How to choose the best staircase flooring materials. Ideas for stairs & landings
Stairs Flooring on both bespoke staircases and concrete stairways are possible in a number of different finishes. You can of course choose to match them with your flooring, being this a solid or engineered wood flooring, tiles floor, carpet floor or even micro concrete or resin floor. Here below are some possible choices for you together with useful recommendations:
- Wooden treads matching wooden flooring
- Carpet treads matching carpet flooring
- Tiles on steel or timber treads matching tiles flooring
- Marble on steel or timber treads matching marble or stone flooring
- Resin finish on steel or timber treads matching resin flooring
Wooden stairs matching wooden flooring
Besides traditional timber floor boards many architects and interior designers are nowadays proposing exclusive wood and modern stairs flooring solutions as for example mosaic parquetry or antique style wooden flooring.
A timber flooring always brings a natural look and warmth in your room. Some flooring types are made of solid timber, but the majority of them are produced in engineered wood.
Engineered floors are used as clad/covering whereas the main supporting floor structure is given by concrete and screed below. Engineered wood floors are also very easy to install.
Treads are instead a structural part of a bespoke staircase and need to be manufactured with high quality solid wood. We also recommend a minimum thickness of 40 mm. Plywood, engineered wood, laminate flooring on stairs are normally not recommended for stair treads.
Wooden treads matching wooden floor
The challenge we have to face is then to match stairs to floors even if they are manufactured with different materials and different thicknesses. Moreover wood is a natural material, sensitive to humidity, extreme weather conditions, sun light etc.
All those natural features have to be taken into account to be able to reach the final result we want. The treatment and finishing of the wood are also different on wood floors and solid wood stairs.
Matching Process of stairs flooring
The best way to have your stairs flooring perfectly matching your floor (or as closer as possible) is to send one sample of wood floor to the staircases manufacturing company (it can be a piece of floor of 40 x 20 mm for example). This is what we normally recommend to our customers. Our joiners can then make their own tests and find the best material and finish to match stairs with floor. The solid wood used on stairs normally has different veins or grains, than the wood used on floors. This is once more due to the characteristics of wood.
Another big challenge for our joiners: imitate the natural veins as much as possible. When we believe the best possible result has been achieved with our tests, we send one or two samples to our clients for their check and approval. Once everything is confirmed we begin manufacturing the treads. According to clients needs we may also have to match other stairs components as for example risers or handrail.
The types of timber flooring that are becoming more and more popular are the dark stained “Old English” Wood floor, The Natural Oak waxed floor, the white bleached wood floor and the brushed antique finish.
The good news is that we can match all of them with our treads!
stairs matching wooden flooring
Carpet steps matching carpet flooring
If you want to match the treads and risers with the carpet floor you have upstairs, our suggestion is to use a good quality but cost-effective wood. You may choose for example the fir wood, the beech or in some cases even the pine wood. The treads will be in fact covered almost completely by carpet. For this reason it makes no sense to have them manufactured with premium and expensive wood choices. The carpet will then be applied on treads using proper glue, double sided carpet tape or staples.
Tiles on steel or timber stairs matching tiles flooring
The most suitable wood choices for treads and risers prepared for tile clad are the fir wood and the beech.
Applying tiles on a timber staircase is not usually an easy job and therefore better to have it done by experts. We can give you however some tips you can follow if you decide to tile the stairs by yourself. Start tiling from the top tread and work down.
Place the first tile on the riser. Move the tile so the front edge is even with the step tread surface. Place more tiles to fill the whole riser surface. If needed mark the last tile and cut it and have it flash with tread edges.
Apply a thin layer of suitable adhesive to the back of the tiles. Position all tiles on the riser.
Position tiles on the tread, be sure to have the front edge of the tile perfectly aligned flush with the vertical tiles of the riser. Mark and cut the tiles where needed.
Proceed with lower riser and tread in the same way as explained for top tread. Carry on with that procedure for all remaining risers and treads. Allow the adhesive to dry 24 hours.
You now need to grout the tiles. Use a proper grout and follow manufacturer’s instructions on the package to prepare and to mix it before use. Better to start the top step and work down, as you did for tiling.
Apply a good amount of grout to the tread on the step using a grout float. Spread the grout over the tile surface and move it into the spaces between each tile. Remove grout in excess from the tiles surface with the edge of the grout float. Grout the top riser and then repeat for two lower steps and two lower risers. Wipe the tiles with a humid sponge. Do not remove the grout from the slots of the tiles. Add more grout if needed. Allow the grout to dry during 24 hours.
stairs matching wooden flooring
Marble on steel or timber treads matching marble or stone flooring
Marble tiles can be applied using proper marble glue and following the same system explained above. Being marble very difficult to cut without braking it we highly recommend you apply for a professional service with a marble expert.
Resin finish on steel or timber stairs flooring matching resin flooring
If you are planning to have a resin flooring and want to have same finish on the treads we can manufacture the steel or timber treads and deliver them raw to be finish with resin on site by your flooring company. Alternatively we can deliver the treads finished. In this case we will need to receive a sample of the floor, to be able to match it.
Resin flooring and resin staircases are becoming an increasingly popular choice in many interior design projects, both in commercial and in domestic environments. They are especially welcome from architects and interior designers because they allow to have very clean and seamless surfaces. No joints, no visible fixings are needed. Moreover unlike the wood, resin surfaces are UV stable, do not yellow over time and have good fantastic hypoallergenic qualities. They are 100% waterproof and very easy to clean, which is an highly appreciated feature among housewives. In commercial places with a lot of people walking on everyday it may be necessary to renew the resin on floors and stairs every two or three years.
Resin can be applied on an existing timber layer, therefore you may take into account the option of refurbish your old floor and stairs with a new look. A huge variety or resin finishes and colors are available.
We also ensure that your resin floor will stand the test of time along with color choice. Therefore, offer a full maintenance service which in years to come will allow a simple refinishing (sanding and re-coating) of your floor to bring it back to new or if you have you would like to change the color we can do that too.
Existing concrete staircases
If you have an existing concrete staircase in your house and want to clad treads and risers all systems explained below can be suitable. You need to make sure that the concrete surface is flat and smooth before cladding it.
If you want to use wooden treads and risers we can manufactured them to size and ship them ready to be fitted. We will need a small floor sample to be able to match treads and risers with your wooden floor.
You should send us a sketch including measures of all treads and all risers, so that we can produce them to the exact sizes. Alternatively we can send bigger steps to be cut and adjusted on site.
Definitions of specific words used in the article.
- Tread –The horizontal surface you walk on
- Riser – vertical section between two treads
- Step – The tread and riser combined
- Stair – a set of steps leading from one floor of a building to another. It is also used as synonym of step
- Handrail – rail fixed on top of uprights to hold on to for support
Do you need more information on how to match your flooring to stairs? Then…… get started, move on to action and
