Was the original plan to have LVP on the stiars? If so, the stairs were designed for LVP.

Changing the stairs to hardwood would affect the thickness, except at the transition. And code does require them to be the same.

So your options are to re-design the stairs to accommodate the extra thickness of the hardwood treads, which will be expensive, or to move forward with the LVP on the stairs.

Ask the flooring contractor why he doesn't want to do LVP on the stairs. I can't imagine it as a safety issue, but that's the only reason not to do it. If your flooring contract says LVP on the stairs, the contractor will have to do what he agreed to. You may have to sweeten the pot if the contract is vague. Not that it is legally required, but it is easier/less stressful on you than fighting about it.

@kempek01, My home is about 15 years old and the stairs are the generic wooden stairs the builder provided. It could be pine or something that I'm not very sure. My flooring guy said "LVP doesn't hold up well on stairs". Should I own the risk and pursue him to put LVP on the stairs? Is there any validity in his argument of LVP not holding well on stairs?

Sorry, I just saw this.

Both contractors are telling you that LVP is bad on your stairs for various reasons. If the stair treads must be replaced (they are in bad condition), then replace them with wood and match the stain as closely as you can.

The other way to go is "it's the basement - who cares whether the treads match". Choosing this will depend on the value of your home, and who uses the basement.

I have visited people who have "getaway rooms" down in the basement, and the stairs didn't match anything. I never thought anything about it. But if your theatre room is downstairs and you have friends over 3 times a week, well .....

We have hardwood on our main floor and LVP on our stairs down to the basement as well as on the basement floor (over cement). When the LVP was first installed on the stairs (it's been a little over a year now), my husband thought the "lip" part of the stair treads (the bull-nosed edge piece) was not installed perfectly flush and secure on several (I think 4) of the treads, so I wonder if that is not uncommon and is what your flooring contractor is worried about. I didn't even notice it, but my husband is a perfectionist and it bothered him.

Rather than complain and have the installers come back to address the issue, my husband fixed the issue himself. I think he used tiny little nails (with no heads) to better secure the edge pieces to the adjoining LVP pieces, and I used dots of acrylic paint from my art supplies to cover the bitty nail holes. We have never had a problem with them since and we are up and down the stairs many times daily so they get heavy use.

Just wanted to mention our experience in case that makes any difference for your decision. I don't regret using it on our stairs. We picked an LVP that coordinates pretty well with our upstairs hardwood in color, just a little more rustic which fits our basement vibe. We didn't want to introduce yet another type of flooring just for the stairs.

When we gutted and remodeled our basement in our century old house, we put in real hardwood stairs down to the basement and then used LVP on the basement floor. The solution worked for us. There had been very beat up old wooden treads and stairs there previously.

I was told that LVP isn’t a good option for stairs. Apparently, the transition from hardwood to LVP is very noticeable and they struggle with the bull nose. My builder and flooring professional recommended hardwood on the stairs that is stained to match the LVP. I also had a friend who painted the stairs black as a neutral. I personally will install a nice stair runner.

I used hardwood treads on our basement stairs and LVP basement floor. Looks fine to us. First 2 floors and stairs are alll hardwood too….

For what it's worth (anyone who may be researching this topic in the future), our LVP stair treads have held up well for the past 2.5 years that our basement has been finished. We use our basement frequently and have a teenaged boy (with lots of friends), and I have not noticed any visible wear whatsoever on the treads. We have also not had any problems with the bullnose pieces, though as mentioned in my previous comment, my husband "fortified" them shortly after they were installed.