Stair Reveal!!

They're DONE!!!

We finally did it! We got them done!! Just three hours before I had to drop my Mommy off at the airport for her to fly home :( I'm going to miss her so much- there's no way I could have ever done this without her and it was so great to have her here to troubleshoot and share the workload and even just chat with while we worked. I felt really badly that we were working until the 11th hour, but I treated her to a gel manicure afterwards so hopefully she'll forgive me.

So last time I told you about the stairs we'd just papered them. And then we took a break from them to paint and do baseboards. Well- I say "we" lightly. I was a support trade- my Mom did almost all the painting, and she did the bulk of the baseboard cuts since my proficiency with a mitre saw was nil. I ran around getting pencils and remembering numbers and doing what I could to try and help it go smoothly.

So once all that was done we finally got around to staining the stairs. First we tried to fix some spots that got a bit ripped up while we did the walls.

The stairs with patches on them. 

Hard learned lesson: straight glue does not absorb stain. We tried to glue some patches down with straight white glue- which worked- but then when we stained the patches were painfully obvious, because the stain wouldn't absorb. I'll admit it: there's no pictures because I was freaking out- it's not something I wanted commemorated. But once again my Mom came to the rescue: she suggested that if we stippled on some acrylic paint in a similar colour nobody would be the wiser. So we stopped at Michaels and picked up some Folkart paint in Raw Umber and stippled it on. You really can't tell. Crisis averted.

Stained stairs with paint used to blend in some of the patches. Can you tell where?

The stain was applied using one of the dollar store brushes we used to apply the glue and paper in the first place. Once it was on and looking even we went ahead and applied 3 coats of poly. We used the MinWax Oil-Modified Waterbased Poly- and it's working really well. It doesn't smell bad and it's super easy to clean up.

Once that was done my Mom primed the stringers on the stairs. We opted to prime them first because they were full of uneven bits and knots- and even with them sanded down to bare wood and the holes filled we were worried they'd bleed through. So she primed while I painted trim in the livingroom.

Then it was on with the baseboards and the risers!! Mom attached baseboard while I cut and attached paintable wallpaper to plywood risers.

While looking for riser options we considered getting panelling and cutting it to size- but it was expensive!! 30$ for one sheet that would only get us four risers. And we'd need a saw to cut it. Then I remembered seeing a post on Pinterest about how someone had used textured paintable wallpaper to cover up their risers. I loved the idea, but Hubs is what some would call stringent in his desire for no "frillies". And something told me that no matter how much I liked the look of it, if I put herringbone or damask on the risers he'd have my head. But! I found this:

It's flat wallpaper that is meant to go over paneling! How great is that?! But I discovered that installing wallpaper on risers is not the same as installing it on the wall. Even though the paper is pre-glued, it was impossible to use it that way because the paper because very floppy and impossible to work with at the angle I was trying to work at. So I instead opted to use wallpaper paste in a bucket.

My basic method was measure; measure; cut; dryfit and trim; paste in place. First I measured the height of the riser and subtracted an eighth of an inch to give myself some wiggle room. I'm going to say it one more time: nobody stares under your stair nosings! (That said- if I know you in real life and I find you with your head under my stair nosings we will have words!) I then measured a line on the paper and marked it with a pencil lightly. I cut that out with scissors- I was able to get three risers per wallpaper width. I then popped the length in and dry fit it in place. This gave me a bit of overhang on each end, which I pushed into the corner with my putty knife and then trimmed it with an xacto knife. Once I was happy with the fit I just pulled out half the paper, pasted behind it, fit it back in place, and then did the other side. In!

Except that no matter how nicely I trimmed the paper, there was still a gap at either end.

No matter. That's what paintable caulk was invented for. A little in the corners and we were good to go!

Finally- we could paint it all! Two coats of Kilz Pro-X untinted semi-glass paint later we were ALMOST done!! (I know- these things don't seem like they'll ever die, do they?) The truth of the matter is that 99% of our efforts on these stairs were because we did NOT have paint-grade anything on the stairs. So we spent untold amounts of time just getting up to the point where we could paint!


Last step: caulk. There was a gap between the stringers and the paper treatment- and no matter what we did we couldn't close it. When the paper dries, it shrinks. So we decided the best solution would be caulk. They sell brown caulk for windows and doors at Home Depot- so we got a tube of that.

