DIY Stair Upgrade

DIY Stair Upgrade

Are you sick and tired of your carpeted stairs or do you want to freshen up your stairway on a budget?  Underneath that carpet, you’re likely to find pine stair treads in excellent shape.  After a bit of prying, scraping and sanding you can remove all the nails that held the old carpet in place and sand the wood stair tread down to a smooth surface for staining.  I recently tore out my old carpet and stained the stairs to match our Gunstock Oak hardwood floors.  

Tools required:

  • Sandpaper – 40, 80, 120, 220 grit
  • Acetone – to remove paint from the stair tread
  • Paint scraper
  • Staple remover
  • Razor blade
  • Stain in the color desired
  • Polyurethane
  • Pliers
  • Flathead screwdriver

Nice to have tools:

  • Orbital Palm Sander
  • Orbital Mouse Sander
  • Pry bar
  • Pre-stain
  • Wood filler – stainable and paintable