

I started at the bottom of the stairs, using a razor knife to cut the carpet loose on the bottom stair to see what I was dealing with before I ripped it all up. The bottom tread and riser seemed to be in good shape, so then I started pulling back the carpet, ripping out the staples as I went. I went one step at a time, folding the carpet back, removing the padding, tack strips, and staples. I did not want to rip all the carpet out at once, so we could still walk on them without stabbing our feet.
The carpet ending up being in three pieces, which worked out well for me not having to cut it. I used a pry bar to lift up the tack strips, which did a pretty good job of getting them up in one piece. I used needle nose pliers for removing the hundreds of little staples that was holding the padding down and a hammer for a few random nails. It took me a few hours spread over two afternoons, because my hands got worn out!
Once all the staples had been removed, we filled the holes with wood putty and let it dry. Once the putty had dried, we sanded the steps till they were smooth and cleaned the dust off really well. Tack cloth is a good option for removing all the small dust particles.
We used two coats of primer on the stairs since the wood was old and had never been painted. Tip: Paint every other stair and let dry so you can still go up and down the stairs while working on them. Once the primer was dry, we applied two coats of Behr Porch and Patio Floor paint (this was the same thing that we used on the tile floors.)
The stairs are so much easier to clean now and they tie in with the look and feel of the basement. This was the last project in our basement renovation and it feels so good to finally have it complete!
This looks great, Mary! I really like the color you selected for the paint. I didn't know they had carpet tiles like that, but I guess it makes sense for some traction on each chair to prevent slips!
ReplyDeleteCarrie
curlycraftymom.com
Thank you! The gray ties into the rest of the basement. I would have rather left them plain, but it was too slippery for the dog and those tiles are cheap and each to clean and replace if needed.
Deleteholy cow, your house is looking amazing each time i see your new DIY posts!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so sweet! I am super proud of it!
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