This is what most of the stairs look like at the edges... small gaps and rough corners...
Redoing my stairs... need advice please
+7
I am redoing my back stairs! I have wanted to paint them for a very long time. I ripped off all the carpet and sanded them, but the edges aren't perfect. You can see in the photos that most of the corners look like the one with a small space and rough corners and one of the stairs actually has a small hole. Would you fill ALL the spaces and sand out all the rough spots or leave those? I'm thinking I will fill the hole although not sure how, but... wanting your ideas please. :)
Thanks so much!
This one has a small hole... not sure how to fix...
Sand, fill, and paint the treads. Maybe pretty tiles on the riser? My aunt did this and it is beautiful.
Tile the Treads and Laminate the Risers.
could you use trim to cover them up?
Use paintable caulk and/or trim on the edges and the back of the treads due to the movement.
Here are some good ideas:
http://www.hometalk.com/board/8318795/keep-stairing
You could try a clear wood quarter round at the edges where the tread meets the riser or the sides. How many steps do you have? Do you know what kind of wood the riser is made up of? It sort of looks like oak. Check out your local lumber store and see if they sell small sheets of oak veneer, that would cover that riser. Maybe you could glue if over that one riser and with the quarter round trim, would look great! (and no one would know about the holes except us!!!)
Best of luck!
It's all construction grade lumber meant to be covered with carpeting. First sand all the stairs smooth. Fill the small gaps with paintable caulk. Use a wet finger to smooth it out. The hole can be filled with wood putty. Stuff some aluminum foil in the hole as a backing for the putty. Then just prime with a good stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123, BIN, or Kilz. Then paint.
Construction grade lumber only if it was carpeted when initially built. The carpeting could have been installed afterwards. It looks like the sides was painted, so if you still wanted to can strip off the paint of the stairs, stain it if you like then seal it with a latex varathane for high traffic.
That's the way we did it when I was a homebuilder. Buyers had an option of hardwood or carpeting for stairs. Most opted for carpet for sound deadening and cost. Most of the time the carpeting matched the room carpeting. 2X12's for the treads and 1/2" plywood for the risers. Looks like that is what Rachelle has.
They sell wood patch in a pail for the hole and for stairs gap edges there is filler in a can that works great📌.
You could fill the hole in the riser and wall paper all the risers. Then paint and clear coat or cover the treads with veneer. Then use some trim on the edge that is painted or stained (You can get it already done or stain it yourself) that should cover the edge of your veneer and the gap.