That is perfectly fine to do til another day.

Except, that Linoleum/Congoleum actually has 'dimples' following the pattern of the mortar-look. So if you were to buy the cheap thin 12"square $0.59 peel-n-sticks, the corners may bend into those 'dimples' and you could get lift or toe stubs. I would buy the thicker 36" strips, I think $1.00-$2.00 per, that will cross over all the 'dimples' and fill the entire width. It looks like it's on the risers too, you can buy a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" lauan hardboard ($18?) and cut to fit those then paint.

After you move in, decide if you still want that route or just see if you can remove it all, may need sanding, then paint it. Or tack on low-pile carpet (either cut-to-length runner or $0.49sf cut off the roll) right over all of it.

@3onthetree those are all great ideas. my biggest concern was if I would have to worry about asbestos underneath if I were to remove it, but I have no idea if that applies to this product.

Predominantly a 70s-80s thing, but still used later as cheap flooring prior to the explosion of products in the last decade. So probably no asbestos in the sheet material, the mastic in this case is what would be concerned about, or maybe that the linoleum was covering something else.

You could just replace the vinyl sheet flooring. It's pretty inexpensive. And the patterns they have these days are pretty up-to-date.

Are you new renters or new buyers? Replacing sheet vinyl on stairs by professionals would be ideal but will not be cheap.

@apple pie we are buyers, but I can't spend too much on this particular project as there are some other things we have to work on so it will definitely be a diy

@sabrina so you think it's better to use the sheets as opposed to individual tiles?

Congratulations on your new house. If you change the vinyl on the floor, you will need to safely reset the nosing (the aluminum strips on the edge) to prevent tripping. If you have a lot of other projects, consider keeping this flooring until you are ready to spend money on it. In the meantime, you can use a commercial non-skid floor polish to make it look good. Johnson and Johnson makes one. Or scrub with ammonia and then use Mop N Glo. A polish fills in the microscopic scratches on old vinyl which makes it vastly easier to keep clean especially by the back door where dirt gets tracked in. You only need to scrub with a brush (or better yet, a drill brush) the first time (or every few months) if you apply a protective polish.

Well, presumably, you're talking about peel n' stick because you plan to DIY this, yes? My thought is, sheet vinyl material is really inexpensive. For not very much money you could have new flooring installed professionally.

Linoleum is sheet vinyl. If you've ever taken it up, you know it brings the subfloor with it.

For perspective, around here, install is $2-$4/sf of material ordered. Another $8-$12 per step. Add demo $2-$4/sf, repair of treads as needed/new subfloor, and replacement of nosing as needed. Then the sheet vinyl. So looking at $600-$900 easy.

Peel-n-stick + risers, lay on top, around $100.

Carpet 6x12 cut, remove the nosings, lay on top, at $1/sf is $75.

"Linoleum is sheet vinyl. If you've ever taken it up, you know it brings the subfloor with it."

Are you saying that taking up sheet vinyl brings up the subfloor with it? Or just linoleum?

Just wanted clarification, as my sheet vinyl was pulled up and it definitely did not pull up any of the subfloor with it.

As ugly as it is...it is fully functional. It didn't cost you a DIME! Well...actually it did. It is built into the cost of your mortgage. Hmmm. Which means you will be paying for it for 25 years or so...oh never mind.

You are about to have PLENTY of work going on very soon. You are on a budget which means you do not want to spend money on this little area. Fine. Understandable.

The CHEAPEST thing you can do = nothing. You will spend a few hundred dollars on this little area only to find out you have to REDO IT in 5 years anyway. So why spend those dollars today?

Renovations are an EXPENSIVE and EXHAUSTING undertaking. You NEVER know what you are about to unearth.

I tell my peeps to "Assume 30% over budget and 30% more time than you expect." On one or two occasions they have come in 'under' the 30% extra (ie. they were STILL over budget...just not so much).

The cost of lumber is about to skyrocket. Why? Because Canadian mills have been shutting down at a record setting pace because CHINA is all hissy-spitty with us (Canada). And China is about to get hissy-spitty with the USA because of Huawei being considered a 'danger' to the US's cyber security. Blah blah blah.

So...even if ALL the Canadian mills (and there are HUNDREDS OF THEM then that closed years ago) are up and running TOMORROW it will still take months if not a year (possibly two) to get the stock piles back to where they were before the 2008 World Economy issue.

Which means the $1 you have to spend will only buy $0.50 worth of stuff at the end of your project. In other words...keep the money in the bank. You never know when you will need those few hundred dollars. (hint: usually after a pipe bursts)

Linoleum is mostly a single thick layer and glued down. It will leave glue parts and sometimes pull on the underlayment with it. Newer vinyls are made up of multiple layers, I mispoke earlier, linoleum is sheet flooring (not sheet vinyl).

@sj mccarthy we don't plan to be here for more than 5 years, I guess we're habitual movers. We undertook a huge reno on our last property 4 years ago and you are right, it is extremely expensive and I am very concerned about the price of material now in comparison to just 4 years back.

Everyone here has given such great advice, I just want to say thank you to all of you ❤️