Red Oak and Poplar trees are plentiful in the United States and are the most commonly used material with interior wood products. The higher the availability in material, the lower the cost. Designed Stairs manufactures and stocks a wide variety of Red Oak and Poplar stair parts. Therefore Red Oak or Poplar are your best values.
Red Oak trees are plentiful in the US. Designed Stairs manufactures and stocks oak parts in high quantity, therefore those will cost less. White Oak and many other hardwood species cost more, and when your parts are custom made per order, the lower quantity and more machine set ups will increase the cost.
Our "Builder's Choice" style line combines current popular styles and higher volume manufacturing to keep your costs down. The quality of our "Builder's Choice" line is the same as more expensive components. Designed Stairs is always monitoring stair style trends to keep our "Builder's Choice" line current so we are able to offer you the most popular styles at the best value.
If you have plan, please forward that plan to us. We will take off that plan the entire stair well(s) from the basement to the top. Even if you do not want us to bid the basement stair, we like to see it for well size.
If you are remodeling and do not have a print, please take photos of your current space and e-mail us what you want to do in that space.
We design and build off site dimensions. In the greater Chicago area, we field measure the job-site ourselves. Outside of Chicago, we provide a framing form for you to fill out with actual field dimensions. Special arrangements can be made for field measures by Designed Stairs Technicians, depending on your location and budget.
Start the process early so that we can help you prepare. From the time we have field measurements and payment arranged, you should allow 6 weeks for fabrication. (See the construction schedule for a detailed timeline.)
Ideally you should install after the drywall is taped and primed, and before finished flooring goes in. Installation may make some nicks in your drywall, but nothing that can't be covered by your painters in their final painting. This allows your finished flooring to butt-up to the stair trim. (See the construction schedule for a detailed timeline.)
We recommend you wait until after your stair is installed to install your flooring. You can install your flooring before the stair, but the flooring may need to be cut back. If it's prefinished, you risk damage of the finish.
We don't do any finishing. Stairs come unfinished and should remain unfinished until installation is complete. Stairs will have been sanded to a level ready for finishing. For more information, go to Finishing Your Staircase in the Resources section.
Our installers will pick up their scrap and put it in a box for your disposal. If you would like them to place it somewhere specific, just ask them and they will be happy to.
Construction of a stair on site is a major construction project. You should plan on dust and protect/move anything delicate or valuable that you don't want to expose to dust or damage.
Hauling away debris is an optional service we offer. If you did not purchase that, then our installers will stack your old material for you to discard.
You should seal wood immediately to retard wood movement and protect your stair from exposure to elements and damage.
Nosing is required anywhere there is balustrade or newels. Typically, nosing from a flooring company has a shorter overhang and does not have the space for trim under it. Typical floor nosing overhangs 1-1/4”, whereas Designed Stairs nosing overhangs 1-3/4” to allow for trim under the nosing. This includes apron and cove. Designed Stairs provides all of the nosing where there is balustrade or newels so that the nosing and trim will match the stair style. i.e., If the stair has square-nosed treads and square cove, the nosing, apron, and cove would also be square to match.
We have several different nosing sizes for different situations, so we can’t give you one number. Our Tech can give you more info, but we do not recommend installing flooring to butt up to the nosing before the stair is installed, as the joints will not be as tight when you install flooring first.
Any nosing that incorporates newels needs to be installed with the stair. Our installation process starts with the newels going in first. The nosing is cut to fit the newels.
Yes. If this is done, we will lay our nosing on top of the flooring. If you want us to cut out the flooring to have it flush, there will be additional labor charges.
No. We need to know how thick your flooring will be, then we raise the riser to allow the flooring to be slid under the first riser. This way each riser is consistent throughout your entire stair. We recommend installing flooring after the stair is installed.
Longer answers and deeper dives from our team on the questions we hear most.
September 30, 2024
Red Oak is generally more affordable than White Oak, prompting many to explore finishing techniques to achieve a similar look. At first glance, some Red Oak may resemble White Oak, but they have distinct differences. White Oak features a light brown hue, tighter grain, and greater density, while Red Oak has a red tint and […]
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September 6, 2022
Nosing is required anywhere there is balustrade or newels. Typically, nosing from a flooring company has a shorter overhang and does not have the space for trim under it. Typical floor nosing overhangs 1-1/4”, whereas Designed Stairs nosing overhangs 1-3/4” to allow for trim under the nosing. This includes apron and cove. Designed Stairs provides […]
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January 14, 2021
Some things to consider
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May 5, 2015
If you are buying a stair with balusters in a contrasting material, such as painted balusters on an oak stair, questions will likely arise regarding the finishing of the stair. “Should my painter finish the balusters separately from the stair, then have the balusters installed when the stair is finished? Here are some things to […]
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April 2, 2015
A curved stair takes far more floor space than other types of stairs. Ideally you want a large square space to allow for the most gracious and elegant curved stair. You can narrow and tighten up the space, which will require your radius to get tighter. As your radius gets tighter your stair will not […]
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December 12, 2012
Flooring should be decided upon before you finalize your stair design. Your flooring is typically not installed until after your mill-made stair is in. By planning ahead, you can allow for your flooring (thickness) when calculating the stair, and it will make installation cleaner and simplier. When Calculating the Stair The finished flooring thickness at […]
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October 24, 2012
When your stair is installed will have a lot to do with how it turns out in the end. Plan installation of your hardwood stair for after your drywall has been taped, sanded, and primed. The drywall process can cause damage to the stair. Drywall mud and paint overspray can make the stair finishing process […]
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December 30, 2011
“I have ugly carpeted stairs, and I want the look of a nice hardwood custom made stair. Should I cover my existing stair with hardwood or replace with new stairs?” First consider how old your existing stairs are. If you have fairly new pine stairs under your carpet, the moisture content in your pine lumber […]
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