First step is many hours of removing staples. That task can happen with wine nearby... Next would be stripping/ sanding all the paint off the treads which will be horrible and messy. Then fill all the holes in the wood trim that is to remain painted. Prine and paint all of that. Stain and Poly floors, then repaint the trim.

Or after step one fill and paint everything and install a carpet runner.

Could be worse. Just be sure you really protect/plastic off all other areas when you get that sander out...

I still think you made the right decision. It's a big job with lots of detail work but it's not rocket science. Keep at it. Hope you have a good pair of needle nose pliers.

You could fill the big gap filling with putty and paint white. It looks like the white is what's missing not the wooden step. Hard to tell from the picture.

You can get oak re-treads, or you can order parts and Retrofit your entire staircase depends on your budget, fast and easy. Here is the link to one of the sites

Not sure I would attempt to strip, fill & paint. It would be best to clad the treads & risers with new material. Just rip off the tread bullnose overhang flush to the riser. You can purchase new stain ready treads from a store like Home Depot. Use a 1/4" veneer panel for the riser. Now everything is ready for paint & stain and your staircase will look as if it was new. Before cladding you can fix up the stringers, fill & sand.

Graham

if you put the time and effort into sanding, staining and paiting your staircase will look fantastic. A couple of stairs a day will keep the contractor away....

Thanks for the support and tips everyone! Apparently the boyfriend is concerned with the side pieces/trim looking really junky - any tips for dealing with that? Also, he's realized the risers are just painted subfloor, so we're going to at least have to get those pieces, if not treads too to deal with the gaps.

Wacokid - Funny but maybe not appropriate when you want us to provide you with free advice.

Id like to add to Ellsworth's comment- I disagree, I think all steps involved will require wine

LOL we have all been there. Seriously grab the pliers a beverage of choice pic a marathon of something you've wanted to watch and start at it. Get the stairs clean, find your biggest gaps, take pictures and update us. My guess wood putty and caulk will probably fix most of it. To clarify caulk where you would paint, wood putty where you would stain.

@elipres - LOL! I agree!

I think this project is going to be a great way to find out if boyfriend is husband material :)

Sorry I missed your last comment, if you can afford it, you can always gut the stairs and buy risers and tread at the box stores. Give them your measurements and they will help you make stairs. A blog my crappyhouse just put in new stairs herself and she did a whole write up on it.

Been there done that. It's a heck of a job. I'm female and would be considered semi-handy. I'm guessing you can do this if you set your mind to it. Ripping out old carpet is always a great thing. You'll feel great when it's all done.

As E-H Home Pro and leelee said wine and needle nose pliers are your new best friends in that order.

Fill all the holes and rough spots with tinted wood filler from a tube. Your stair treads look like pine so have your bf cut or shave small pieces of pine wood and use a good wood glue to put them in the side gaps. Let everything dry overnight.

Once it's all cleaned up and vacuumed away cover up the wine if you have any left, sober up and pull out your electric sander with medium grit paper 100-150 grit I think should do but depends on your job.

Tape off the area up and down with plastic drop sheets or you will be cleaning the rest of your place well into the second coming... Wear a dust mask or respirator and safety glasses and then go to town sanding.

Even though the risers look like painted sub floor particle board I wouldn't bother to change them unless you want to spend the time, cash and energy. The crappy wood will be hidden when you paint it white. Though you may need to do a couple coats.

One tip after you've done your last sanding pass with fine grit sandpaper 200-400 and you are happy after wiping down/vacuum everything... use a wood conditioner/primer before attempting to apply your stain. Because it's old wood you need to do that step so that your stain application goes on even and not blotchy. Also I used a gel stain as it was easier for me to apply and control. Meaning less dripping.

Wait a few more days before painting the white part in case you need to use painters tape (light tack) on the treads. Once the white is done and dry your last step is to carefully varathane (a couple coats at least) the stained treads. For this step I would advise you not to use the stairs for at least a day or more. Of course check your product specs and go by that. Your local big box paint dept can invariably provide a wealth of information as well.

Good luck!

Hey CF you are so right. Coincidentally I met my husband just 6 months before I started my stair project. Which took 4 weeks to complete on and off. That was his opportunity to run... When he stuck through it with me I knew he was the one. We look back and laugh at that now. Great advice albeit super funny!

You are not going to be able to just fill those large gaps with wood putty and expect it to look remotely good with stain. Save yourself much wasted effort, and get the stain grade re-treads as some others have suggested. The wine will still be required.

I did my staircase a couple of years ago. I did not use wood putty on the wood because I had heard it is difficult to get it to stain correctly - and it stands out as a repair. I just left the holes and dents and called it distressed:)

The paint speckles, even when sanded down do not stain well. Even with using pre-stain, trying to get an even finish was difficult. I did manage to come close and like another poster, I used gel stain (as a stain over sanded wood) because it was possible to sort of "faux" finish over these areas helping them to blend better.

