32″x4″ Non-Slip Stair Treads Tape (15-Pack) – Clear Anti-Slip Indoor Strips

I was really conflicted about using these strips. I love wood, and when I remodeled my basement and tore the carpet off the stairs and discovered the stairs had REAL wood treads, I was thrilled. I sanded them down and put several coats of poly on them and I was extremely happy with how they looked. But I was concerned that my wife or I might slip on them. They aren’t super slick, anyone with shoes on would have no issues, but in socks….? I wanted to put something down to create better traction, but I just HATED the idea of covering up my beautiful steps with something that would visually detract from them.I ordered the strips a week ago and they showed up promptly. I’ve pondered for the last week and finally decided I just had to put them down. If I didn’t and someone slipped and hurt themselves I would feel terrible forever.I didn’t need to worry. I’m amazed at how these strips virtually disappear on the steps. Viewed at an angle (like from the top of the stairs looking down or vice-versa) they are essentially invisible. When looked at from directly overhead you can see them but only minimally. See the attached pictures and you’ll see what I mean. I used a gloss polyurethane for my finish, had I used a flat or satin finish the strips would have blended in even more.My steps are made of red oak which is a relatively light toned wood. I suspect that on darker steps the strips may be more visible. I don’t know that for sure though.The quality of the strips seems very high to me. They’re as heavy a gauge of plastic as they can be and still be thin enough to not create a “step” when sitting on the surface of the tread. Even the paper backing seemed to be high quality paper. Since I just put them down today the quality of the adhesive remains to be seen, but I’ve done a lot of home improvement over the years and the adhesive seems to my eye to be excellent.Installation is simple. It will help the strips disappear if they’re installed in the identical location on each step so if you’re doing it freehand it helps to have a good eye and a steady hand. If you don’t have a steady hand (and even if you do) you may want to create a “jig” so that the placement is exact. A simple board whose length is about the width of your step would work well. You could just rip the board to the proper width, then place the board against the back of the step and then align the strip against the edge of the board. (Ripping a board involves using a table saw, if you don’t have one perhaps a friend or neighbor does. Or the big box home improvement stores will generally do it for free.) But since the strips disappear so well don’t fret doing it by hand. That’s the way I did it and I think it came out fine as far as placement goes. It just depends on how OCD you are. The strips come with a plastic roller to get the strips firmly attached to the steps, use it! You’ll see as you roll the strips down that they disappear more the more tightly they’re contacting the step. Pay extra attention to rolling the edges of the strips down, you want very solid contact at the edge. Don’t just pat the strips in place with your hand, use the roller.So in summary I’m very pleased with how things turned out, and certainly on red oak wood these strips blend in very well. They’re well made and shipped promptly and the seller has followed up with several emails to make sure I’m satisfied with my purchase, so I’m guessing if you had any problems the seller would probably be responsive.