The Home Improvement Ninja

The Home Improvement Ninja's battle to the death against his 100 year old townhouse. Currently, it's looking like they are evenly matched.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

New Stairs!

So the hardwood floors upstairs and downstairs looked nice, but the stairs that connected them looked like crap. I thought about refinishing the stairs, but decided on having them done over, which cost a lot more money, but ended up looking nicer, I think.






Before Pic Number 1: this is the transition from upstairs to the stairs.







Here's what the stairs looked liked from downstairs. There's a fine line between "shabby chic" and "silence of the lambs" and these stairs were on the wrong side of the line.









Here's a pic of the stairs in progress. It's missing the part you step on, which makes it not yet a staircase.











Here's what it looked like when the stairs were in, but before it was stained and painted.











I went to a paintstore so they could get the stain to make the pine stairs look like the oak floors downstairs. Preety good match, I think.







Stained, painted and drying













FINISHED!















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13 Comments:

At 4:34 PM, Blogger Velvet said...

I love them! Yes, they were a bit Silence of the Lambs-ish. I love how you have blue tape over the stairwell. um, you live alone. Is that necessary?

This girlfriend has been a boon for your house repairs. She needs to stick around.

 
At 6:02 PM, Blogger Cyndy said...

Your steps look great! I'm going to be painting and staining mine in the next couple of months so it's nice to see some that are freshly done.

 
At 6:39 PM, Blogger HomeImprovementNinja said...

velvet: Well, I had people over recently so the tape was necessary until the stairs dried.

cyndy: good luck with yours.

 
At 6:44 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Looks fantastic!

My girlfriend has been a major setback to house repairs. Seems I have a lot less free time these days. I'm not exactly complaining, but rather wondering: How do you pull that off?

 
At 2:09 AM, Anonymous Anthony said...

Stairs look great! Ours could use an overhaul as well. Mind if I ask who you used?

 
At 7:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful job. I won't critique something I've anticipated for so long. Nice.

 
At 12:23 PM, Anonymous Kristin said...

Your stairs ROCK!!
so crisp and clean looking :-)

 
At 2:39 PM, Blogger HomeImprovementNinja said...

Jamie: thanks. Actually, she helped me paint once, but I have been doing less around the house of late, truth be told.

Anthony: My Dad came up from Florida and did it. I'll write more about that soon.

Anonymous: thanks.

Kristin: thanks.


lralph: no thanks, I don't do

 
At 1:20 PM, Blogger lralph said...

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

 
At 3:48 PM, Blogger John said...

Very, very nice. I think they look better than any finished project at the Devil Queen, but having said that, I'm not sure if actually have finished anything. We're all about the silence of the lambs at our place. Anyhow, beautiful stairs.

 
At 11:33 AM, Anonymous steve the plumber said...

Brilliant diy job, did it take you long to build?

The white painted walls look fresh

 
At 5:40 AM, Blogger woodpick said...

Hi Tom,

Nice Stairs!

I offering a Free carbide-tipped router bit set ($79 value) for adding a link to www.woodshopbits.com

I came across your site while digging around the Internet. I'm not sure if you ever use router bits, but I would be willing to send you a free carbide-tipped router bit set (shipped at no charge), if you will add a link to www.woodshopbits.com on your website.

You can find more information about the set at:

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To get the set, do the following:

1) Add the following snippet of HTML code to this page of your site --> http://homeimprovementninja.blogspot.com

router bits

It does not matter how noticeable the link is on your page, as long as it is visible. For example, you may put a small "router bits" link at the foot of your page that points to wwww.woodshopbits.com. Please be sure and use "router bits" in the link text.

2) Reply to this email the following information:

- URL of the page where you placed the link
- Your mailing address

3) Wait for your router bit set to arrive. I'll cover shipping. So there is no charge to you.

Thanks for your consideration. Happy woodworking!

David Pickard
www.woodshopbits.com
www.woodshopics.com
www.woodworkingfacts.com

 
At 10:28 AM, Blogger 1800 said...

Tom, I really like your new stairs, I think you are no less than a professional carpenter. I really appreciate your work. I am looking for home improvement in my home too. I have a plan to remodel ceiling in my living room and make some repair for stair-case. I am looking for some suggestions from you.

 

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