skip to main content

Flooring Design Dilemma DIY

I would like help with choosing stair tread finish

3 years ago

I'm in the process of prepping my stairs to go from carpet to hardwood. I've already prepped my bottom stairs and will do the upper stair case afterwards. Although I'd be able to get a perfect match if I stain it myself, I'll be using stair-tread.com's pre-finished "retro treads" because I don't want to mess with sanding, patching, staining, and sealing.

I'd like to match them to the original flooring (engineered vinyl plank) as best as possible, but the samples they sent me are just slightly more red than my golden floor, but really only noticeable in certain lighting. Will the slight variation in color actually draw more attention to the fact that they're slight off? Or am I over thinking it?

I took several photos in various lighting. The risers will be white to match the trim. https://imgur.com/a/GzaXnbe

Also, my floor is EVP, and these retro-treads are hardwood. Will that be weird?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
We are just doing our staircase and we have LVP and are using it for the stairs to match the flooring. I never like real wood and fake next to each other
Maureen
3 years ago
If you have completely exhausted other options, I think this choice will be fine.

We recently redid ours (with similar issue) and don‘t even notice, as we added a runner in the hallway and that helped draw the eye away from the slight difference.
Related Discussions
Need help choosing colors - entryway floor and stairs
Q
Comments (6)
I just looked again at the trap door space, and gave it some more thought. Here's my take: Stain treads a dark shade Match floor color to stain Paint risers white Paint trap door AND bottom stair same as floor Beware! You may need a small colorful rug under the last stair/on floor(hard to see stair at night) For the rails,etc. The most common/best,imo, look is white paint on the rails and stain on post and newel. Oh! New thought re. last stair: Stain it in a light honey and stencil a design in floor color.It will stand out( for safety) and neat effect! Hmmm, you could instead, treat that trap door with that special effect. It's going to be charming, whatever you do.
...See More
Finishing stair treads
Q
Comments (5)
The wipe on isn't as durable as the fast drying. You are doing something wrong if fast dry has bubbles when dry. Let's see if I can figure out the trouble. Do you consider yourself a good painter? ( Why? ) Are you useing a high quility brush desighned for oil varnish? ( Not alll expenspensive brushes do well with all finishes) Are you properly cleaning your brush after every use? (How?) Are you laying down the film while working from a wet edge and not rebrushing holidays in finish? Are you pouring finish from factory container into a dedicated application container? Are you disposing of left over finish from each application? ( Tell me why this is reccomended ) Are you tacking off before each coat? ( Type of tack? ) Are you maintaining clean air while finish is wet? ( How? ) If that is more effort than you believe nessary,just wait and there will be one or more counter-posters that agree with you and offer a simple solution. Still determined to learn refinishing and willing to work at it? I am willing to help you get started.
...See More
Help! Contractor messed up staining the stairs treads
Q
Comments (8)
The labor for staining will probably be less than ordering somewhere between 6 and 14 more of the stair nosings. Right now is actually a great time to go out and find someone to stain them. You might be able to get in on the side-job-because-my-kids-want-bulbous-plastic-yard-toys pricing. A small job like this that can be worked into down days and empty time slots can get you a good price, especially close to Christmas. The problem with using the remaining flooring is the fact that you can't just slap it on top of your current treads. The floor is either 3/8" or 1/2" - so your first tread would be a noticeably bigger step. To be done right you have to lower every riser by 3/8" or 1/2" - you might be able to cheese it and only take a little bit off the bottom 3-6 risers so that it blends in, but it will be expensive to do all that, unless your contractor will do the labor for free.
...See More
Need help with Oak stair treads & Warm cinnamon color Acacia floors.
Q
Comments (2)
Thank you! I do have photos, but the floors are covered with ram board to protect them and I have not done the railings yet, so the photos dont really show anything. In hindsight I should have taken more photos prior to starting the work. The stair nosings on the landings have started to sag & slope so initially I only wanted to jack them up a little & install shims, but quickly realized that there were more issues going on here, unrelated to my stain color question. One was that when they set the treads, they were about 1/2” away from the wall, leaving these strange gaps between the end of the tread and the moulding it butted to at the wall. It was very difficult to clean and unattractive. Im also adding a much deeper & thicker moulding up the wall to allow the treads to appear closed ended to the moulding.
...See More
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Sorry but this is too obvious to me. I see plenty of green in the vinyl (brown with green and gray tones) while I see plenty of orange/red. Some people have a hard time seeing undertones. It takes a trained eye that does not have any colour-blindness concerns (up to 30% of men have some form of colour blindness...which could explain some things).

The treads are too close to a 'bad match' to make this work. I'm sorry but you would be better off gluing down vinyl on the treads and then figuring out a nosing.

BTW: have you measured everything to ensure your stairs will maintain 'code'?

Once a stair changes finish (like carpet to hardwood, vinyl, laminate, etc) the stairs must be reassessed to ensure code compliance. A finishing carpenter is the person needed to make sure stairs remain to code.

The top of the stairs and the bottom of the stairs are where you would see issues when changing finishes.
HU-751650643
3 years ago
If you paint the riser white instead of staining it that would cause a visual break in between the two wood tones and make any small variation less noticeable.
tina page
2 years ago
Hello, would you mind letting me know how your staircase project came out. I'm considering using the same product for basement stairs
Thank you,
Tina

Related Stories

BATHROOM DESIGN Which Flooring Should I Choose for My Bathroom?

By Sarah Alcroft

Read this expert advice on 12 popular options to help you decide which bathroom flooring is right for you

DECORATING GUIDES Houzz Call: What Home Collections Help You Feel Like a Kid Again?

By Mitchell Parker

Whether candy dispensers bring back sweet memories or toys take you back to childhood, we'd like to see your youthful collections

STAIRWAYS Help Your Stair Landing Take Off

By Danyelle Mathews

Whether for storage, art, plants or whatever else strikes your fancy, your stair landing can serve your home in a thoughtful way

Ideabook 911: Help Me Finish My Foyer

By Becky Harris

KITCHEN DESIGN 3 Steps to Choosing Kitchen Finishes Wisely

By Vanessa Brunner

Lost your way in the field of options for countertop and cabinet finishes? This advice will put your kitchen renovation back on track

KITCHEN APPLIANCES Which Appliance Finish Should You Choose for Your Kitchen?

By Toronto Interior Design Group

Find out which design situations call for stainless steel, black, paneled, white and colored appliances

Ideabook 911: I Need Help Staging for Resale

By Becky Harris

STAIRWAYS Got Stairs? Here’s How to Choose the Right Runner for You

By Toronto Interior Design Group

Get the skinny on material selection, color and pattern, installation and more

ENTRYWAYS Help! What Color Should I Paint My Front Door?

By Jennifer Ott Design

We come to the rescue of three Houzzers, offering color palette options for the front door, trim and siding

LIFE You Said It: ‘Just Because I’m Tiny Doesn’t Mean I Don’t Go Big’

By Becky Harris

Changing things up with space, color and paint dominated the design conversations this week

Sponsored

More Discussions

Coretec Conch Ash, need pictures & review of this flooring

7

Help! Dilemma With Red Oak Hardwood Flooring

16

Help - Hardwood floor mystery!

8

Help with floor colors

4

how to prevent water from the bathroom damaging the wood floor outside

2