finishing stairs

[Stephen Sebed]

I have been remodeling my basement and its time to do the stairs. I had planned on putting in solid oak treads but the cost would be over $300. So I am putting in yellow pine treads and will try to stain it to a nice oak color. I know it won't look like oak but it still will look pretty nice. My question, What type of finish should I put on the stairs? If I use polyurethane how long will it last? What about an oil finish like tung oil?

Sorry for so many questions, I don't know much about finishing wood that will recieve much wear.

Thanks,
Stephen

[Patrick Smith]

I was in the same boat a few months ago... haven't built mine yet but I got the decisions done on how I was going to build them. I decided to use clear Doug Fir for the treads and dye them a darker brown to match the other woodwork. I was also going to use some floor polyurethane to finish it off.

Regards,
Patrick