Much better. And once the additional coats of poly are on and the sheen is the same- you can't even tell. After I dropped my Mommy off at the airport (and cried all the way home! I may be 24- but I still need my Mommy!!) I came home and pulled all the tape off, sanded down all the stairs very lightly, and put on another coat of poly.

Ready? You're going to lay an egg when you see the difference.

Can you believe they're even the same stairs?!

Isn't the difference incredible?! I have blog worthy stairs!! No more lino and carpet!! I can't believe we got it done- but we did! And they look fantastic if I do say so myself. What do you think?! A big thank you again to my Mommy- I couldn't have done it without her and I'd have torn my hair out even attempting it. I'm going to miss her so so much! Christmas can't come fast enough.

Painting Tips according to my Mama

So, as I said in my last post- my Mom painted for me. This past week I had to work in the afternoons, and while I helped a tad in the morning before I had to go pick up my client- Mom continued after I left. She painted the whole front entrance/ livingroom/ stairwell/ upstairs hallway all by herself- TWICE. I can't thank her enough- the colour the previous owners had on the walls was giving me hives I swear. You've seen it in the pictures of the stairs pre-reno- a peachy beige that set my teeth on edge- probably because it clashed so horribly with the dark walnut floors downstairs and the oak stairs upstairs.

Old colour on the right- peachy gross. New colour on the left in the entrance- Classic Silver by Behr.

I did manage to get some awesome painting tips from my Mama before rushing off to work though- so I'll share those with you here, cause my Mom is the painting wizard extraordinare and extremely picky about her paint jobs- if my Mom tells you how to do something- you can take it to bank.

1) Don't bother taping off your trim while doing the wall colour. Just get a really good 1 inch thin-edged paintbrush (she likes the Purdy brushes sold at Home Depot) and cut in. Cutting in is a lot easier than I expected- just don't put to much paint on your brush, and slowly follow the edge of your trim. Keep a damp rag with you (I bought a big box of rags before we started the renos and they are getting used!) and wipe it off if you get a lot on the trim. Once your wall colour has two coats and is dry- THEN tape off the trim and paint it. We've been using FrogTape (just the 1 inch multi-surface one) and it's been working really well.

2) Use eggshell or satin finish on your walls. Flat paint scruffs like crazy- and it'll stop looking new almost instantly. I'm using eggshell on my walls because I like the look of flat but not how easy it is to mess up- that tiny bit of sheen makes it all that much more forgiving.

3) Use untinted Kilz Pro-X for your trim. It blocks stains, and if you don't get it tinted you'll have crisp beautiful white no matter what. Get it in semi-gloss to make it easy to clean. And even though you aren't having it tinted, have it shaken at the paint counter.

4) Remove all the light switch/ outlet covers first! This seems obvious but I was about to cut in around one when she stopped me. TAKE EM OFF!

5) Invest in good equipment. Chances are you aren't just going to ever paint one room in your life. Get a good roller cage (the pro ones at Home Depot with black and yellow handles work awesome), get good rollers (again, she likes Purdy White Dove) and brushes. It really does affect the finish of your walls. And you'll use them over and over and over.

6) Get a contractor pack of rollers- once you clean them they never have quite the same finish to them again- and they're pretty cheap. Use one, and toss.

7) Against popcorn ceilings- don't even attempt to tape. You'll make a huge mess. Just get out that thin edged brush you bought and cut in- kind of in a stippling motion. You'll be surprised by how easy it is. Then pull the paint out a good two to three inches from the ceiling so you don't have to go anywhere near the popcorn with your roller- which is the kiss of death.

For this room I chose Behr's paint and primer in one- and it worked incredibly well. After two coats the walls looked flawless. It's also a lot cheaper than Benjamin Moore or Dulux. We used just under two gallons for the entire front entrance/ livingroom/ double height stairwell/ upstairs hallway area- it went really far!! And we only needed one gallon of the Kilz Pro-X for the trim.

I don't have any other pictures of the room yet because it's still a disaster zone- today we cut new baseboards!! But I'll write about that next time.  This entire area is really coming together- I can't believe it's the same house! I can't thank my Mom enough for painting for me- now when I wake up in the morning I don't immediately feel all upset- my new colour is so much more calming! Thank you Mommy!!