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How To Upgrade Your Stairway On A Low Budget?
The house we live in is has a good foundation, however there is a lot of work to be done on the inside. One of them is a DIY staircase makeover. This is how to upgrade your stairway on a low budget.
At the time of purchase the walls in the house were painted odd and bright colours. The previous owners kept outdated fixtures and there were other items that needed to be fixed and replaced.
What Are The Benefits Of Buying A Home With Upgrades To Be Made?
The house has a great foundation and the outside of the house looks good as well. The price point was an attractive offer, even there were several changes to make it look better. The benefit of buying a home with no upgrades is that you can do the changes to your liking and get a lower purchase price. There are many renovations to do that can help save a lot of money, like this one.
Built in the mid 1990s, the standard staircase and railing style in the majority of the houses was a honey coloured oak wood with a natural clear varnish. To make it look newer and fresh, we decided to change the colour to a dark brown stain. Note that part of the appeal of this DIY staircase makeover is that you are only sanding off the varnish as the wood was never stained originally.
How Long Does It Take To Do A DIY Staircase Makeover?
To sand and refinish the oak railing and spindles, depending on the length of the railing, can take up to 5-7 weekends to do the job, or 65-75 hours. Each spindle takes a lot of time to sand due to the shape. The more intricate the design the longer it takes to sand off the old varnish.
If you are also refinishing the treads and risers of your stairs, add an extra hour per step as these are flat and straight forward to sand and refinish.
What Do You Need To Stain The Stairway?
The items you need to work on your railing are:
Sand paper – 80 grit sandpaper to get the old varnish off
Sand paper – 100 grit as the medium in between
Stain – colour of your liking – 1 quart – $30.00
Sand paper – 120 or 150 grit as our final before putting on the stain
***Total sand paper cost-$50.00-$60.00
Sanding machine-If you want to use it…we did not
Varnish – semi gloss most likely or you can choose gloss for around $25.00 / quart
Total Cost of Work-$115.00
***Note that pricing and cost will vary due to inflation.
What Are The Steps To Do A DIY Staircase Makeover?
- Sand off all the old varnish going through 3 sanding stages of coarse, medium and fine grit. Always sand in the direction of the wood grain and note that the new stain will not penetrate any remaining varnish.
- Remove all the sanding dust from the surfaces prior to staining with a damp cloth.
- Open can of stain and stir it thoroughly as the pigment settles to the bottom.
- Apply the stain to the wood with a brush and let it get absorbed for a 10-15 seconds before wiping it down and rubbing it into the wood with a cloth.
- Once the stain is dry apply at least two coats of varnish.
How Much Money Will You Save Upgrading Your Stairway?
Professional contractors would tell you that they will need to remove the old railing spindles, buy and install new ones and stain them. However the cost of new oak wood spindles come at a high cost. Each spindle costs between $6-$8.00 depending on style, wood type, thickness etc. We have 47 spindles. The cost average is between $282.00-376.00. In addition to labour costs, it would come out to between $1800-$2400.00.
The prices of each spindle since I did this DIY upgrade is now $22.00-$40.00/spindle. The price of each spindle has more than doubled in cost which is why DIY is the best option. This price today at 47 spindles goes up to $1880.00 at $40.00 per spindle. The labour costs by now have also risen so the cost of this job getting done by an outside contractor is significantly more today than just two years ago.
At the time I did this upgrade we saved approximately $2400.00 or more doing it on your own. For anyone doing this today you will save over $3000.00. Fortunately, you do not need a professional to this job when you will likely do it better on your own. By taking this project on yourself the stairway will be newly stained and look contemporary.
How Do I Protect My Stairway?
When you upgrade your stairway and are using a new stain, it is very important not to leave scratch marks in the wood during the sanding process by sanding against the grain. As a consequence, you can end up with imperfections that will show on your finished product. Make sure to always sand with the direction of the wood grain to remove the old varnish including the medium and fine grit sanding stages before applying the new stain colour.
If you are on a low budget and have items in your house that have value but need a little upgrade from age and style, this is a perfect project to take on. It is time consuming and labour intensive but it is not heavy work and you can take your time doing it nicely.
Should I Change The Floors Before Staining The Stairs?
If you plan on changing your carpet make sure to do the staining first to avoid any damage. After we stained our railings, we upgraded our carpet in the stairway and upstairs hallway from a professional.
The old carpet was from the original builder and it was completely worn out. This upgrade helped our home look a lot better.
For a beginner doing home upgrades, this project is one that is easier to take on.
Be patient with the work and make sure to sand the old varnish off completely before finishing it off with the best part, a fresh new upgraded modern stain.
More blogs on Gardening, Home Reno’s, Recipes and 2020 and Beyond for more information.
February 3, 2023
**This blog was posted at an earlier date and has been updated with new information**
