs then yes, the exposed end grain will soak up more stain but, since you're talking about a routed bullnose, there won't be a hard edge where the color changes suddenly; rather, there would be a gradient of gradual change across the curve.

You're not going to get a mitred return around that volute, so you're going to get the exposed end-grain thing there no matter what you do.

The first guy's cove molding could be a kludge to cover a poor fit, but it may just be a decorative element he likes to use. It' likely that either of these guys could do a fine job; they would just do it differently. You probably are more finickey than most customers, and that may indeed be throwing the second shop off kilter a bit. Some carpenters want to accomodate every little desire you might have, while others develop strong convictions about how something should be done and might not like having to justify their choices, even to a customer. I would make sure you see the second guy's work, and if it's okay then go with whomever seems most accomodating.

I agree with JON. I don't see why guy 2 couldn't glue up a piece for the 1st step and volute. I just believe I'd rather have a glue joint than the veneer. And a poorly mitered end would look worse to me than a slightly darker end grain bullnose. Check 'em both out and see which one you like best. The added moulding may be a nice touch.

The first guy knows what he's doing. Quality work. I'll bet that before he 'dresses' everything up with the coves, his cuts are good too. If you look at oak tread end caps that are predone in the store - they come with the cove trim. It looks 'finished', and is a standard.