Depends. Family make-up? What's the style & feel overall? Is the priority cleaning, durability, something else?

Family consists of 2 young kids, 2 adults, and 2 elderly. Style of the home is more towards modern. Durability is important for sure as this will be a home that we will live in for at least 20+ years.

Wood then

Not a fan of carpet on stairs. Don't remember using carpet in any of our homes. Have also found it easy to slip on a carpeted stair especially wearing sock and ESPECIALLY if you have big feet.

We voted wood, with a carpet runner. Good luck!

We voted wood for aesthetics and durability. Non slip runners can be used if safety is a concern. Congrats on your new home!

Never had a runner before. Are these custom made or are there ready made ones? Any suggestions?

If you are going to get a runner ( you can get them either ready made, or have one made out of your carpeting in the rest of the home), then why not save the $$ and just carpet? Although when choosing your carpet you need to be aware that thick plush will tend to crush at the edge of the step, so you will want to research the best carpet types for stairs.

If you decide later that you want hardwood, it is possible to change. Stair treads and risers are not as expensive as you might think, and you can even get them prefinished. It is the installation labor that will cost -- but maybe not as much as the upcharge from the builder.

I agree with the previous poster; paying 3400 extra for wood stairs and then paying even more to add a carpet runner sounds impractical compared to just getting carpet in the first place.

However, it obviously depends on how much you like the look of wood, your available budget, and whether or not you have higher-priority items for the 3K.

Great suggestions! How much does converting to hardwood treads normally cost? Is $6325 too much or it is ok and builder is making some which I do understand they need to make money. How much does a nice short textured patterned runner normally cost? I do understand that the stairs can be done after but it's just the hassle of tearing everything down and the mess and the dust. Thanks again everyone!!

Voted for carpet. I think it's best with your family at this point. Plus it would reduce sound. Wood is better for resale, but that is 20+ years away. You can slip on both, but at least carpet is softer.

I don't know about cost for an entire job, that would also depend on where you live. But I DIY replaced a couple of treads and risers on my 70 year old basement steps this year and paid $35 for a set (one set per step) unfinished oak.

I had a runner in my previous home, and opted to go with wood and risers for our current build. $6325 seems a bit high to me; my oak treads are 48" and with materials and install including oak handrails and metal balusters I paid a little over half of what you were quoted. Of course I'm in Metro Atlanta and I had 30 steps I think.

I am in the Dallas metroplex. I think I got no more than 20 steps. The price you paid for yours is really good! I was quoted $200 per step by a third party and I figured with 20 steps that's $4000. $6325 is more, however, I do save a lot of headache later from the down time and cleaning if I do want to switch to oak treads and going with carpet right now

Everyone is always glad they spent the extra $ on real wood stair treads. The finishing process is typically more than the actual treads. Especially with Oak.