Worked case: refinishing a staircase of 13 oak treads in Creekside — what happens and what it costs

The scenario

Picture a two-story home with a staircase of 13 treads between the entry and an upstairs landing. The treads are oak and the risers are painted white. The treads are dull and scuffed in the center where feet land, and the nosing has worn pale.

The staircase is a job of its own because it cannot be done in one pass the way a room can: only every other tread can be coated at once, or the stair is split into halves so the household can still go up and down.

The upstairs landing was refinished earlier in a mid-brown tone, and the owners want the treads to match. A stain sample goes on one tread edge and is compared with the landing at the top in daylight.

The handrail and the balusters are masked, not refinished, and the painted risers are taped off. People stay off a fresh finish as the finish maker's data sheet says.

What the job involves

1. The treads are checked for loose boards and thin nosing, and the risers and walls are masked.
2. Each tread is sanded, with the edges and the nosing worked by hand or with a small sander on a vacuum.
3. A stain sample is chosen and the treads are stained to match the landing.
4. Coats of finish go on in sections so the household can use half of the stair at a time.
5. The staircase stays closed to foot traffic until the data sheet allows it.

Materials and tools

• Small sander and an edge sander on a vacuum
• Stain and finish matched to the landing
• Painter's tape and drop cloths
• Hand tools for the nosing

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Stairs: 8 to 14 steps — +$750–$1,700. A staircase of 8 to 14 steps is a flat line.
• Stain samples on your floor — +$75–$200. A sample on a tread edge is compared with the landing.

Why it is done this way

A stair is a flat line on the calculator because its cost depends on the number of steps, not on its floor area. A staircase of 13 treads falls into the middle tier of 8 to 14 steps.

The reason to refinish the treads with the landing is color: two floors finished at different times rarely match, and the eye catches the difference at the top of a stair.

The slip risk is the other thing worth knowing. A fresh finish is slippery until it has cured.

There is also the matter of matching what already exists. A stair gets sanded, stained and finished with the same product as the landing, because two finishes applied years apart rarely read as one. If the landing's finish is oil-modified and the treads are finished with water-based, the treads will look paler for a year or two, so the contractor is asked which product the landing carries before the first coat.

Finally, the stringers and skirt boards are not part of the price. If they are painted or stained, they are masked, and touch-up on them is a separate small job.

What would change the price

• A tread or two is loose or cracked and needs replacing.
• The risers are to be repainted as well.
• The staircase has a turn or a winder step.
• The handrail and balusters are refinished too.
• The landing needs to be recoated to match.