What to do with these stairs?

Question

Any suggestions on what to do with these stairs? Stairs come from a room with hardwood floors and lead to a hallway with harwoods. Not sure what is underneath the nasty carpet.

Jordan B. · Answer

If anyone is interested, this is what I ended up doing. Had floor guy redo treads and I painted thee rest white. Came out great!

JD Martin · Answer

I do. We just finished one similar. Painted treads and risers a semi gloss brown, rolled runner from Lowe's down the center. Looked great and cost less than $100 in materials for the entire staircase. If I can find a picture l will post.

The runner is not only for looks. It prevents wear in the heavy use part of the stairs and provides sure footing than uncovered stairs, which can be slick and dangerous.

Kelly B. · Answer

1st things 1st, pull up that carpet & see what you'll be dealing with.

Mike H. · Answer

If you're going to have nice hardwood floors up and down, I might do more than paint. I've done vinyl plank on stairs and they've come out pretty good. You can probably find some at home depot that will match whatever stain options you're going with on your hardwood. Then paint the risers white.

Vinyl plank is extremely durable. Seems pretty good in terms of safety. And is something you can do yourself maybe.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Jordan Bochner you are going to want either carpet or a runner on the steps to prevent people from slipping. Tearing out carpet from steps isn't that enjoyable. I would pay a carpet place to tear out and put down commercial carpet. It should last 15-20 years and won't cost that much. If you rip it out yourself and paint, install a runner or non slip treads. Using only paint may seem like the cheap solution, but the slip hazard isn't worth saving a few bucks.

Nhi Nguyen · Answer

@Jordan Bochner, If underneath are some nice solid sub treads (good condition 2x or plywood), you can use anti-slip paint designed for steps & flooring (an example would be https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sure-Step-1-Gal-Anti-S... ) for the treads, white for risers to give them a high end look.  Check these for inspirations: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/painted-stairs/

Or you can use some rubber treads to cover old/ugly sub treads, and still paint risers white.  These sold for $15/tread for example:

http://www.kofflersales.com/p/stair-treads-safety-...

Brian Pulaski · Answer

I agree with @Colleen F., a lot of post and run happens. Glad to see the finished product. Much better than what you had before!

Kuba F. · Answer

Paint makes sense to me if you also have painted floors upstairs.  If they're hardwood top and bottom, then I would be more inclined to do what @Mike H. said and try the vinyl matching it to existing wood as much as possible.

Jordan B. · Answer

Thanks @Mike H. ill look into that.

What to do with these stairs?

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