# Forum Home Renovation Stairs, Steps and Ramps  Staircase - ID'ing species of wood and tips to renovate

## JontyG

Hi All, 
I have just lifted the carpet and underlay from our staircase, and was hoping someone may have an inkling as to what species of timber these stairs are made from. Any ideas?? 
We were orginally planning to just re-carpet the stairs, but would prefer not to do this if there is any chance that they will polish up nicely. So my next question is whether these will come up nicely once gaps and holes are filled, and they are sanded and polished? 
The rest of the floor is going to be Karri, and I was even thinking of dressing up the risers with Karri boards, and just sanding and polishing the existing treads.  
Any other tips/advice to get these stairs looking good will be appreciated. 
Many thanks,
Jonty

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## sean@nthnsw

For my "2 cents worth" I'd say it "could" be Hoop Pine (Hard to say just looking at a photo) The old Hoop Pine timber restores to a beautifully "honey" coloured timber.

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## Bloss

Hard to tell without more removal of the stain, but hoop pine is a reasonable guess and was commonly used on stairs & floors in the earlier part of last century. IMO it would look a treat sanded up and refinished.  :2thumbsup:  
To see how good just fully sand back a couple of stairs and the risers. To see what colour it will be when coated with oil or polyurethane just wipe with damp cloth - the darker colour will be roughly what it will look like.  :2thumbsup:

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## JontyG

Thanks for the responses. 
I'll post up some more pics once I've been at it with the sand paper for a bit...

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