Advice on painting staircase
We need to re-paint two staircases in our brownstone. Both are painted white and have been repainted badly over the years so the current paint job is uneven where paint below had chipped away. We are trying to decide whether to repaint the banisters/railing only with a sanding and painting or whether to have them…
We need to re-paint two staircases in our brownstone. Both are painted white and have been repainted badly over the years so the current paint job is uneven where paint below had chipped away.
We are trying to decide whether to repaint the banisters/railing only with a sanding and painting or whether to have them stripped completely and maybe stained. We have young children so are considering installing carpeting but would have the same question regarding the actual stairs.
I would appreciate any thoughts from anyone who has dealt with this issue and any recommendations for painters who have done a good job.
To further complicate matters, one staircase is not in great shape and we are considering having a new one installed. It is a straight staircase and is very simple — anyone know a ballpark figure for this? I have heard that Soxco is a good resource for this.
Thanks for any thoughts!!
call heights woodworking
they do amazing work (718) 875-7497
Thanks for the input. Can anyone offer guidance as to approximately how much it costs to fix up a staircase as you describe?
Another follow up question — how did you know if the wood in your staircase was mahogony or something else? Is this what it usually is in brownstones or does it really vary?
Thanks again everyone!
I had the main staircase from parlor to 2nd floor and second floor to third floor restored. Heights Woodworking on 3rd Avenue did the work. All of the treads and risers were replaced, the stairs were leveled, the banister and spindles were removed, stripped and re-installed. Missing mahogony spindles were replaced and a new ‘twist and turn’ at the top of the 2nd floor landing was created.
I hired Heights Woodworking independent of my general contractor and, I have to say, my contractor was very impressed with their work.
Two and a half years later, my stairs are as tight as the day the job was completed. The process to create the ‘twist and turn’ was amazing. They started with a block of mahogony, measured the connection points to the rest of the bannister and carved the rough shape. Back at the shop they finished the job and it fit like a glove!
Don’t scrimp…..it’s well worth the expense!!!
Soxco did our staircase too and it turned out very well. I stripped the banister myself beforehand, which took a lot of time. When you redo the stairs, they will dismantle the banister anyway, at which time it is very easy to srip all the spindles in a tub and to let the chemical do the work. Rock Miracle works very well.
My advice after 20 years of brownstoning: do it once and do it right! If you paint instead of stripping, you will just have to repaint again in a couple of years. A beautiful mahagony wood on the other hand…. need I say more
I would definitely talk to Soxco. He repaired our stairs and popped out all our balusters (spindles) and stripped them. We stripped the banister ourselves because it wasn’t too gooped up.
Before you decide anything you should find out what kind of wood you have underneath, on both the stairs and banister. It’s likely mahogany or another hardwood, but it could be a mix, and some might be pine, which doesn’t always stain well.
Again, I’ve always found Soxco to have good advice so I would definitely speak to them–an estimate is free and very useful!
I recently purchased a brick house in Cypress Hills with the same problem – the previous owners painted not only the banisters but the steps as well. It took about two gallons of paint stripper to remove the 4 layers of paint on the banister alone which wraps around going up the stairs.
If you can do the stripping yourself(which can be very messy,& tedious,) do it because it will save you money. However, with kids fumes may be an issue. Most of these companies charge you mostly for the stripping work.
I completed the stripping but now I have to find someone to sand and stain. It’s alot of work but the finished product makes up for it. My house was built in 1900 so im trying to restore as much history as I can with a few modern touches here and there. Good luck