basement stairs

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

The side entrance and basement stairs have been painted numerous times by prior home owners. The contractor who is finishing my basement said that the stairs can't be stripped and stained, there are too many layers of paint. Am I really stuck with painting the stairs or is it a job he doesn't want to do?

Featured Answer

SJ McCarthy

6 years ago

How OLD is this house? If the stairs were painted BEFORE 1978 you *might be looking at lead based paint. And that's where things get ugly.

The other issues: time = money. The amount of TIME your contractor (or his/her gofer) would take to strip this is MIND NUMBING! And all that time must be PAID FOR. If we estimate an average $800/day for labour (not unheard of) you could be looking at a 1.5 - 3 day job. If we use my calculation (based on an Expensive Canadian City) you could be looking at $1200 - $2400 JUST to remove the paint. And that's ASSUMING there is NO LEAD in the layers of paint. If there's lead, you are guaranteed it will be more.

Now we will look at the contractor's TIMING. S/he MAY NOT have the extra 2-3 days allotted for your project. S/He may have someone lined up right after your job. By adding on 2 days to your job means s/he has to push back the start time of someone else's job. And that's where rescheduling becomes a BIG B!tch to deal with. It could mess up someone else's vacation time/out of the house time which then the screaming matches between contractor/client become NASTY.

Has anyone tested the paint layers?

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Comments (6)

Aglitter
6 years ago
Well of course they can be stripped. A lot of contractors won't touch something like that, though. If you want to see what's underneath, get some stripping agent and go at it yourself if possible, would be my suggestion. There is probably a reason why this was painted. If this is on the exterior, it's next to impossible to get a clear coat that will withstand weather very well. You almost have to paint to keep the integrity of the finish up. If you do strip and go with a clear coat, I would recommend a marine varnish like Epifanes with one maintenance coat applied yearly.
glfjjf thanked Aglitter
glfjjf
Original Author
6 years ago
back2work - below are pictures of the interior steps.
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Aglitter
6 years ago
It's possible the wood underneath isn't in that great of condition. If you want to strip and put on a clear coat here, you need a very durable floor finish like Loba 2K Supra A.T. Even then your results may be moderate depending on the wood condition.
glfjjf thanked Aglitter
sloyder
6 years ago
probably cheaper to replace than strip
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G & S Floor Service
6 years ago
Looks like lead paint to me.