Smart, Cost-Effective, Treasured for Generations. Reviving a staircase is easy if you take it step by step. First, assess the state of your hardwood stairs. You or a professional floor refinisher can sand and refinish it to give it new life. Or, if there is no hope, a new hardwood staircase can be installed and stained to match the finish of your floors. Either way, your efforts will pay off. A hardwood staircase, like hardwood flooring, adds character, beauty, and resale value to any home. If your wood stairs need a facelift, start by checking for any needed repairs. Loose or rubbing parts often cause squeaks, a common problem. Stop the squeak by nailing or screwing down a part that has separated or by inserting a wedge underneath it. Refinishing requires special equipment and a lot of patience. Floor refinishing companies typically get most of the job done in a day. If you decide to do it yourself, rent a floor edger-sanding machine. • Run the sander over the steps.

For rough or painted boards, start with 20- or 30-grit sandpaper, and then proceed with 50-grit and finally 90-grit. • Start with 36-grit paper for varnished floors. • Next, use a hand scraper on the spots the sander missed and, if desired, hand sand with fine paper to remove small scratches. • Vacuum to remove the dust. • Stain with a clear finish or one custom-blended to match your floors. • For a final protective glaze, top that with three coats of polyurethane, which is available with a water or oil base. Each coat of oil-based polyurethane must dry overnight. Water-based sealers usually dry within a couple of hours. Take some precautions to avoid trouble. Sanding produces highly flammable dust, so seal the doorways into your work area with plastic and ventilate the area with a fan. Wear goggles, ear protection and a dust mask while sanding. When applying the sealer, put on goggles, rubber gloves, long pants and a long-sleeve shirt. Keeping Stairs Like New

Once the stairs are restored, consider having a carpet company install a runner to add style and provide padding and protection. Houses For Sale In Kilmore West Dublin 5To keep stairs free of dust, wipe with a cloth or use a dust mop or hand-vacuum. Make Inverted Pinch Pleat DrapesOne way to remove caked-on grime from a handrail is to lightly rub with very fine screen sandpaper and top with a new coat of varnish.House For Sale At Pondicherry Olx*Update*: You can see Part 2, Stain, Seal, Reveal here. Here’s a shot of our living room with the carpet.Part 1 was quite the lengthy post but I hope I could help you tackle your carpet removal and prep work for refinishing wood flooring.I refinished my hardwood floors two years ago, and I'll be honest: it's HARD work.

But if you have the time, patience and energy, you can do it. It'll probably save you money and allow you to opt for greener finishing options. There are two options when it comes to floors: a complete refinish, which requires sanding down to bare wood (Part One) and screening, a process that only takes off the top coat of polyurethane (Part Two). Most hardwood floors are made of oak, which is what I have experience doing myself. They are often sealed with a polyurethane finish. To revitalize old floors, there are two options: This how-to will cover the first option, sanding down to bare wood. Next week we'll tackle screening, a much easier and less intensive option. Why is this green? Rejuvenating an old floor to make it last longer is always a great option than replacing it or covering it up. You can also use a water-based polyurethane and low VOC stains. Ensure you have a uniform surface. Fill any small gaps or holes with wood putty and a putty knife. Any larger gaps you'll want to fill with a small piece of similar wood, and the edges with putty.

Tap into place and glue any filler wood. Also check for any nail heads that could puncture your sandpaper. Remove or pound in with a nail set. The rental center will rent you a drum sander for about $60 per day. They also sell you the sanding discs needed for the drum sander and tell you how to use the equipment. Begin with a heavier grit paper (60 grit) and never stop the machine while it's engaged! Do the entire room at one grit and then switch to a lighter grit, until it's nice, smooth, and uniform and all the polyurethane and stain has been removed. Advice: begin rolling the machine forward as you engage the drum and be sure to disengage before you've stopped moving forward. It takes a while to learn how to use it efficiently. Practice in one of the back rooms before moving into the main living space just in case. Stay away from any door trim (you'll get this later with a palm sander). Make sure you move at a steady, even pace and let the machine do the work. Keep the machine in a straight line while engaged and always disengage before turning off the machine.

Dispose of the sawdust outside as it can be very flammable. Also, make sure to wear a quality dust mask. Using a palm sander or a heavy duty edger (available to rent at home improvement stores), finish the edges so they match the center of the room. Again, BE PATIENT and keep the sander level no matter how much you want to apply pressure to get it done faster. It is well worth being patient as to not dig into your floor. Use a similar grit progression as you did with the drum sander. Get as close to the door trim as possible but don't nick it or it will leave marks. This is a painstaking and back testing job. 5. Clean up the Dust: Once you have the floor stripped of previous finish, it's time to get rid of all the dust. First, sweep up as much as you can. Next, use a damp cloth or tack cloth to wipe down every surface: Walls, window sills, floor, anywhere dust might be hiding. Next is the fun part. Choose a stain for your floor. We picked a Minwax VOC Compliant Red Oak and applied using old cotton shirts.

One person applied the stain with the grain in liberal amounts, and the other came behind to wipe off about 10 minutes later with a clean piece of cotton. Make sure to use socks you don't care about as they will be ruined! Let dry for at least 24 hours depending on humidity. Be sure to follow all of the directions on the bottle for best results, and keep the room well vented during application (it will also speed up drying). For the finish, we used a water based Polyurethane from Minwax (Water Based Polyurethane for Floors). The advantages of a water based finish over that of oil-based is a quicker dry time (you can begin the second coat sooner) and less noxious fumes. On the downside, oil-based polyurethane can be worked when wet (to correct mistakes - and supposedly better for beginners) unlike water-based, and is said to perform better in high traffic areas. For our 1,000 sq. foot house, we went through about 5 gallons of the stuff for three coats. Begin in the corner of the room because you won't want to walk on this stuff (unlike the stain).

Again, wear socks you don't care about. We used large bristle brushes to apply moderately, with the grain. Be sure to avoid any bubbles while applying. It's relatively self leveling so all you do is apply, and let dry. Do keep the room vented while applying to avoid fumes. Because it was rainy outside and rather humid, it took our floors a solid 24 hours to dry between coats. Following the manufacturer directions, we didn't sand between the first two coats but did lightly, using 400 grit paper, between the 2nd and 3rd. Be sure to let dry thoroughly before the final coat, and then enjoy! Additional Notes: Refinishing a floor is a tough project. Above are the steps that I followed to a successful refinishing job, but there are different ways to tackle this project. It took me and my (now) wife two weeks between preparation, sanding and finishing (working only at night and on weekends). During that time, we still had our previous residence. I'd recommend consulting with a professional and weighing the costs associated with doing it yourself and hiring a professional.