Keep Calm and Get Fit: Stair Remodel... Step by Step Part 4 The Details

We're getting so close! Here's a sneak peek at the bottom half of the stairs. We've come a long way baby! (And the next project will be the handrail since the current one looks even cheaper and uglier now that the stairs aren't so ugly, but I don't think my husband is quite ready to discuss that just yet. Hehe.)

Before and After

While the hubby worked on sanding and staining the second landing, I caulked all of the edges along the bottom stairs. I then taped off all the edges. I really hate taping. I usually just wing it and go over the edges with a small brush, but since we spent all that time on the stain I didn't want to ruin it.

With the tape done, I started to paint the risers and molding. We used four coats of Valspar Ultra Bright White in semi gloss.

Yet even with all that tape, I still managed to get paint on the treads. Fortunately, I picked up some of this latex paint remover which I sprayed on the "accidents" and scrubbed off with a soft grout brush.

We also picked up some Bellawood floor cleaner from Lumber Liquidators which got the treads nice and clean. I learned the hard way NOT to use Pledge on the steps.

Below is a picture of the closet door that is next to the stairs. The "white" (aka Swiss Coffee) on the left is the existing color of all of the doors and trim in our house. The white on the right is one coat of the Ultra Bright White. BIIIIIG difference. So I spent six hours repainting all the doors and trim downstairs to match - and though that was a detour from the main stair project, it really brightened up all of the rooms downstairs.

Meanwhile, on the upper half, the hubby was installing the LAST tread!!!

We reached the top of Stair Everest!!!

So we still have to do the same thing on the top half as we did on the bottom, but here's the finished bottom pic (the molding on the landing isn't done yet, I'll get that when I do the top).

No more plywood steps woo hoo!!!