Renovate the staircase with oak

[Mano8]

Planning to renovate our pine staircase with solid oak planks as steps. My idea is to use thick 2-inch oak planks with the uncut edge left intact. Do I need to get planks that are cabinet dry? What will happen if the moisture content is too high?

 

[t_conradsson]

If they are very moist and you insert them, they can crack. Otherwise, they just twist a little. Unless you fasten them at both the front and back, in which case they crack anyway.

 

[Mano8]

The carriage pieces are milled where the steps are located. Will there be too much stress on the stairs? They won't be able to move at all.

 

[justusandersson]

Do you mean that you want rough-cut (i.e., just sawn through) oak planks? For oak, one normally only uses the heartwood, which is the larger part. In rough-cut timber, the sapwood remains. It is not as attractive and does not have the same properties as the heartwood. Especially when it comes to oak, I would advise against it.

 

[Mano8]

Built the staircase with ash steps. But now the question is whether to use hard wax oil or varnish on the steps?

 

[Jocke Best]

Nice! How did you get the steps into the milled grooves? Were you able to loosen the right side? Just curious...

 

[Mano8]

Nice! How did you get the steps into the milled grooves? Was it possible to loosen the right side? Just curious ...

I took down the entire staircase and then the steps were nailed. Used a jack to press apart the stringers. Then it was just a matter of milling so that the new ones fit.