[jjptc]

Hello everyone!

I'm new! We have recently ripped up carpet that were on our stairs. Underneath were these great looking treads. We can't tell if it's pine or not. Can anyone tell me?
Also, if it is pine....can we stain them and finish them? Will it look ok?

Thank you!!!

 

[Travis]

Pine. You can stain and finish pine, but I personally don't like the outcome. The grain doesn't take so well to stain if you ask me.

 

[Daveb]

Also, pine is soft and the finished look may not hold up that well with heavy traffic on stairs.

 

[Big Dave]

Pine is great. It will finish just fine and will hold up. Sure it's a soft wood but how much abuse do you plan on giving these stairs? I only install and finish pine floors and my customers love them. They only look better over time because they will age with a nice patina.

I say go for it. Worse case scenario is you'll have to cover them backup with carpet in say 7 to 10 years.

 

[Daveb]

Worse case scenario is you'll have to cover them backup with carpet in say 7 to 10 years.

Good point!

 

[TexasTimbers]

I agree pine makes great floors for sure. Reclaimed SYP pine is great but of course it's awful hard on the tools. Give it a try just don't go too dark with the stain.

 

[edp]

Finishing Pine

I would recommend using a conditioner before the stain to make the outcome more uniform. Soft woods like pine have a tendency to come out blotchy otherwise.

Ed

 

[atogrf1]

sdp is dead on!!!! You must use a wood conditioner before you stain the pine or it will look horrible and blotchy. (Speaking from experience here). Also, sanding it down to a higher-grit sandpaper will help it absorb the stain more evenly. 220-320 grit will give you a nice, smooth finish, and the wood conditioner should make up the rest.

 

[atogrf1]

CORRECTION: EDP is right. That SDP guy is a figment of my imagination. LOL.

 

[WDChew]

I've had better results with a 1lb cut of shellac instead of wood conditioners for staining. Just be careful to have adequate ventilation.

 

[Corndog]

Looks like rift sawn fir to me. Is is heavy???

 

[jimmiet.]

pine

a conditioner & a gell stain works well

 

[Joe Lyddon]

Pine or Douglas Fir...

Hello everyone!

I'm new! We have recently ripped up carpet that were on our stairs. Underneath were these great looking treads. We can't tell if it's pine or not. Can anyone tell me?
Also, if it is pine....can we stain them and finish them? Will it look ok?

Thank you!!!

Pine or Douglas Fir...

 

[johnep]

Current fashion in Uk is for wood floors. many people simply machine sand the floorboards with what looks like a vac cleaner, then seal. Did it myself many years ago because we could not afford carpet,
johnep