First though, why a stair runner? We made our treads out of pine. Pine is a soft wood and scratches very easily. It is also 1/3 the cost of oak. With our addition I made sure to squeeze every penny dry. I was extremely logical about every decision because if I let my emotions take over and not logic we would not have done our addition for $70 per s.f. That’s right. $70 per s.f.