Wood stairs vs. blue stone?

We need to replace our crumbling front porch stairs, and are wondering if we should use blue stone, or wood? (They are currently concrete). The stairs are in terrible shape--years of neglect and constant re-patching by previous owners--so they need to be completely rebuilt. I am concerned about using wood because I know that it needs constant attention, repainting, etc. However, aren't there some types of wood that are tougher and age better? I guess my question comes in two-parts:

1. Wood vs. blue stone in terms of durability and maintenance?

2. Wood vs. blue stone in terms of price of installation?

Thanks.

When I re-did my back stairs, I was dead set on bluestone.  The mason suggested limestone and I went to several addresses (including Morrow Church) to see how it looked and it was the much better choice.  So I'd make that suggestion to you (I did wood once and never would again).

I have wood stairs now (they came with the house) and I hate them to no end. If you can afford it then go with stone, cement, brick, or anything else you can think of besides wood. 

What about IPE wood? Is that better?

I would only go with wood or wood substitute if it goes with the look of the house, say off of an old fashioned wood porch that you might envision someone sitting on in a rocking chair.  For most applications stone just looks better.

Is limestone better because of looks, wear, price, or what? 

We have a classic wrap around porch, which is why we are considering wood. No rocking chair yet   

spontaneous said:

I would only go with wood or wood substitute if it goes with the look of the house, say off of an old fashioned wood porch that you might envision someone sitting on in a rocking chair.  For most applications stone just looks better.

relx said:

We have a classic wrap around porch, which is why we are considering wood. No rocking chair yet  "> 

spontaneous said:

I would only go with wood or wood substitute if it goes with the look of the house, say off of an old fashioned wood porch that you might envision someone sitting on in a rocking chair.  For most applications stone just looks better.

Sounds beautiful, and unfortunately yes, wood will most likely go better with that than stone. I don't know anything about IPE wood so I can't give any recommendations on that.

Limestone is cheaper than bluestone. It is also softer. But we are talking about stone so its academic. Ipe is a very dense, very hard ,mahogany, which looks real pretty in the right setting. It can also be slippery when wet so that might not be the best choice for front steps. There is also a maintenance issue. Stone is much more permanent and a more common choice, wraparound porch or not. Just saying.

what exactly is bluestone? -- i mean what kind of stone is it? sorry for the silly question....

Basically blue/grey-colored sandstone.

I've seen bluestone up against wood-framed/sided colonial and Victorian houses quite often, and it looks stunning, for one since it isn't so uniform to the overall structure.  If I had my choice between that and wood, it wouldn't be much of a choice.

We're not sure what we want to do yet, weighing the different options. Does anyone know if IPE wood is more expensive than bluestone? We have already gotten quotes on blue and limestone, and have someone coming next week to quote on the wood, but I am curious. 

ipe is expensive, but you need to realize that you are talking only about the treads.  The stringers will still be pressure treated wood.  They will last 10 years or so unless you have very good luck.  I'd vote for stone, but it's not my porch.  

I have both, in two short flights to the front door of a stucco Victorian foursquare. I vastly prefer the stone. 

Anything will look better than concrete leading to your porch, so whatever you do will likely be an aesthetic upgrade. Would brick work? Or granite, like an old Vermont farmhouse? I think of bluestone as flat and more for pathways and patios, not so much for stairs, though I imagine it would look nice. It can be very slippery when wet. Actually, anything can be really slippery. If this is your main entrance you might want to to think of  appearance and safety equally, and give some thought to whether it will be reasonably easy to shovel clear of snow, too. (Wood-look manufactured stuff like Azek and Trex  might also work if you can get the right color and graining--and probably more durable than wood and not bad looking. No less slippery when wet though.) 

Your steps are very similar to ours, in that we have the stairs leading from the porch to a short walkway, and then additional steps down to the street. 

I have noticed, traveling around town(s) and checking out people's stairs, is that most wooden stairs don't age very well, and even newer ones look weathered, or have a lot of scuff marks on them.

j_r said:

I have both, in two short flights to the front door of a stucco Victorian foursquare. I vastly prefer the stone. 

I used 2x6 piece of Ipe for my top rail of my railing.. it is roughly $10 a linear foot, so figure about $30 per tread.... for a short run of stairs probably figure $500 in material costs, so it is cheaper than bluestone.  You can use IPE for the stringer as well as the treads, the IPE will last at least 25 years maybe as much as 50 depending on how you maintain it.  If you do not oil the IPE yearly or biyearly it will weather to this grayish hue.  It is used on the boardwalks of coney island and atlantic city so it is very durable.

What we have now is in such bad shape, anything would look better! 

Our driveway is behind the house, so we usually go through the walkway in the yard to enter the house. We also have a side entrance, which we use all the time. The only people who regularly use the front stairs are my wife when she leaves for work in the AM and comes home in the PM, and any deliveries/USPS, etc. I would say that 80-90 percent of the entering and exiting of our house does NOT use the front steps. That is why we are considering more "decorative" options.

grayhill2 said:

Anything will look better than concrete leading to your porch, so whatever you do will likely be an aesthetic upgrade. Would brick work? Or granite, like an old Vermont farmhouse? I think of bluestone as flat and more for pathways and patios, not so much for stairs, though I imagine it would look nice. It can be very slippery when wet. Actually, anything can be really slippery. If this is your main entrance you might want to to think of  appearance and safety equally, and give some thought to whether it will be reasonably easy to shovel clear of snow, too. (Wood-look manufactured stuff like Azek and Trex  might also work if you can get the right color and graining--and probably more durable than wood and not bad looking. No less slippery when wet though.) 

