Stair Flooring Options: Hardwood Treads, Vinyl Plank Stairs and Carpet Runners

Your stairs take more foot traffic per square foot than any room in the house, and every step lands on the same two inches at the front edge. You have three real options: hardwood treads, vinyl plank or laminate with a matching stair nose, or carpet. Each one suits a different house.

Why stairs are not priced like floors

A floor is laid in rows. A staircase is built one step at a time. Each tread and riser is measured and cut to fit its own opening, because no two steps in an older house are exactly the same width. The front edge, called the nosing, needs a finished piece that can take a direct hit from a heel thousands of times a year.

That is why stairs are quoted per step, and why a 13-step staircase can cost as much to finish as a good-sized room.

The three options compared

Hardwood treads

The old carpet and the rough construction treads underneath come off, and solid hardwood treads and new risers go on. Treads can be stained to match your floor, with risers in the same stain or painted white. It is the most expensive route and the one that adds the most to the look of a front hall. See our hardwood guide for species and finishes.

Vinyl plank or laminate stairs

This is how you carry the same floor from the hallway down to the basement. On stairs the material is glued, never floated, and the front edge is finished with a stair nose made to match the plank. A flush stair nose sits level with the tread and looks cleanest. An overlapping nose is more forgiving on uneven steps.

Carpet and runners

Carpet is still the safest and quietest stair covering. Choose a dense, low pile, because thick plush rounds over the nosing and wears through quickly. It can be wrapped tightly around each nosing or run straight down in a waterfall. A runner over hardwood gives you the grip of carpet with wood showing on both sides, which means the treads underneath have to be finished wood. See the carpet guide.

How we build vinyl and laminate stairs

Our custom stair sets use a one-piece tread and a one-piece riser for each step. There are no seams across the tread to open up or collect dirt, and the nosing is part of a piece made for the job.

Landings are finished in the same plank as your floor, with a matching stair nose at the edge, at no extra installation charge. Stair nosings and transition pieces are made to match the floor you chose, so they are quoted with your project instead of priced online.

What changes the price

• The number of steps, counted as treads plus any landings.
• Open sides. A step that is open on one or both sides needs a finished return on the end, and the tread has to be fitted around the spindles.
• Winders and pie-shaped steps. Each one is templated and cut individually.
• Removal. Old carpet, underpad, tack strip and hundreds of staples have to come out before anything goes on.
• Squeaks and loose treads. The time to fix them is while the stairs are bare.
• Painting. Risers, stringers and spindles are a separate job from the flooring.

Two safety details to check

Riser height. People trip when one step is a different height from the rest. New flooring at the top or bottom of the stairs changes the height of the first or last riser. Thin vinyl changes it very little. Thick hardwood over a subfloor panel can change it enough to notice. Ask your installer to measure it before the floor goes down.

A visible edge. Dark treads in a dim stairwell hide the nosing. Good lighting, or a riser in a contrasting colour, makes each step easy to read.

Common questions

Can you put vinyl plank on stairs?

Yes. On stairs vinyl plank is glued down and the front edge of each step is finished with a matching stair nose. It should never be floated on a staircase.

Are carpeted stairs safer than hardwood?

Carpet gives better traction and a softer landing, so it is the safer choice for young children, older adults and pets. A runner over hardwood treads is a good compromise.

Why are stairs quoted per step and not per square foot?

Because the cost is in the labour. Every tread and riser is measured, cut and fitted individually, and open sides, winders and landings each add work that square footage does not capture.