Fixing your stairs for not too much money, that sounds interesting, if you are a bit handy and patient, read here how you can do it yourself!(Update 2022)

Would you like to refurbish your stairs for not too much money and paint it nice and tight? This is not really a difficult job and does not have to be very expensive. It is important that you have patience and can work carefully for the best result. I'll explain to you here how to do that job. A real winter job to do yourself!

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Remove the old carpet, pay attention to nails and staples
Removing glue residues and sanding a precise job
Seal all cracks with a flexible anti-cracking sealant
Also make sure you have a good anti-slip strip on your stairs
Examples of results on pinterest
What will that cost such a staircase renovation

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1- Remove the old floor covering, taking into account nails and staples
First of all, you need to remove the filthy old carpeting. This is usually well mounted with glue and staples. If your carpet is old, wear a dust cap. The old carpet is full of filthy substances and some floor coverings have an underlayment that can cause allergic reactions. If you have stair moons on the steps, removing and cleaning is a simple job. The glue residues that remain behind are easy to clean with a sticker remover or WD40.

Once you have completely removed the floor covering, the most difficult job begins, namely removing all glue residue and staples or upholstery nails. Sometimes there is a semi-circular frame against the front of the step. This must also be removed if you are going to paint the stairs.

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2- Removing glue residues and sanding a precise job
First moisten the glue residue with hot soapy water and let it soak on the glue, most glue that was used in the past when gluing floor coverings is a 1-component glue based on P.V.A.C. After about an hour you can start scraping off this glue. Use a triangular paint scraper for this. To make sure you don't scratch the wood, you have to round the tips of the scraper slightly with the file or sharpening stone. In this way you first remove as much old floor covering and glue residues from the steps as possible.

This is quite a job, but if you do this right, sanding with the orbital sander is not such a heavy job anymore. Also not unimportant, you will last much longer with your sandpaper this way. Work from top to bottom, then you won't be bothered by dust and clutter so much that you walk into the house. Before sanding, first use 80-grit sandpaper to sand away glue residue, then sand the stairs with 120-grit.

(Tip) if you moisten the stairs afterwards with a damp cloth, the wood fiber will rise again, making the wooden stairs feel a bit rough. If you then sand this upright fiber smooth with fine sandpaper, this wood fiber will no longer rise after priming the stairs. so you use less paint.

If the paint residues or glue residues are very stuck, you can also use a paint hair dryer and burn the paint off, but do wear work gloves that can withstand heat. If you don't have a hair dryer, you can also use a paint stripper. Then be careful not to get it in your eyes and work with small pieces at once.

After a week of hard work, scraping and sanding, your stairs are completely bare again, then it is important to thoroughly vacuum the cracks in the stairs near the steps and stair stringers (say wall plank) and all the rubbish that is in them as much as possible. to remove.
This can cause your stairs to creak annoyingly if you don't do this and start painting right away. Use the vacuum cleaner and a narrow object, such as a putty knife, to carefully scrape all the cracks clean.

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3 - Seal all cracks with a flexible anti-cracking sealant
If you have cleaned the stairs well and have removed all the clutter, these gaps still need to be closed with a flexible sealant. This way you can be sure that your stairs will not creak later on. Now you can decide how you want to finish the stairs. You can paint the stairs clear, or give it an old look by staining it 1 layer with a water or oil stain. You can also paint your stairs opaque with, for example, a gray concrete look paint or just in an off-white color, which is the trend of the moment. For painting tips, read my blog from a while ago. You see there are many possibilities to make your old staircase beautiful again.

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4 - Also make sure you have a good anti-slip strip on your stairs
If you have given the stairs a new look, it is essential that you also keep an eye on stair safety. The stairs of the past often have narrow, shallow steps. This makes it difficult to put your foot completely on the steps. If this is also the case with your stairs, it is wise to place a good non-slip stair strip on the steps. There are various anti-slip types for sale, see what suits your stairs the best and fits best in your interior. This way you not only make the stairs beautiful again, but also a lot safer!

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5 - Examples of results on pinterest and photo book
If you want to get inspired what your stairs could look like, take a look at our photo page or pinterest pages where we put all kinds of examples that we like on our board. Then you get a bit of an idea of what the possibilities are, because in addition to painting your stairs, you can also cover it with special adhesive plastic or stain it in a color oil, or provide it with a new transfer steps, a lot is possible these days.

Also view the colors of our non-slip stair strip. Order our FREE color card with the colors here. You can mix the color of the paint you want to apply and test the quality of the anti-slip strip.

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6 - What will it cost such a staircase renovation
You can usually rent a professional painter's hair dryer and orbital sander at the better hardware store!

Scraper €9.50
Sandpaper € 20.00
Dust masks € 5,50
Kit €16.00
Paint € 125.00
Anti-slip strip € 52.00
Rent a sander and hair dryer approximately € 75.00
Total approximately € 300.00

Blog writer: Dennis van de Burg