Indoor Stair Tread

There is a wide variety of tread available for indoor stairs and any that works outdoors will work indoors as well.

Some may be inappropriate however, for example heated rubber stair tread designed to melt snow and ice which presumably you don’t have indoors!

When most people use the term indoor stair tread, they mean something that goes on top on the weight bearing stair treads, usually for safety as in non slip properties, decorative reasons, but also sometimes to protect the underlying stairs from wear and tear as well as for sound muffling qualities. We’ll concentrate on these types of treads but will first mention that many stairs are made of construction grade material, for example plywood, and then covered by better looking material such as hardwood stair treads or carpet. The weight bearing construction material you step upon is also properly known as a stair tread.

There are many options for indoor stair treads we go over on this site so we’ll merely summarize here, and you can go to the appropriate section or article for more details.

Rubber stair tread is very popular. It is fairly inexpensive, has great non slip properties, and is easy to install, even for do it yourselfers (DIY). Some comes with a non skid backing and you just lay them down; these are more common for outdoor stair treads. Some treads come with a built in adhesive backing which is convenient. Others are designed for adhesive, staples, nails, or tacks. I find the type you tack on as easy as any to use. Although rubber stair treads may come in different colors, they basically are pieces of rubber on your stairs and hence not very pretty. You won’t find them on many master staircases!

Vinyl stair tread is similar to rubber stair tread except it’s cheaper. It’s used almost exclusively indoors, usually cemented or glued in place, and available in various thicknesses. It’s common in commercial and industrial environments. It’s durable and inexpensive.

We can also use carpet for stair tread. Small carpets that sit on each step are typically called stair tread rugs. Carpet that covers the entire stair case is not surprising called stair tread carpet. A narrow carpet than runs down the middle but exposes the side of the stairs is called a runner or stair runner or carpet stair runner.

Stair tread rugs are decorative but also have non slip properties. Braided stair tread rugs are very popular.

Stair tread carpet is often used as an inexpensive and durable way to cover a staircase made of construction grade material. It is much less expensive than covering the stairs with hardwood for example.

Runners are used when you only want to cover part of the stairs. For example you may want to leave the edges exposed if they are made of beautiful Mahogany or some other exotic hardwood.

Of course there are other choices available ranging from non slip tape, various non slip coatings, metal stair treads, and more. For example, if you need tread that can stand up to mass transit or loading dock abuse, look at stair tread nosings.