Once we finished our back hallway and laundry room project in September, we shifted to a couple of months of outdoor projects to enjoy the autumn weather and get some things ready for spring. With the return of colder temperatures and less daylight, we have returned to indoor projects and being covered with dust.
We decided to tackle our stairway between the first and second floors as our next major project. They are carpeted, and we left the carpeting in place as we worked on other things. The carpeting was worn and coming loose when we bought the house, and has only become dirtier as painting and drywalling has occurred above and around the stairs.
A month or two ago, I lifted a couple of corners of the carpeting to see what we were dealing with. I had been hoping that there were finished stairs, and all we would need to do is remove the carpeting and do a little refinishing. Sadly, I only saw construction-grade wood.
This weekend, we took the leap and removed the carpeting. Happily, the carpeting pulled easily from the treads and risers, and was not stapled or attached with tack strips. Unhappily, the padding and adhesive largely remained attached to the treads and risers. I was able to scrape the padding away with a painter's tool, but the dried adhesive stayed in place. Watching me from a chair in the living room, Maggie remarked that the stairs had the exact rustic charm she was looking to create. From my vantage point kneeling on the stairs, I saw a different picture. At least one of the treads was doubled-up plywood. The remaining treads consisted of 2x10 with a plywood filler strip to make up the gap between the tread and riser. Both the treads and risers had been cut with a circular saw, which left rough cuts. There were also gaps between the treads and risers and the skirtboard on either side. OK for carpeting, but not for finished, or even 'rustic', stairs. In addition, the heights of the risers at the top and bottom of the stairs did not match the other risers. The thickness of the finish flooring had not been taken into account, and was not to code.
The stairs need some love. I sanded a few of the treads to see what we had, but stopped when it because clear we would need to cover or replace the treads and risers. Fortunately, there are retrofit kits available for carpet-grade stairs. We'll order a sample or two to see what we like. It will then be a few weeks of finishing, cutting, and installing. It is lucky for us that the master bedroom and bathroom are on the first floor, and the stairs are in good structural condition. This may seem like a big project, but it was either this or start one one of the bathroom remodels. This should be a good project for winter, as there will not be a lot of big items to haul into the house through the snow.
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