Stairway Renovation Show Down, Oh My!

*You are at the first post of the DIY Dueling Stairways- Get caught up here: 2/3/4/5/6

Okay, I am two weeks behind joining this Dueling DIY Stairway Showdown.  Why? Just pure unadulterated post holiday laziness? Well, maybe that is 20% of the reason.  Mostly, though, I am in the middle of a major kitchen renovation and I wasn’t sure I would have any time to fit in the stairway project.  Yet, this is a project that I have dawdled on and off with for over a year now.  Meaning, I bought cut and stained new oak treads and poplar risers (which I painted white).  I even polyacryliced  four, then it got too cold and I had to wait until Spring before I could Poly again since I work in the garage.

And in the garage they sat. Past Spring, Summer, and most of Fall. The risers, in the mean time are getting dirty from the other projects I work on around them carelessly. The four finished treads now exposed to too much UV,  did something weird to the Poly.

It wasn’t until I started finishing the counter top that I decided since I had the Waterlox out I might as well finish the eight stained treads, knowing darn well, that the finish would look different then the other four. Then it got cold again.  So now, I have eight finished, four that needs RE-finished, and twelve dirty white risers,  Gah!

I read Sarah, at Ugly Duckling House, which led me to start reading Kit at DIY Diva and heard they were doing a Dueling DIY on their staircases a way to motivate them to get the stairs done once and for all.  Being in the exact same boat, I expressed my jealousy that they have a blogging friend to compete with in the comments.  To my surprise, they graciously invited me and anyone else to join in on the competition.

So, though I am two weeks behind, I decided that I wanted to join if for no other reason then to get me to look at the unfinished treads this winter.  I will bring everything in and put them in the creepy basement and see what happens.  Maybe the invisible force that is making the stairs creak like someone is walking on them will take pity on me and start the work themselves. *crossing fingers*

So, without further adieu, feast your eyes on these lovlies…..ack!

  True story, when I closed on the house and immediately ripped out all the nasty carpet, people who had walked on the stairs previously, would not go up after.  They thought they were going to collapse, LOL.  They are not.  They’re actually pretty sturdy, though really squeaky.  The wood is old and cracked, and the layers of paint would be a nightmare to scrap off, all good reasons to start brand new.

I removed some risers to look into the belly of the beast and fortunately, the stringers are in great shape!! Woot!  So I don’t need to do anything with them.

But I DO need to scrap off the texture on the molding:

Fix the hole in the plaster and refinish/paint the handrail:

Finish laying the subfloor on the landing and figure out what to do about the double molding issue around the bedroom door (see the brown molding on top of the original white molding (which is textured like the walls…ugh)):

Decide once and for all on the wall treatment to update it from the knock down texture that I cannot stand:

So here is my official submission on the challenge:

1. Finish and replace treads and risers

2. refinish handrail

3. scrap and paint textured molding

4. fix holes and do something to the walls

5. Finish subfloor at landing

6. change out the light fixture

7. fix the molding situation around bedroom door.

I gave myself the extra landing work to even out that I already have the some of the treads and risers ready to go, when others just starting work on theirs.

Wish me luck.  There is a whole lotta ugly needing purged on top of finishing the kitchen!

And hop over to Ugly Duckling House and DIY Diva and check them out.   The girls are hilarious and super talented.  I may or may not have read  ALL the posts on Kit’s new Liberty House in one night.  They also list the other bloggers who joined in the stairway fun.

Oh, and one of the girls doesn’t know it yet, but we are practically neighbors.  As in, one day we could be waiting for seats at the same restaurant kinda neighbors…….*humming the twilight zone tune in a creepy stalkery kinda way* 

Take Care,

Nicki

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~ by Perfect Prospect on January 29, 2013.