Thanks so much for replying!

Are you matching the wood to another wood floor at this time?

We have white oak solid hardwood floors across the entire downstairs in a medium brown stain. They are all "shorts" and were here when we moved in 20 yrs ago. But I don't want to match the stain. I like it when the stairs and railings are a little darker than the main floor.

Sorry this is so long. There are a number of issues we're tryng to understand so that we can move forward the best possible way...

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We decided a couple months ago that we wanted to do this, but there are some issues that I'm not exactly sure how to handle, which is why we haven't started yet.

CHOICE OF MATERIAL: The carpenter that has done a couple of projects for us already (bath cabinets, TV cabinet, some smaller jobs), has experience in this, and I saw one of his client's staircases recently. He said he'd use 1" solid wood for treads. But I've also heard from other people that engineered hardwood is better because it's more structurally stable.

CODE: I pulled the carpet back on all the edges and measured as carefully as I could and it looks like every one of my steps is exactly the same height, and depth, except for the ones that curve at the bottom of the staircase (they are a little deeper on the "fat" part as they curve down). All the straight ones are the same depth. When I walked up the stairs at the carpenter's client's house, they felt too tall to me. They felt consistent though. I presume if mine are currently all the same height, they will remain consistent as long as all the treads are the same thickness. I downloaded and read all about the codes which was very informative, but I'm not 100% confident he is intimately familiar with the code rules, so we're not yet sure we will hire him.

TRANSITIONS FROM LANDING TO CARPETED BEDROOMS AND TILES BATHROOM: At his client's house, the landing at the top was carpeted. We want our landing to be wood, and then switch to carpet just for the bedrooms and gameroom. He's an excellent carpenter, but he's not a wood floor specialist. When I started asking questions about how the wood landing would be installed his answers didn't quite comport with what I know (admittedly, not a lot) about wood floors. Specifically I want the transitions from the landing to the bedrooms and bathroom to be flat/flush with no transition piece if possible. I want z-bars (or other solution that is not a transition piece) for the carpet. (carpet replacement will happen after the stairs). He explained to me that he would use 1" treads on the stairs, so the woodfloor on the landing would have to be 1" also (because the top nosing would be 1" and that has to be flush with landing floor). I asked if that means the height of the wood floor would be too tall (I guess 1/4" too tall) to make a flat transition to the bathroom (tiled floor), and bedrooms (carpet) so that no transition piece would be needed. He kind of himmed and hawed on the answer. It's the transitions that I'm worried about. I'm wondering if going with enginnered would solve this issue (would engineered be thinner, thus allowing for a flat transition?)

DISRUPTIVE PROCESS IF ON-SITE STAINING: We have 4 kids, and we were wondering how in the world we would live through the many days of staining and poly if we use solid wood, because I'm assuming they would need to be finished on site (maybe I'm wrong about that?). Making the kids live downstairs for a week would be very disruptive to them with school, sports, etc. I don't really want to do wait this long, but if we don't do this until next summer ALL the kids will be gone: 1 will be on a study-abroad, 2 of them are full-time summer camp counselors, and 1 will be gone 2 weeks as a camper, so I'd have a window of time when no one has to go up the stairs.

I'm suspecting the designer is going with factory finished wood (engineered or solid...it doesn't matter) because it is a faster install with LESS work to stain/treat the treads once installed.

We've been scratching our heads on how to complete this project, so I decided to consult with a local designer that I found on the AISD website. Where I live a lot of designers won't come meet with you unless the project is 50K or more. One won't even call you back unless you fill out an online form and click the box that says the project is 100K or more! Anyway, this designer was happy to come consult for an hourly fee. She was very helpful on making some design decisions. If we want to we can hire her to manage the project, but we haven't decided about that yet. I think she was recommending engineered bc of it creating less disruption and bc I told her we weren't planning to match the downstairs woodfloor stain color. Also, the samples she brought had some texture to them. Since we haven't decided yet if we'd add a runner, I was hoping we could have some texture on the treads.

WHO TO HIRE:

Carpenter referenced above: Not sure he is expert enough for the floor and transitions. But I am confident in him for everything else (treads, newels, railing, balustrades, etc).

GC: The designer referred me to 2 contractors, and I know a couple more, but I hate hiring GC's bc they always seem to hire unqualified subs (a whole other discussion!), But I know that whenever dealing with a large or complicated project, a GC really is needed. If I do end up going that route, I'll have to find a way to make sure the subs hired really are experts.

Carpet/flooring store: I tried going to a few local stores, but they all sub-out the stairs, so I'd be in the same boat as hiring a GC regarding trusting that the subs are experts.

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If you made it all the way to the end of this response THANK YOU! Any help working out these issues is greatly appreciated. If you think pictures would help, I have some.

Bump

For stairs I always suggest a Finishing Carpenter. That's where I would START when looking at work on stairs. Finishing Carpenters are the guys who have the most education/skill/knowledge of all the 'wood work trades'. They also have the highest fee. When you look at it, this is because they have ALL the knowledge about codes - especially stairs.

Stairs can have 15 or more SEPARATE items needed to follow code. Whew! That's a lot. Anyway, that's where I like to start with stairs.

If you are not hiring a GC, you are welcome to use the Designer as a Project Manager. S/he can use all of your own contacts (you are the GC) and she works the schedules, makes a few on-site decisions to ensure the work happens on time, on budget and with the final look left in-tact.

First things first: Finishing Carpenter. To be clear, you will probably have to wait until next summer. The really good one's are booked out MONTHS in advance. That's the type you want for stairs. Summer 2020 looks REALLY good right now.

Thank you so much for responding! This is something I don’t know a whole lot about, so your feedback is extremely helpful. Now, how do I know if somebody is a finishing carpenter? Is there a certifying organization, like the tile professionals get the CTEF, and other types of certifications? I like the Carpenter that I’ve used before, he did a great job on our bathroom cabinets, alterations to our master closet, fixing some antique furniture, and a few other jobs. How do I know if he is a finishing carpenter is that an official designation like master carpenter?

I’ll be so happy when this project is completed. It’s the last major indoor project. We’ve updated every space downstairs, and every space upstairs. But the connection, the staircase, is horrible and ugly. It’s fine if we have to wait until next summer. I want to do this right. And I know that well-qualified pros are expensive. We don’t cheap-our on this kind of stuff.

I really really appreciate your feedback.

SJ McCarthy , lots of incredible free advice. Your karma jar must be full by now :-D