Some Asian and South American timbers are quite often the product of badly managed unsustainable logging operations and as a rule we do not promote their use in our products.
There have over past decades been many different timbers used in staircase construction and for different reasons.
The reasons are, fashion (timber is a fashion item), economic (value for money), availability and suitability for a particular application (appearance, external use, durability, meeting specific technical requirements such as density).
There are also other reasons these days and they are essentially ‘GREEN’ reasons. Using timbers that come from a sustainable resource such as plantation timbers and controlled logging forests.
We are lucky in Australia that our forests are exceptionally well managed. Go to www.ffp.csiro.au to understand just how much research goes into our forest industries so as they will remain a highly valuable and sustainable national resource.
The following list of timbers suitable for staircase construction not only contains a digital photo of the actual timber but also reviews the material as to it’s properties and applications.
There are other Australian species that can be used in stairs although many are so dense that they can't be kiln dried such as Spotted Gum, Blackbutt and Tallowwood. Whilst these timbers can sometimes be sourced they are not always readily available.
There are also many timbers imported from Europe, North America and Asia that are also suitable for staircase construction. These can be Oaks, Elms, Walnuts Ash’s Mahogany’s and Cedars, but availability in the required sizes can be difficult and the price high.
Medium Density Fibreboard
Medium Density Fibreboard is a manufactured product widely used in the manufacture of stairs. MDF is a highly stable product that is manufactured from timber waste or plantation Pine. It is particularly useful for manufacturing stair components requiring a paint or carpet finish, such as treads, risers and in some cases stringers.
MDF is a great contributor to the efficiency of our forest industries by utilising what would otherwise be wasted material left to rot on the forest floor.
In the past there has been controversy associated with MDF because of the use of Formaldehyde in the bonding process. New regulations limit the amount of Formaldehyde to one part per million which is considered safe.
