Alder Wood Stair Parts

Alder is a common wood for stair parts (treads, risers, balusters, handrails), but it is quite different from red oak, maple, or other common hardwoods. We’ll look at the pros and cons.

Pros of Alder Stair Parts

• Workability: Soft and easy to cut, shape, sand, and finish — good for custom designs or carved parts like newels and balusters. Its one of our favorites to work with!

• Appearance: Nice even color (light brown with subtle reddish in it) and a smooth grain that stains well. Can look like more expensive hardwoods (like cherry or walnut) when stained.  In fact, I have this in my own home and it has a walnut stain and you can’t tell unless you know each grain.

• Lightweight: Easy to handle and install compared to more dense hardwoods.

• Cost: Usually less expensive than oak, maple, or exotic hardwoods. This is especially true in the Western USA. 

• Eco-friendly supply: Fast-growing and widely available in North America, making it a sustainable option. We import quite a bit from Canada. 

Cons of Alder Wood for Stairs

• Softness: Much softer than oak or maple. It dents, scratches, and wears easily — not ideal for high-traffic stair treads, but awesome for handrail and balusters.

• Strength: Not as strong for load-bearing parts. Alder is better for trim, rail, risers, or decorative elements than for treads.

• Color: Some alder has more knots or natural blemishes (especially knotty alder), which some see as rustic charm but others consider defects. We can also get clear alder which will have less knots, but slightly more money.

• Resale: Red oak and maple are more traditional/expected for stairs; alder may not carry the same perceived value in homes in some areas. Where we are based in southern Utah, alder is used for nearly all builder grade stairs. 

More about Alder

Red Alder is a relatively soft hardwood that is typically a light tan to reddish brown that darkens and reddens with age. The color is uniform with virtually no visible difference between the heartwood and sapwood. Alder lumber is not considered to be a durable hardwood, and not recommended for applications; such as decking.  But because of Red Alder’s work-ability and easy finishing options, it is an excellent choice for wood stairs, cabinets, and some flooring applications.  

Red Alder is very easy to work with, machining, nailing and glueing well. It is especially easy to sand because the wood is rather soft. This also means that care must be taken to avoid denting. Alder provides a medium luster, and can be painted, or stained to a beautiful finish and when stained, it blends with walnut, mahogany or cherry. It dries easily with little degrade and has good dimensional stability. Ranges in grade from Knotty to Clear. It is often used in rustic or distressed applications.

Alder has a Janka Hardness rating of 590 and is relatively inexpensive, and becoming one of the more popular hardwood alternatives. According to Wikipedia, Red Alder is the largest species of alder in North America and one of the largest in the world, reaching heights of 66 to 98 feet.  Red Alder grows mainly on the Pacific coast, from Alaska to central coastal California.  Red Alder grows on cool moist slopes and mostly along watercourses and wetlands. All of our Red Alder stair parts are made in the USA, and customizable to your wood stair needs.

About our Alder Stair Parts

Our red alder stair prices are just slightly higher than those of poplar and hemlock and about the same as our red oak. Our top quality affordable stair parts in red alder are made in the USA. Red alder stair systems and parts are more popular in the western part of the country as it is more accessible. Our mill can get red alder material the same day the stair parts are ordered.

Our most popular alder wood stair parts by category include:

6010 Alder Handrail – very versatile handrail in the wood stair industry. SKU LJ-6010

6000 Alder Handrail – a contemporary look with modern design. SKU LJ-6000

4091 Alder Box Newels – SKU – LJ-4091 –  popular stair box newels.

5060 Alder Balusters – square alder balusters work well with the 6010 or 6000 stair handrail.  SKU LJ-5060 – very similar to the LJ-5360

Alder Stair Treads – SKU LJ-8070 – ranging in size from 36″ to 60″ in all types of wood including alder.

We offer everything from red alder baluster, alder wood stair treads, and red alder handrails.   Red alder is very recognizable among the different types of wood.  Whether you are looking for a clear alder, or a knotty alder, either would provide a classic wood look for a good value.

Example of Knotty Alder Stairs