Unfinished stair treads can come in a variety of sizes and are made out
of different building materials. The most popular unfinished stair steps
sold today in the United States are made from hardwoods. However, if
you're framing a set of stairs, you're not going to be using anything
else except for construction standard building materials, like plywood,
oriented strand board or 2 x 12's, for your unfinished stair treads.
If you're planning on finishing the entire stairway
with the same color, stain or paint, I highly recommend using unfinished
stair treads, instead of pre-finished ones. However, if you're planning
on painting or staining different parts of the stairway, you should
consider pre-finishing these individual stair parts, before assembling
them.
Unfinished Stair Tread Advantages
1. This will provide you with a complete finished stairway that can be
modified, if necessary. Any nail holes, screw holes or wood plugs can be
sanded or filled, but this would be difficult, if you were using
pre-finished stair parts.
Disadvantages
Pre-finished stair parts will need to be carefully assembled, in order
to avoid any damage that would require any type of repairs. Any nail
holes, splits or other type of damage will need to be filled and
refinished.
This might not sound like a big deal, but it will be if you don't have
the exact stain or paint color, because you bought them from the
manufacture.
Stair Finishing Tip
If you don't have a lot of experience with stairway construction or
finishing, make sure that you gather as much information as you possibly
can. Knowledge reduces frustration and usually increases your chances
for finishing any project, including a nice handrail or stairway.
