We decided to go ahead with installing the staircase over the winter. This comes from the same stock of ash we used for the kitchen counters. Will sawed up the raw ash boards in is workshop and laminated them into a landing for the staircase. This is actually the back of the landing, and will be hidden from view. The face-up side will have fewer darker whorls in it (although I like the whorls; it givees the hardwood character). It looks like he laminated about 8 1-inch boards before planing, sanding, and applying 4 coats of polyurethane finish.
The image at right shows the actual treads and risers for the stairs. I believe these are made of the 1 1/2" planks. To the left you see the railings Will installed to keep people from flying off the second floor into the living room. These are also made of the same ash (there seems to be a theme here). I believe some of these pieces will also be used as baseboards and false runners to for the staircase. I like the two tone grain. It was an old, huge tree and we got it just before it started rotting. I believe the tree was about 80 years old, which is about the lifespan of ash. They are a fast growing but short-lived tree.