Unfortunately, gel stain takes a long time to dry and my stairs took a very long time to complete.

The biggest problem I see are the gaps which look too large for caulk. Off hand I cannot think of an attractive way to correct the gaps with millwork. If you cannot afford new treads - which really will make the task easier, then have your handy guy see if he can figure out a way to run a narrow piece of trim work over the one full of gaps - not sure if it can be done. You will love them when you are finished.

I dunno about this whole plan involving alcohol and stairs. Sounds like it could be dangerous.

@lizzie91001 you are right.

@ubdeac - Maybe just the wine and let the boyfriend do the rest?

@ubdeac all is just in good spirits and absolutely don't mean to poke fun, it is just that now that I am a respectable creaky senior the project looks painful to every bone in my body! Best of luck, and I am sure you will have fun. I did tons of diy "in my time" and the sense of accomplishment lasts years when it's the house you live in.

i like jhmarie's wood/carpet combo..

I agree with not using wood putty where you want to stain. Try the stairs without any runner to see how you like that. So much easier to keep clean if you have only one surface.

When I hear comments saying fill it in with wood putty I fear ever buying another house.

You have to asses the situation and understand if it it beyond your capabilities. This isn't a craft project it is your home. There are always proper repairs within your budget without hacking the job.

It looks like someone already tried the half ass way and realized it didn't work and that is why the carpet is there. Lets start with the reality that what you have uncovered is not hardwood treads and paint grade risers. It actually looks like someone already put new treads on top of old ones?

Two options: recarpet the stairs in a carpet that you like or buy new treads and start over. It is a difficult job to get the treads cut where you won't have gaps and that is where experience comes in.

Also think about the amount of noise a staircase like that is going to make even if you do slop some paint on it. That is a staircase meant to be carpeted. I would research some new textured carpets to give it a more up to date look. It does not sound like you have the skills for the remodel which is better to find out now before you lay out money on materials.

Good luck and no big deal you get some new carpet and go on with your life.

I think there might have been wine involved that night when you ripped out the carpet, I did the same thing with a brick fireplace, woke up the next day to a pile of bricks and a fireplace that probably should have been left alone. I ended up using a contractor to cover it with travertine, I think you should recover it with a different carpet and yes go on with your life.

thanks for the all tips (and jokes!). at the moment we're focusing on getting the steps where they are safe to use (i.e., nothing for our puppy to eat) and gathering some more research before determining our course of action (retread, better carpet, calling in an expert, etc). once done, i'll update with some pictures, but that may be several weeks. :)

also, don't worry we are responsible drinkers and sadly no alcohol was involved in ripping up the carpet - it was a last straw of finding surprise puppy packages on the stairs!

If you re carpet please don't carpet the skirt boards, that was so institutional! Of course the brown wouldn't be my first choice either!

Good luck on your project!

Don't re-carpet! Replace the treads entirely or go the retread route. Consider tiling the risers..

So... How did your stairs turn out? Any pics of the finished product?

@tatd sooooo they still haven't, life got in the way! i will update once we get to them though.

I spent 4 weeks doing this exact job with my mother one summer while growing up.

It turned out amazing and was kind of fun for me at that age. Time consuming, but it'll be well worth it.

ubcdeac, this is my DIY transformation in progress

I think that has a lot of potential and doesn't look like a task that will be especially difficult/ require special skills, more time consuming and tedious than anything else. Youtube has a wealth of videos showing step by step instructions for this kind of thing. That's typically where I start with this kind of project, watching multiple videos, taking notes of what materials are needed, what to do first etc...

I did this on two sets of stairs - front and back, by myself. The builder grade carpet was worn to the backing. I ripped the carpet up only to find French fries and a flattened hamburger under the carpet. That part took a day. Pulling staples took four days. The treads were in good shape except for one. I did use wood filler before sanding and ended up fine-lining a bit of paint to create a grain. Sanding took another four days. Gel stain worked great. I would start at the top, work my way down, and then leave for a long weekend. Did the same with the poly. Two risers were in poor shape. I just put smooth paintable wallpaper on those and made sure to disclose that when I sold the place. It was labor intensive and took months. It looked great and gave me so much pride in my home. My buyers thought the wallpaper was fix funny and easy if they needed to repair.

I am interested in learning how to fix the stringers skirt on the sides? We have carpet glue on it, staple holes etc and it needs to be sanded as it was only covered with carpet before…. Do we need to rip these stairs out and start from fresh? We are hoping to not have to hire anyone if possible and we are not professionals with these skills to build new stairs but we’re hoping to just having to add refited stair treads and risers. Thanks for any thoughts!