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I completely agree, and furthermore that kind of staircase is really not the "old-timey" kind -- it's really only (my guess) 1970's, because it reminds me of the staircase that the Brady Bunch had in their house.

So, if you let that wood wear down too much it's really not going to have the clean modern thing going on, it's going to seem sad and tired.

Four coats of poly sounds about right to me, although if you have plenty of poly and plenty of drying time, go for as many coats as you can stand to do.

I would consider removing/sanding off the poly to get to the bare wood - but then creating a more of an aged look with the wood of these stairs. The scratches and gnarls will already have given the wood some character, so then I would do some cleaning and sanding of the wood so that the scratches aren't quite so focused onto the center of the pads. Then I would apply a darker stain, and stay away from shinier coating.

just please use the mat or satin finish, not glossy

can you still get oil-based poly? I thought that stuff was illegal now . . .

Agree with ALL the suggestions above. I have one extra suggestion that I think it would address your longevity issue quite well. Try to find varnish that is used to seal sailing boats. I have read that some professionals use that stuff as it is more durable (more expensive maybe? don't know)

I have no practical knowlege to back this suggestion up, but what about resurfacing the stairs with something else -- tile, or vinyl, or cork or something else? Since they are open, it seems like it would be an easy job & not too expensive and it might make them look more modern.

I fear that there is no solution to this problem in sight, at least not without going to the source. Your husband needs to be declawed.

Perhaps not what you were thinking, but individual-to-the-treads runners will help avoid the problem, too. Sisal, seagrass, or a low-pile wool or berber. Stop them short a few inches on each side. Tedious to install, but it will definitely take the heat off the wood.

Perhaps, also when refinishing the steps, you opt for a lighter finish truer to the unfinished wood color, to visually minimize any short-term wear.

Now about this "large husband"...

I've done that refinishing on a ship... teak rails... and even there it is in the usual schedule of maintenance to redo them every year.

I think with the brick wall and the wood in the rest of the room it might be interesting to think about something that is another material and more scratch resistant. This might be sacrilegious, but what about using a laminate on the top and a metal facing on each step?

Don't poly them, strip off whats left on the stairs and oil them, they will look better and scratches are so much easier to remove.

Plus, there will be better grip and a more natural feel to them.

yes, matte finish with the other comments - will look cool.

Regarding putting multiple coats of poly on your stairs - in order to get the number of coats and the required drying time - it might be a good idea to consider coating every other tread to start with so that you can still (carefully) use the stairs. Then, once these treads have been coated four (or more) times and dried, coat the remaining treads.

with the traffic you are indicating, a foot tread wear feature will be needed.
one example would be adding an aggregate to the desired finish and applied to the tread surface (multiple coats of poly with clear or colored aggregate).
another example would be to route grooves in the tread surface and inset iron or another hard wearing material and finish the cosmetic surfaces around the wear surfaces/feature.

derived from the photo most of the wear is not compressive but lateral, which is commen for stairs.

Someone mentioned not using a poly and oiling them instead. That is exactly the right thing to do. Poly sits on top of the woods surface and on a softer wood, such as your stairs, every time you walk up and down them (or your dogs claws hit the surface) the surface is compressed just a little bit. This, over time, breaks the poly coating away from the wood and it will eventually crack and flake off (as you have seen) (and I bet you also have seen that the worse it gets, the fastaer it gets worse).

A Linseed/Tung oil mixture will penetrate 1/4 to 1/2in and harden within the wood. Because it becomes part of the wood, it won't flake off like poly tends to (the oil finished also remain somewhat flexible). It requires anual maintenance (clean it and rewax it) but it is much easier (particularly on your stairs) than sanding and polyurethaning (which removes about 1/16in of wood each time) every 5 to 10 years. The oils will also give some richness and depth to the wood that poly doesn't.

Look at www.bioshieldpaint.com, but usually you can find similar mixes at a local hardware store (just read the ingredients and recomendations on the can).

wood knot want to become a cross as a flaming sacraficial design engineer, "but how much would a woodchuck if a woodchuck could chuck would/wood.

would replacing the stair steps with a more structurally appreciated wood and taking a comprehensive maintenance schedule wear or work with you.

remove whatever it is that you have there, and treat with 5 coats of linseed oil. Let the oil dry for 48 hours before sanding and reapplying. It might seem excessive but it will last at least a decade without noticeable damage

The linsee/tung oil or wax works. You'd just need to buff/rewax every now and then without the hassle of restripping again.

If you did do individual-to-the-treads runners, like P2 suggested, you might try VERY carefully cutting some FLOR carpet tiles for them, especially maybe the striped kind, except that their stripes have a real randomness that might be disconcerting going down a flight of that kind of stairs. Maybe their solids, then.

--yeah, the boat sealer is "spar varnish", and I wouldn't recommend it. A friend spar-varnished a new mahogany porch floor, and it looked great--for one summer. (Remember, sailors wear sneakers on deck!)

I go along with the linseed, linseed/tung oil, anti-poli group. Sand down the steps and rub it in. From then on, all you'll need to do is rub some more on scratches. If you've got the husband and the pets, you've got a life, so what's wrong with the stairs showing some of their history? True, I'm a wabi-sabi fan, but even if I weren't, poli always has and always will look disgustingly fake. In my humble opinion, of course. But I'm right. . . .

yeah, "marine spar varnish" actually
although I understand it was being reformulated because of restrictions on oil paint

remember, boats get serious upkeep -- revarnished regularly

Anyway, I did my (wood floor) bathroom in it - low enough traffic that it doesn't show wear.

I was wondering about linseed/tung for stairs, but since wear was such an issue . . .
interesting what bc said about poly and compression; never heard that.

marine spar varnish is waaaay more expensive than poly, btw
although far more durable

here's my bathroom
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/competitions/my-bathroom-rocks-4-guidos-cheap-gut-rehab-through-diy-and-scavenging--003043