Renovate/Paint indoor staircase

[saemstpahus]

Hi!

I've just bought my first house and I'm a novice at most things!

I'd like to do something about the stairs and was hoping for some tips on what and how to do it. The stairs are made of wood and there seems to be some sort of plastic on top of the steps. I haven't moved in yet, so I have limited pictures, but I'm attaching a couple. What I want to do is remove the plastic on the steps and repaint the entire staircase.

After reading some "how-to" guides and watching various videos, I'm thinking of something along the lines of:
1. Tear up the plastic matting
2. Clean surfaces with painting wash
3. Sand down the surfaces evenly
4. Apply knot sealer
5. Fill nail holes and other uneven areas with filler
6. Sand the surfaces evenly again
7. Paint!

- Am I missing something or should I think differently?
- Do people usually have some sort of plastic/carpet/material over the stair step, or does it work just as well without and just paint on?

Thanks in advance!

 

[1977bjorn]

A bit hard to see, but the method is correct. Then I don't know how important knot varnish is, but it depends. The stringers (sides) and the handrail appear to be original. It may be that the previous owner covered the stairs with the vertical planks, as they have poor fit and a different shade. Could it have been an open staircase from the beginning, maybe? The varnished surfaces (stringer and handrail) are, as mentioned, already varnished, and any bleeding from the knots should have stopped many years ago. But those cladding boards or whatever they're called might need to be varnished if they're not already. (This is if you're going to paint them) You don't have to have anything on the stairs, but it can become slippery and more sensitive to wear. Needle felt carpet is a classic that still looks nice (at least I think so). I renovated our stairs last fall, and they looked like your sides with the exact same handrail. I didn't use knot varnish and there haven't been any problems. I roughened with sanding sponge from Biltema and filled with wood filler (hard filler). Completed with oak strips and needle felt carpet. If the stairs only need aesthetic improvement, I would have covered the whole thing with needle felt carpet (torn off the existing plastic and possibly strips). Painted stringers and handrail. I bought a cheap "stair compass" in plastic and drew the step on masking paper. Then transferred the shape to the carpet and cut it out. The advantage is that you can adjust the paper so it’s exact before cutting the carpet. Steel ruler from Biltema is recommended. Regardless of whether you are going to paint or lay carpet, I would try to fix those gaps first. Including an inspiration picture of our finished staircase

 

[saemstpahus]

A little hard to see, but the methodology is correct. Then I don't know how important knot sealant is, it depends.
The stringers (sides) and the handrail appear to be original. It could be that the previous owner enclosed the stairs with the vertical planks, as they have poor fitting and a different shade. Could it have been an open staircase from the beginning maybe?
The varnished surfaces (stringer and handrail) are, as mentioned, already varnished, and any bleeding from those knots should have ceased many years ago. But those lining boards or whatever they are called might need to be varnished if they aren't already. (This if you are going to paint them)
You don't necessarily need anything on the steps, but it might get slippery and more prone to wear and tear. Needle felt carpet is a classic that's still stylish (at least I think so)

I renovated our staircase last fall, and it looked like your sides with the exact same handrail. I didn't use knot sealant and there haven't been any problems. I scuffed with sanding sponge from Biltema and filled with carpentry filler (hard filler). Completed with oak strip and needle felt carpet.

If the staircase doesn't need anything more than aesthetic work, in your case, I would have covered it all with needle felt carpet (torn off existing plastic and possibly strips). Painted stringers and handrail.
I bought a cheap "stair compass" in plastic and drew out the step on covering paper. Then transferred the shape to the carpet and cut out. The advantage is that you can adjust the paper so it becomes exact before cutting the carpet. Steel ruler from Biltema is recommended.

Regardless of whether you are going to paint or lay carpet, I would have tried to fix those gaps first.

Including an inspiration photo from our finished staircase

Thanks for the great answer and what a nice staircase you achieved! Not a bad idea with the needle felt carpet, definitely an option!

I will inspect the stairs further upon moving in, but as you say, the vertical planks could indeed be added given their terrible fit You mentioned trying to fix those gaps, any tips on how one might do that? Do you fill the gaps with something?

 

[1977bjorn]

I think you'll have to wait until you can examine it on-site

You might want to "open it up" again, or not...

If you lay needle felt carpet on the entire staircase, you want it to fit tightly on the sides too, and in that case, there can't be gaps. Those gaps seem a bit too large to fill with latex. I would have tried to saw something to size in wood, a miter saw and miter box would help immensely. The fit doesn't have to be super good but not super bad (as it is now). The last millimeters can be filled with latex sealant, and then glue the carpet on top.