What Type of Wood Should I Use For My Stair Steps or Treads?
The most common stair tread or steps for
standard stairway construction, will be made from
construction standard
lumber. This would include oriented strand board, plywood, 2 x 4, 2 x 6,
2 x 8, 2 x 10, 2 x 12, 2 x 14, 3 x 12, 3 x 14, 4 x 12, 4 x 14 and every
once in a while a 6 x 12.
I honestly can't think of one type of lumber that couldn't be used for a
stair tread or step, as long as it was thick enough support the weight
of the stairway users.
The picture above provides you with an excellent
example of what a oriented strand board stair tread would look like.
Remember oriented strand board is a type of
engineered lumber that can
be used for risers also.
The picture above shows three different types of stair
treads,
A - Consists of 2 - 2 x 6's
B- Consists of 3 - 2 x 4's
C- Consists of 1 - 2 x 12
Out of the three, the 2 x 12 would be the strongest, followed by the 2 x
6, then the 2 x 4. Most of the time, a solid piece of lumber will be
structurally sturdier than two pieces and of course two pieces will be
stronger than three.
There are a variety of different construction methods that can be used
to connect separate pieces of lumber that will be used to create one
stair tread. However, these methods will be time-consuming and remember,
time is money.
Different Types of Stair Treads
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