As we’ve mentioned, refinishing stairs requires a lot of detailed, manual work. Are you still able to see the filled holes after you poly’d? Although…I do love to see that gorgeous bare wood that’s revealed after stripping and sanding. For this reason, it is much more expensive to refinish stairs than a floor, when you base it on cost per square foot. To do this, Nathan used a variety of tools, including a Rotex 150 multi-mode sander for the majority of the tread, a scraper for the corner of the stairs, and a Sanding Mouse Hook and Loop Sanding Block for around the balusters and the nosing of the tread. Have you ever tried stripping and sanding an old piece of furniture so you could restain it? How to refinish your staircase? And the sanding and stripping are just not fun for me. Under that they are painted white. PS: I love the reference to “This American Life” podcasts! Your email address will not be published. Additionally, keeping your hardwoods looking good retains the value of your home. Just so you know, I’m going to totally copy your design. Thank you! Supplies: wood filler. We’ve replaced traditional spindles with modern cable systems. Then, begin carefully sanding the old finish with 60-grit sandpaper. Did you prime the wood before you painted? to knock off the golden oak lacquer. So happy with my results. Sanding our spindles was quite a trip since they’re, well, circular. This can give you an idea of how you can change the look of your stairs just through refinishing. We promise not to tell you about stuff that's dumb. Seek out a professional for financial advice. As the first thing you see when you walk through our front door, it was a mega eyesore. Or something like this awesome festool linear sander: https://www.festoolusa.com/power-tools/sanders/ls-130-eq-linear-detail-sander-567852. I have seen these old stairs a lot of times every time I came back from work. We can rescreen and recoat stairs without any sanding. While hardwoods are timeless, different stain preferences do tend to reflect current trends. This is also a good maintenance step to have done every few years in order to prolong the time in between sanding and refinishing. Few clarifying questions: When sanding the stairs what series of grit(s) did you use? The same goes for having hardwood stairs. Once you get inside my house, the first thing you see is the staircase. We are here to take your calls Monday – Friday 7:30am – 6:00pm Saturday 9:00am – 5:00pm, Copyright 2019 Monk's Home Improvements of New Jersey, Refinishing Hardwood Stairs – Before & After Stair Remodel Ideas, Scratches go past the coat of poly and penetrate into the wood, You want to change the color (stain) of your stairs. In hindsight we probably shouldn’t have sanded the treads as much as we did… they turned out a little slick! Everything that was going to be painted got a pretty aggressive grit (maybe 80?) one. At this time, you will also want to change into work clothes and put on a rubber gloves so none of these chemicals can ruin your clothes, or get on your skin. Be prepared to do multiple coats–we did three to get the color even throughout. Depending on the color, this may take multiple coats. Cost to Refinish Stairs. We’ve done projects that match the treads perfectly with the banister. We only write about, and promote, products that we believe in. I’m curious about the wood filler, it doesn’t look to be color matched in the picture. The treads and handrail got a progression of sandings to take the lacquer down to something reasonable and then smooth it out. I have seen these old stairs a lot of times every time I came back from work. How to refinish your staircase? Expect to vacuum and wipe down every surface, or pay someone to do it for you. Dewey, Cheatem and Howe have their offices less than a mile away from our house . The first step in refinishing or painting a wood stair railing is to strip off the old finish or paint. Secondly, when you refinish your stairs, you can update the stain of the treads, as well as the banister. Most importantly, sanding removes the top layers of poly/paint/shellac so that your finish or paint will adhere. Can you stain over stained wood? Sign up to get an email when a new Frugalwoods story is published. While any existing finish must be removed, the shape of the stairs must not be changed, so be sure to sand gently and evenly. We sanded by hand because we don’t own a sander. Needless to say, she was overruled. Especially in high-traffic areas, like on stairways, treads and can get worn and scratched. Need I Say More? As we’ve mentioned, refinishing stairs requires a lot of detailed, manual work. Their timeless good looks never go out of style. Work all the way down to the bare wood if you’re planning on varnishing, but only feather the finish if … Slightly out of our budget but amazingly cool! Is there an easier way? Below we share how to stain stair railing without sanding including steps, and materials needed. It’s worth the time for an extra coat or two to ensure good coverage. We did four coats in order to even out the wood color from underneath the carpet runner (it was lighter) and blend in the 1.5 million staple holes we’d filled with wood filler. According to The Spruce website, the average cost of stair refinishing will run you $40 – $75 per stair, on average. The previous owner installed said runner with approximately 1.5 million staples. Remove all the loose dirt, then wash the stairs with hot water and a little dish soap added. If your stairs have simply lost their shine, rescreening will restore your stairs. Yes, this is a pain, but, it’s really important for smoothing out imperfections in the wood. The first, and most important, is safety. Hardwood floors can be slippery, especially going down hardwood stairs in stocking feet. Frugalwoods is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Learn more about Monk’s flooring services and our process. So glad it’s helpful! On the other hand, we’ve stained treads to match adjacent flooring but stained the banister a glossy black. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If this is a concern in your household, you may want to consider keeping the carpet. Before sanding my stairs, they used to look like the typical 90s’ stairs. According to The Spruce website, the average cost of stair refinishing will run you $40 – $75 per stair, on average. Folding and holding strips of sandpaper while spinning the spindle made it really fast to do the curved surfaces. They looked old and I didn’t like them. Stripping is done either by sanding, using a wood finish remover or a combination of both. Hardwood flooring adds value to a home. Once you have it all the way off, go over it with a piece of sandpaper. How to refinish a staircase for under 50 frugalwoods how to gel stain ugly oak banisters update stairs with gel stain so simple artsy s rule how to refinish wood floors without sanding refinishing hardwood oak banister makeover gel stain with no stripping you refinishing hardwood stairs before after stair … Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. No, plywood has a thin veneer finish and no bull nose. no but using a small pain brush with minimal paint will work just great I just did mine that way as well and it was fast and painless. Hardwoods are durable and long-lasting. If you choose to leave a comment or sign-up for our email list, we will then have your email address. It’s not like painting a flat wall–there’s a lot more nuance here. I ended up using a tiny watercolor brush to even out the globs. That and your neighbors over at CarTalk have gotten me through many boring tasks. The staircase in the Cambridge home that we refinished ourselves. Remove any trim work where the risers and treads meet. However, we won’t sell or voluntarily disclose your email address or personal information to anyone else. The process of refinishing hardwood stairs generally follows the same process for finishing hardwood flooring. If you have squeaky floors or thumpy family members, carpeted stairs may be a good choice.