DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood

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

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.

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.

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. 

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 1/8″ plywood and then finish it.

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DIY Stairs Makeover: From Carpet to Wood

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Materials

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

Tools

• Pliers
• Circular Saw
• Nail Gun
• Electric Sander

Instructions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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 1/8" plywood and then finish it.