Wow wow wow! I can’t get over our DIY staircase makeover. We recently updated the majority of our home’s flooring to LVP flooring, so we, of course, had to match the stairs to our new flooring!
Our staircase makeover required new balusters, paint, and new flooring boards plus lots of hard work. Jason tackled the majority of this project, leaving me with the task of painting.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure.
Here is the ‘after’ of the staircase makeover:
Here is the ‘before’ of the staircase makeover:
I still can’t get over where we started from with this project to where we are now!
HOW WE COMPLETED OUR STAIRCASE MAKEOVER
We first swapped out the iron balusters to these white wood balusters. Next, we painted our wood newel posts white. We used Ultra Pure White by Behr Paint. We chose to paint them because it was a much more affordable option as opposed to replacing them.
Then, we installed the new flooring over our current stairs. We recently installed Palka Signature floors in the majority of our home so we decided to use their matching Palka Nosing Squares to complete the staircase makeover.
INSTALLING THE NEW STAIRS
We did not need to install new stairs from scratch since ours were in good shape structurally. Since we just wanted a new look, we opted to put the new stair boards over the existing stair boards.
Jason sanded down the top of the stair boards using 80 grit sandpaper. He did this by hand so it took a little bit of time.
Next, he used a jigsaw to saw off the edge of each stair tread. We had to do this in order to allow the nosing squares to fit properly over the existing treads to meet at the edge of the closed stringer/skirt board.
The next step was to install each stair riser and stair tread. Each stair riser consisted of one Palka Signature flooring board, and each tread consisted of one Palka Signature flooring and one Palka Signature Nosing Square. First, Jason measured and installed the Palka Signature flooring board for the stair riser.
He used a miter saw to cut the length and a table saw to cut the width.
For each stair tread, he cut the Palka flooring board and nosing square to size and then locked them into together using lock-click mechanism on the boards.
As he went, he glued down each board to our existing staircase to ensure it would stay in place. This is the adhesive he used.
Once in place, he used a rubber mallet to hit each board down and secure the glue.
He also used tape to secure the boards together right after he installed them.
Below you can see where he had to use the jigsaw again to cut off a bit more of that stair so the nosing square would fit perfectly over top.
He continued this method for the entire staircase. After Jason finished installing the stair boards, I started painting. I painted the two bottom boards below the balusters and hand rail black. I also touched up the white paint all around the stairs. I used Ultra Pure White by Behr Paint.
A few days later, when everything was dry and set, Jason went through and caulked each staircase edge using this caulk in the color linen. It’s a great match for Palka floors and gave the stairs a seamless, finished look.
We absolutely love how they turned out! They flow so much better with our home.
Here’s one more look at a before and after shot. Here’s the ‘after’ photo:
And here’s one more look at the ‘before’ staircase:
Looking back, I can assure you that I DO NOT miss the old flooring! 🙂
