loft stairs and pine flooring

[beckhamk]

We are looking to get our stairs put in for our loft. We place to have a L shape stairs with a landing. Planning to get pine stairs built and then we are going to use 1x6 T&G pine flooring for the loft floor and main floor.  My question is what have others done simular to what I am planning.  I just want to make sure this will all work together or maybe I am going about this wrong.

thoughts?

[MountainDon]

L-shaped with a 3x3 directional change landing is common.  If you are having these built for you are "they" coming to measure everything and guarantee a good fit? In writing so you have something to fall back on if it doesn't come out as it should. You probably know all that. I have heard of a case where the builder of the stairs and the homeowner weren't on the same page, so to speak, when discussing what was to be supplied.

[beckhamk]

Yes - they are coming... My question was geared more towards the looks of the stairs and the T&G pine.....  "The finished" look. I figure loft floor and main then the landing will have the T&G on it.  Just wasnt sure how to finish the rest of the stairs (as in just brush on some poly onto the stairs?) or if there was a better direction to do.

I appologize if I didnt make much sense before.

[RIjake]

I'm at the same point in my build and will be building an "L" stair.  My loft floor is 2x4 T&G because my floor joists are 4' apart (as John's plans call out and as many others have done).  I'm assuming that you have a more typical 16" oc loft floor system and that's why you're going with the 1" thick.

You can use whatever you want for the floors really, as long as you know what you're using before you start building and you relate this information to your builder.  He'll need to know the finish floor thickness so his risers are all the same height.

[dug]

I have tongue and groove pine flooring in my loft and L shaped stairs also. I am going to use rough sawn 2 by lumber for my treads, minimally sanded to leave most of the saw marks and hopefully provide a little more grip. They are not done yet so I can't comment on the looks but I have high hopes! 

[considerations]

I have 2 x 6 tongue and groove fir/hemlock flooring in my loft and also have an L shaped stair.

My L shaped stairs are 2 x 12 (1-1/2 x 11-1/4?). So far I've protected them by taping cardboard on them, as they are unfinished.  I've not yet finalized how or what to finish them with...I think about the wear they experience and believe its worth keeping in mind that they are not really a "hard wood".

When you mention minimal sanding and leaving saw marks, my first impression is that it is easier for me to keep a smooth surface clean.  But you may have a simple solution that I've not considered.

[sharbin]

I will be going in a different direction... a spiral stairs. A bit on the expensive side, but is compact, does the job, and nice looking. Something like this
http://www.the-wooden-hill-company.co.uk/images/arke-kloe-spiral-staircase-02.jpg

[TheWire]

Pine flooring tends to wear faster than hardwood and because traffic will be concentrated at the stairs it may wear even more.   We have pine flooring in our log home.  We have the attitude of the nicks and scratches it accumulates with a busy family just add character.  We use a tinted linseed oil finish and can refinish the floor with very little sanding or prep work.

[Ernest T. Bass]

We just did a pine "L" staircase with a cedar log rail. Looks pretty cool.. Yeah, the pine wears and isn't as tough.. A 6'' log post took a tumble and busted the nose off of one step. That was the bad news.. The good news was that it only took a $1.50's worth of T&G to make it like new in about 10 minutes.

Poly may help protect the wood from lighter nicks, but it won't do anything against a real dent--it'll just flake in time.. I prefer oil as well. A strip of carpet down the center of the stairs, perhaps?