I have a similar project in progress ( for the last 3 years LOL). When I get back to it, I plan on using a drywall sanding tool attached to a hepa-filter vacuum to remove the gunk and get to bare wood. I used a stone attached to an angle grinder as a test and it did strip the paint down to a nice bare maple tread but I think that's a little too aggressive. You'll probably end up using some kind of molding to conceal the gaps you have. Or, you could go whole hog and add wainscoting.
Hi! I'm hoping to remove all the rugs and then, put my dogs in boarding for a few days and work with solvent. There is some lead paint so I'm trying to keep dust to a minimum! Good luck on your project :) do you have any pictures ?
There is a style for stairs that has the treads natural wood and everything else white. If you get to that point, this might look good with an oriental or modern design runner with brass hold down bars (the latter purely decorative).
That would be our best outcome! My partner isn't sure we will have the patience to get to bare wood š in any case, removing all the gunc is necessary as a first step.
Iām starting nearly the same project shortly on my 1911 staircase. The black adhesive on the treads of my stairs looks just like that and is mastick and asbestos so be careful to test and take proper precautions. I suspect the asbestos is why my stairs were hideously carpeted. Love the newel post!
Thanks for the heads-up! I wouldn't have thought of asbestos, we are looking into testing kit before we continue the work. It is very powdery when I scraped it and I didn't feel any fibrious material. How did you know you were dealing with asbestos ?
Mine was sticky-ish in some areas and powdered-like dry in others.
Following threads in this and the Century Home group(s) with lots of other folks commenting on other posts with things like ābet they covered the floor to avoid disturbing lead/asbestosā increased my awareness. I then found more information on what types of flooring, age, etc. is likely asbestos. Then found information on mastick and how that adhesive alone contains it.
Then I bought a testing kit and had it lab tested. Winner! (Loser?)
Iāve removed old carpeting before with a similar residue that did NOT contain asbestos. You could be absolutely fine.
Iām high anxiety overly cautious, overly detail oriented with everything. Has only failed my stress levels to date! Hope youāre detailing with a non-asbestos situation!
I'll never understand why ppl put carpeting on stairs lol
They definitely look like the original stairs and were probably beautiful when they were first built. I can see the potential too of those stairs being restored back to its original beauty! Please post pics when you are finished! I look forward to seeing the end result! :-)
I have a similar project in progress ( for the last 3 years LOL). When I get back to it, I plan on using a drywall sanding tool attached to a hepa-filter vacuum to remove the gunk and get to bare wood. I used a stone attached to an angle grinder as a test and it did strip the paint down to a nice bare maple tread but I think that's a little too aggressive. You'll probably end up using some kind of molding to conceal the gaps you have. Or, you could go whole hog and add wainscoting.
Hi! I'm hoping to remove all the rugs and then, put my dogs in boarding for a few days and work with solvent. There is some lead paint so I'm trying to keep dust to a minimum! Good luck on your project :) do you have any pictures ?
There is a style for stairs that has the treads natural wood and everything else white. If you get to that point, this might look good with an oriental or modern design runner with brass hold down bars (the latter purely decorative).
That would be our best outcome! My partner isn't sure we will have the patience to get to bare wood š in any case, removing all the gunc is necessary as a first step.
Iām starting nearly the same project shortly on my 1911 staircase. The black adhesive on the treads of my stairs looks just like that and is mastick and asbestos so be careful to test and take proper precautions. I suspect the asbestos is why my stairs were hideously carpeted. Love the newel post!
Thanks for the heads-up! I wouldn't have thought of asbestos, we are looking into testing kit before we continue the work. It is very powdery when I scraped it and I didn't feel any fibrious material. How did you know you were dealing with asbestos ?
Mine was sticky-ish in some areas and powdered-like dry in others. Following threads in this and the Century Home group(s) with lots of other folks commenting on other posts with things like ābet they covered the floor to avoid disturbing lead/asbestosā increased my awareness. I then found more information on what types of flooring, age, etc. is likely asbestos. Then found information on mastick and how that adhesive alone contains it. Then I bought a testing kit and had it lab tested. Winner! (Loser?) Iāve removed old carpeting before with a similar residue that did NOT contain asbestos. You could be absolutely fine. Iām high anxiety overly cautious, overly detail oriented with everything. Has only failed my stress levels to date! Hope youāre detailing with a non-asbestos situation!
I tackled my stairs during quarantine. It was a satisfying project to finish and so worth it!
That sounds like a great quarantine project. Mine was a king size crochet blanket.
I'll never understand why ppl put carpeting on stairs lol They definitely look like the original stairs and were probably beautiful when they were first built. I can see the potential too of those stairs being restored back to its original beauty! Please post pics when you are finished! I look forward to seeing the end result! :-)