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    Home » DIY Projects

    DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood

    Published: May 9, 2020 · Modified: Jun 14, 2023 by Alison · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Turn your ugly stairs into something beautiful with this DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood step by step tutorial!

    DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood

    DIY projects are never ending at least in my household. I’m constantly thinking of things to improve and it’s usually after watching a few episodes of HGTV. Our latest project was updating our stairs going from carpet to hardwood. I will say that it was a bit of a challenge mostly getting all of the staples out but we got lucky having the stair treads already in place under the carpet which saved us some time and money.

    stairs makeover

    We ended up completing the whole project in about a week because of waiting in between days of the stain to dry on the stairs but the overall outcome turned out amazing.

    Supplies Needed

    Pliers
    Power cord
    Circular saw
    Marking pencil
    Tape measure
    Nail gun
    Nails
    Electric sander
    Sand paper
    Wood stain
    Stain rags
    Paint
    Beadboard
    Shop-Vac
    Polyurethane

    DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood Directions

    Remove the carpet, padding, and tack strips from the stairs and throw away. Use pliers to remove all tack strips and staples from the stairs.

    Place the sandpaper on the electric sander and sand the top and front of each step. Remove the dust from the stairs by using shop vac making sure you get all of the dust and dirt off of them and wipe with a dry clean cloth.

    carpet to wood stairs makeover

    Apply stain to a clean rag and stain every other stair treads and then the landing. Allow to dry for 2 days or per stain can instructions.  Apply stain to the remaining stairs using a clean rag and allow to dry for at least 2 days.

    Apply Polyurethane using a clean synthetic bristle brush on every other stair and landing and allow to dry according to can directions but usually at least one day. Apply Polyurethane to remaining stairs and allow to dry for at least one day.

    diy stairs makeover tutorial

    Cut beadboard to fit the rise of all stairs. Paint the sides of the stairs tapping off the ends. Paint the boards that you made for the rise and install with a nail gun after they dry. Touch up paint where you used the nail gun.

    To clean, use a broom to get the dust off and the use a steam mop. 

    Note: Although your landing may have the right piece of wood, our landing was not suitable for refinishing the wood so we had to cover it and install an ⅛″ plywood and then finish it.

    Print
    4.21 from 29 votes

    DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood

    Author: EverydayShortcuts.com

    Equipment

    • Pliers
    • Circular Saw
    • Nail gun
    • Electric Sander

    Materials

    • Power cord
    • Marking pencil
    • Tape measure
    • Nails
    • Sand paper
    • Wood stain
    • Rags
    • Paint
    • Beadboard
    • Shop-Vac
    • Polyurethane

    Instructions

    • Remove the carpet, padding, and tack strips from the stairs and throw away. Use pliers to remove all tack strips and staples from the stairs.
    • Place the sandpaper on the electric sander and sand the top and front of each step. Remove the dust from the stairs by using shop vac making sure you get all of the dust and dirt off of them and wipe with a dry clean cloth.
    • Apply stain to a clean rag and stain every other stair treads and then the landing. Allow to dry for 2 days or per stain can instructions.  Apply stain to the remaining stairs using a clean rag and allow to dry for at least 2 days.
    • Apply Polyurethane using a clean synthetic bristle brush on every other stair and landing and allow to dry according to can directions but usually at least one day. Apply Polyurethane to remaining stairs and allow to dry for at least one day.
    • Cut beadboard to fit the rise of all stairs. Paint the sides of the stairs tapping off the ends. Paint the boards that you made for the rise and install with a nail gun after they dry. Touch up paint where you used the nail gun.
    • To clean, use a broom to get the dust off and the use a steam mop. 

    Notes

    Although your landing may have the right piece of wood, our landing was not suitable for refinishing the wood so we had to cover it and install an ⅛" plywood and then finish it.

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    Alison is a wife and mother of three who embraces the simple life, finding joy in easy recipes, DIY projects, life hacks, and her passion for travel. Learn more about me!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Cross Carpets

      April 12, 2022 at 12:39 am

      What a great transition and it looks really nice. What kind of hardwood is that?

      Reply
      • Alison

        July 13, 2022 at 12:31 am

        I’m not sure. It was what our house came with.

        Reply
        • B wiesner

          February 04, 2025 at 11:03 pm

          Your staining looks terrible! You should have used a prestain conditioner on that pine……that’s why it looks so splotchy. Plus that , 1/8 inch plywood on the landing? Bad choice…….its gonna look like you’ve pounded it with a ball peen hammer in no time. Sad that your site is making you sound like you really know what you’re doing…….you don’t!

          Reply
      • John A Contino

        September 04, 2024 at 6:27 pm

        It does not appear to be hardwood. Those stock stairs are typically pine. Pine is a very soft wood. I would not wear shoes on those stairs. Looks like pine grain to me. I am faced with the same issue. I am trying to find reasonably priced alternatives to pine. Alternative hardwoods are quite expensive.

        Reply
    2. Wendy

      July 11, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      I love what you did with the stairs. Dumb question does the risers really need to be installed? I wanna try this but hesitating.

      Reply
      • Alison

        July 13, 2022 at 12:28 am

        No they don’t. Ours does not have risers.

        Reply
        • Eve

          November 08, 2022 at 6:24 pm

          I thought I saw breadboard as ur risers?

          Reply
          • Alison

            March 08, 2023 at 1:04 pm

            We glued beadboard to the risers not the run.

            Reply
    3. Sherry

      December 10, 2023 at 10:07 am

      How did you do the landing with 1/8” ??

      Reply
      • Alison

        December 30, 2023 at 11:04 pm

        I laid the 1/8″ plywood down first and then trimmed it out and used a piece a molding across the front where the stairs are.

        Reply
    4. Valerie

      December 21, 2024 at 1:32 pm

      We just ripped the carpet up from our stairs and I came across your post. What did you do about the nails that are keeping the stairs held together? Our nails are flush with the wood so there’s no pulling them out without damaging the wood and trying to inset them has not worked.

      Reply
      • Alison

        December 23, 2024 at 10:08 pm

        We just nailed them in a little further and puttied over them.

        Reply
    4.21 from 29 votes (29 ratings without comment)

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