Your home’s staircase takes a beating year-round. It is used throughout the day, every day. Eventually, the wooden stair treads can become worn, chipped and the finish faded. Refinishing hardwood stairs is not easy, but doing so can restore the beauty of your home’s staircase and also ensure you do not have to pay to replace them later.
Robar Flooring is your trusted, local service for wood stairs refinishing and hardwood staircase installation. Whether you are removing carpet and restoring the wood underneath or you just need a new stain on the treads, we can help.
How to Refinish Wood Stairs
Wood stairs refinishing does take a lot of elbow grease, especially if you plan to do it yourself. So, set aside a weekend and maybe even enlist some help. Remember to use caution while working on the stairs and keep tools off the staircase to prevent any trips and falls.
- Sand the Surface – Sanding is unarguably, the messiest part. You will have to prep the area around your workspace, including protecting any furniture nearby. The old finish must be removed first, using 60-grit sandpaper. You must be cautious; do not change the shape of the wooden stairs. Pay special attention near the edges; making them too round will not only ruin their aesthetic appeal, but also make them unsafe.
- Clean Up Thoroughly – Because sanding can push around sawdust, paint and old varnish, you must be thorough with your cleanup. It only takes one particle to ruin your new staircase finish. The best way to clean up after sanding is using an industrial vacuum. You will then have to wash up with mineral spirits and a clean rag. Be careful not to over-saturate the wooden stairs as this could cause the wood to warp.
- Be Mindful of Your Colors – The biggest decision you make when refinishing hardwood stairs is the finish. Choose a color that matches the rest of your home’s wooden accents. Also, you can choose between gloss, semi-gloss and satin for your finish.
- Coating – It may take multiple coats of stain, varnish or paint to finish the job. You must wait until each coat dries before applying the next, so the entire process may take a few hours or days. After you reach the color you want, you will then apply a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and varnish before you do a final coat of varnish. Everything must dry for 24 hours before you gently sand it all with 110-grit sandpaper.
- Wax, Then Buff – After everything has dried, you will lightly coat the stairs in wax, then buff away.
Skip the Hassle and Save Your Stairs by Calling a Professional
Wood stairs refinishing or new hardwood staircase installation – they both are tedious tasks. It takes days, a lot of cleanup and the results are permanent. You can save yourself the cost, labor and even the effort just by contacting a professional. Robar Flooring offers staircase installation and staircase refinishing. We make restoring your staircase easy by taking on all of the work; you just sit back and relax.
Need to refinish your staircase? Contact the experts at Robar Flooring for information about refinishing hardwood stairs. Call 416.822.6184 now or request a quote online.