Stair Pricing — Oak vs Custom Materials, Bamboo to Walnut

When we quote stairs in custom wood species we often hear the question: "Why are stairs in custom wood species so much more expensive than oak?"

When shopping for flooring, you may find there is not a significant difference in pricing between oak flooring and species such as Brazilian Cherry, Walnut or Bamboo for example. So why then are stairs so much more expensive when using custom species over oak?

Let's look at the differences between flooring and stair parts.

Flooring is manufactured on a machine that is set up once and not taken down until the cutters are ready to be sharpened. Even exotic species are manufactured in large runs, and not manufactured per job. Stair parts are manufactured only in the most common species (oak). Stocked parts are made in large runs. However, parts in custom species are made per job. This, of course, is very labor intensive compared to making thousands of parts at one time.

Flooring consists of one component: a tongue and groove board. A stair has, on average over 30 different parts to make up the stair. Stairs require treads, risers, stringers, rails, various rail fittings, balusters plus a variety of trim parts. Even the different lengths of balusters used in the balustrade requires unique set ups.

TIP: Budget first. Make selections and budget your project prior to starting. This will help avoid unexpected surprises.