Our previous hardwood stairs had treads and with four kids and a dog we didn t have any incidents.
Hardwood stairs vs carpeted stairs.
Hard surfaces are slippery and can easily lead to a fall.
Hardwood is however generally more expensive than carpets but it is also easier to maintain and it lasts longer than a carpet.
Cost and noise reduction come immediately to mind.
Apartment therapy i was not a fan of carpeting before moving into my current home where the stuff covers two stairwells and the whole second floor.
I ve seen this done in many model homes in chicago too.
You will need to replace the rug after every few years and this might eventually cost more than installing wooden stairs on floors.
Carpeted stairs will obviously accumulate more dust and dirt than hardwood.
Some treads might help with the safety aspect.
Updated mar 11 2020.
Wood stairs and upper halls in wood can be noisy especially with shoes on.
You ll have to get out the vacuum and give carpeted stairs a good deep cleaning about once a week.
Carpeting is usually less expensive than hardwood.
I can t speak to the noise issue as i can t say i ever noticed hardwood or carpeted stairs being more or less noisy.
Having carpet on the stairs doesn t necessarily prevent falls but it helps to provide traction compared to hardwood.
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On the other hand all hardwood stairs need is a good sweeping and mopping maybe even a swipe with a damp towel.
Besides most homeowners with nice wooden stairs wouldn t be considering carpeting in the first place would they.
Hardwood also doesn t collect allergens like carpet.
I hate vacuuming carpeted stairs and am so glad to be in my first one story house.
Carpet also won t last as long as hardwood and will need to be replaced frequently.
To tell you the truth we had most of the transformation from carpeted stairs to hardwood completed last fall.
In addition should a fall ever occur carpet offers a much softer landing spot than wood flooring which could help reduce the likelihood of injury.
Beautiful hardwood stairs will be ruined by the addition of carpeting because the tack strips need to be nailed down creating holes in the wood.
Some possible reasons for the carpeting on stairs and upper hallway landings.
Both carpet and wood stairs cost a lot of money to purchase and lay on the stairs.
But cold weather hit before we got around to sanding and staining the handrails so they sat in the garage until the weather warmed up.