Updated Stairs

Cynthia H
by Cynthia H
4 Materials
$200
4 Days
Medium

While getting our house ready to sell, 40 years of old house, wear and tear, needed a refresh, especially the stairs. I left the stairs until just before listing because we were up and down them so much that a previous update needed to be redone from a few years before.

I decided to paint using a rich chocolate brown floor paint from Ace Hardware. It went well with the new flooring we had installed upstairs and down. I scrubbed the stairs after a thorough vacuuming. I used a Mr. Clean cleaner that had a nice fresh smell, a scrub brush and microfiber cloths. I did them twice and then let them dry completely before painting. I've used different methods over the years to paint stairs, alternating steps, doing half (easier if you need to make frequent trips up and down). When I had young children and pets running around, while the kids were in bed or at school was the best. Pets were challenging, too. For this project, we had just moved out, so I started at the top and worked my way down. Which would have been simple if I hadn't left my phone upstairs!

After the first coat

I ended up doing two coats of paint. I went for a nice smooth finish and I wanted it to be durable for the new owner.

The spindles took more time than the steps to make sure I got them completely covered.

I found this runner on Amazon (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07PYYT54P/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apan_glt_fabc_7MRXJ95S4Q7981B8PHZZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

). I watched videos online for installation tips and how to measure. I did well I think, since I deliberately bought a few feet extra and had enough left to put a matching runner in the upstairs hallway. The method we used was going from the top down, unrolling and pushing it into place. I used an electric staple gun to staple it into place as my husband unrolled it. It took a couple hours, but, I was glad we took our time because then all I had to do is go back, make sure it was straight and stapled firmly in place. It has a rubber backing on it and feels nice to walk on.

The runner from the leftover carpet

This is the runner. I bought iron on rug binding to finish the cut end (twill rug binding by Bondex). I would have had less carpet if we had gone with my original plan to go across the landing.

We finished the top edge with a metal edge designed for stairs by M-D Building (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B007JUE5WI/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apan_glt_fabc_J5C3MJ6GSHWXNBGJ145A?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)

to protect the edge of the carpet and keep anyone from tripping. I had planned on going to the baseboard at the top of the stairs, but, my husband had unpleasant memories of tripping on a runner installed that way in his parent's home, so we went with his preference and I ended up liking it that way!


By the way, the house sold above list price after 3 days on the market! We had the closing about a month ago.

Suggested materials:
  • Floor paint   (Ace Hardware)
  • Runner   (Amazon)
  • Twill rug binding   (Amazon)
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Katherine L. McGuire Katherine L. McGuire on Feb 26, 2022

    did you have to staple under the lip of each stair or or just at the bottom of each stair

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