We re-built stoop with bluestone treads close to 10 years ago. No regrets.  That said, it's not cheap.  If I had a house type that lent itself to other options, I'd consider how long I planned to be in the house.

Also, not sure how to specify this, but there is blue stone that is "flaky" for lack of the technical term and bluestone that is solid, where the treads are cut from a very solid piece of rock.  You want the latter.

Post if you're interested in looking at some examples.

SteveIvan said:

We re-built stoop with bluestone treads close to 10 years ago. No regrets.  That said, it's not cheap.  If I had a house type that lent itself to other options, I'd consider how long I planned to be in the house.

Also, not sure how to specify this, but there is blue stone that is "flaky" for lack of the technical term and bluestone that is solid, where the treads are cut from a very solid piece of rock.  You want the latter.

Post if you're interested in looking at some examples.

Bluestone comes either as "natural" (flaky as you called it) or "thermal," which has a smooth, finished surface. Thermal is what you would use for front steps, unless you are going for a rustic look. Thermal is 30 to 50% more expensive than natural.

When we bought our house 22 years ago, it had decaying wooden steps at the porch and a lower flight (halfway up the front walk) that were concrete.  The mason we used built new steps at the porch with cinder block. Then he put 'stone facing' (is that the right term?) and stone treads on both sets of steps.  I believe the treads are limestone, but I'm not absolutely sure. That was done over 15 years ago and is still in great shape.  I'm so glad we didn't do wood.  Our neighbors did wood more recently (10 years or so ago?) and theirs needs work now.

sac said:

When we bought our house 22 years ago, it had decaying wooden steps at the porch and a lower flight (halfway up the front walk) that were concrete.  The mason we used built new steps at the porch with cinder block. Then he put 'stone facing' (is that the right term?) and stone treads on both sets of steps.  I believe the treads are limestone, but I'm not absolutely sure. That was done over 15 years ago and is still in great shape.  I'm so glad we didn't do wood.  Our neighbors did wood more recently (10 years or so ago?) and theirs needs work now.

Do you know if they used IPE wood? I have heard that that is the only kind you can use for outdoor areas. Any other kind of wood will decay quickly.

A minor point, but I think it is ipe, a kind of tree (also known as Brazilian walnut), not IPE; the caps suggest a brand name or special trademark, but in fact it is a natural product; not  more need for all caps than if you were talking about MAPLE. I seem to recall that ipe is used for decks when people can afford to use it.

I took a look around while driving today and apparently a wooden porch with stone or brick steps is actually very common.  When you stare at it, it doesn't look as quaint as wood steps to a wood porch, but it doesn't jump out either.  Wood steps look best when the rise is painted the same color as the porch trim and the run the same color as the floor.  OTOH, if the steps are painted in one color then they don't have that nice look and you may as well go with stone and not deal with the maintenance and upkeep. 

relx said:

sac said:

When we bought our house 22 years ago, it had decaying wooden steps at the porch and a lower flight (halfway up the front walk) that were concrete.  The mason we used built new steps at the porch with cinder block. Then he put 'stone facing' (is that the right term?) and stone treads on both sets of steps.  I believe the treads are limestone, but I'm not absolutely sure. That was done over 15 years ago and is still in great shape.  I'm so glad we didn't do wood.  Our neighbors did wood more recently (10 years or so ago?) and theirs needs work now.

Do you know if they used IPE wood? I have heard that that is the only kind you can use for outdoor areas. Any other kind of wood will decay quickly.

I don't know, sorry.

We used Ipe for our porch deck and stair treads. It's tough as nails (they call it ironwood for a reason), rot resistant, sinks in water, doesn't burn (it's naturally fire rated), but it's somewhat difficult to work with (you have to predrill everything since you can't nail or screw it, you can't use hidden fasteners since it will just rip them out, you to treat the ends so they don't check, and you must use stainless steel fasteners to avoid staining).

It weathers grey or (which is what we did) you can finish it "bright" (wood tone, using penetrating oil). So if you like the look of Ipe and are aware of its properties, go for it. It was 20% more expensive than meranti decking (but should be much more durable).

(We have excess 5.5" wide by 8' pieces so feel free to PM me about that).

We are getting a quote tomorrow from the "wood" guy we regularly work with, and are leaning toward using the ipe. We actually like the grey look--it goes with our house--and we probably won't even stain it.

And, yes, will definitely contact you about the extra wood. Thanks

evandepol said:

We used Ipe for our porch deck and stair treads. It's tough as nails (they call it ironwood for a reason), rot resistant, sinks in water, doesn't burn (it's naturally fire rated), but it's somewhat difficult to work with (you have to predrill everything since you can't nail or screw it, you can't use hidden fasteners since it will just rip them out, you to treat the ends so they don't check, and you must use stainless steel fasteners to avoid staining).

It weathers grey or (which is what we did) you can finish it "bright" (wood tone, using penetrating oil). So if you like the look of Ipe and are aware of its properties, go for it. It was 20% more expensive than meranti decking (but should be much more durable).


(We have excess 5.5" wide by 8' pieces so feel free to PM me about that).

Our back stairs and landing were done 20+ yrs ago using 2x6 pressure treated wood.  Haven't had a problem.  This is our primary entry.