Has anyone torn out old carpet on stairway? Plywood underneath...

[big brown horse]

The carpet on my garage addition stairway is just plane narsty and I can't take it anymore. It is almost as old as the house (25+ years old), stained, stinky, you name it, it is gross! (We replaced all the other narsty carpeting before we moved in with wood laminate etc, but left the stairway in the garage area until we could afford to do it at a later date. I'm not much of a laminate gal, but this house will eventually be replaced so we didn't want to spend a bunch of money.)

I want to rip it up and replace it with wood or wood-laminate so bad, but I really can't afford to have it done professionally at the moment...and I don't think I can wait much longer. (The previous owners raised and sold puppies and dogs.)

Has anyone else done this?

 

[ksalvagno]

We took the carpet off of our basement stairs. The wood used was just cheap left over stuff. We sanded it, stained it and polyeurothaned it. Now we have nice wood stairs with that "distressed" look that people like.

 

[hwillm1977]

We did the same thing as ksalvagno... we didn't have carpet, but we had wood stairs that had been painted about 4000 times. I love them because they are 125 years old and there are foot impressions worn into the steps (which are pine)....

Anyway, we removed as much paint as possible, then painted the stairs cream, then used a wood graining tool and stain to create a 'wood look' staircase. I followed directions on a house reno blog that I love...

These are the directions for making it look like wood, without actually having to lay down new laminate (our floors are going to be laminate, but I had no idea how to lay it on a staircase... so this was easier to me)

http://www.ourvictorianhouse.com/Door Restoration.htm

 

[2dream]

I'm with ksalvagno and hwillm.

I removed the carpet from my staircase going to the upstairs bedroom. (The one used by a boy thoroughout his growing up years, mud, spilled drinks, dropped food, etc). Did not want to replace with carpet and could not afford to do anything but paint. Painted the steps a dark brown with a cream color underneath as trim.

 

[freemotion]

No laminate on the stairs....way too slippery!

You can do some really cool stuff if you either leave the steps wood (shabby chic) and paint the risers, or you can wallpaper the risers or stencil them and have the steps either wood or painted a coordinating color. I have a friend who wallpapered hers and it is amazingly cool. Her house is very old and has lots of character. Interesting details really draw the eye away from the flaws.

I pulled the rug off mine last winter but haven't gotten to them yet, but the ugly stairs are much better than the horrid carpet! The previous owner here had a dog and little boys and NO GRASS in the yard, and a WHITE berber rug in the LR and on the stairs! Oh, and in the upstairs bedrooms....you can just imagine the stains on that carpet, ugh!

 

[~gd]

The carpet on my garage addition stairway is just plane narsty and I can't take it anymore. It is almost as old as the house (25+ years old), stained, stinky, you name it, it is gross! (We replaced all the other narsty carpeting before we moved in with wood laminate etc, but left the stairway in the garage area until we could afford to do it at a later date. I'm not much of a laminate gal, but this house will eventually be replaced so we didn't want to spend a bunch of money.)

I want to rip it up and replace it with wood or wood-laminate so bad, but I really can't afford to have it done professionally at the moment...and I don't think I can wait much longer. (The previous owners raised and sold puppies and dogs.)

Has anyone else done this?

I sure hope not wood laminate is a floating system it would be the equivalent of putting a little throw rug on each stair, a disaster waiting to happen! once you get the nasty carpet up look at your wood stairs. Usually they will be solid wood and can either be refinished or painted, Even if they turn out to be plywood they can be painted to look decent or decent carpet firmly nailed down on each tread.

 

[TanksHill]

I have the same problem. Contractor grade carpet going from my house down to the garage. I knows the stairs are plywood. I have thought about cork tiles. But then I don't know what would happen on the front edge. I thought that might be to complicated. Painting sounds good, but wont that be slippery as well? I think the part that scares me the most is the tack strips. Been there done that.

g

 

[big brown horse]

thanks you guys!

I forgot laminate is floating duh!! Not a good idea at all!

I am not afraid to pull up that carpet now. I love all of your ideas!


thank you thank you thank you!!!

 

[Wifezilla]

We are down to one room with carpet. The wood floors really need to be redone, but distressed wood is WAY more attractive than crappy carpet. Besides, carpet is just a giant germ trap. I will never have carpet again. Throw rugs? Sure. Carpet? HECK NO!

 

[big brown horse]

I totally agree WZ, and with a terribly asthmatic and generally sick child, carpet is really not a good idea. Good thing these stairs are rooms away from where we usually congregate.

I am about to go and peel up a corner. Please wish me luck that it isn't crappy partical board underneath!