Refinishing Hardwood Stairs in Kansas City: What to Expect

Your staircase takes more concentrated foot traffic than any floor in the house, and it is usually the first thing a guest sees. It is also the most detailed part of a home to refinish, because every tread, riser, and railing has to be worked largely by hand. Here is what to expect when you refinish or build hardwood stairs in Kansas City.

Why Stairs Are Harder Than Floors

A big open floor lets a machine do most of the work. Stairs do not. Each step has a horizontal tread and a vertical riser, plus nosing on the front edge, and often railings, balusters, and newel posts nearby. Most of that has to be sanded by hand or with small detail tools, and the finish has to be applied carefully so it does not run or pool on the vertical surfaces. It is slower, more precise work, which is exactly why it is worth having done by someone who does it regularly. Our hardwood stairs service covers refinishing and installation both.

The Stair Refinishing Process

• Assessment. We check the treads for wear, looseness, and squeaks, and look at how the stairs meet your floors so the finished color ties in.
• Sanding. Treads and nosings get sanded down, edges and corners by hand. Deep wear on the front edge of each tread gets special attention since that is where the traffic lands.
• Staining. If you want the stairs to match a floor we are also refinishing, or to match your existing floor, we sample the color and check it in your home's light.
• Finish. We apply the protective coats carefully on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, working the sequence so you always have a way up or down.
• Cure. Stairs need to cure before heavy use. We will tell you how long to stay off them and plan the work so you are not trapped upstairs.

Matching Stairs to Your Floors

One of the most common reasons people refinish stairs is that they no longer match a floor that was refinished or replaced. Getting the color to tie together takes sample boards and checking them against the actual floor, because stair treads are frequently a slightly different wood or age than the main floor. This is worth doing right, since mismatched stairs are obvious from across the room. If we are refinishing your floors at the same time, matching is straightforward, and you can read how color works on our wood staining page.

Carpeted Stairs to Hardwood

Plenty of Kansas City homes have carpeted stairs sitting on top of perfectly good wood, or a rough construction-grade stringer that can be capped with hardwood treads. Pulling the carpet and going to wood is a popular upgrade that makes the whole staircase feel finished. Whether your stairs can be refinished as-is or need new treads installed depends on what is under the carpet, which we check before quoting.

Building New Stairs and Railings

Beyond refinishing, we build and rebuild staircases, including new treads, risers, and custom railings. If you are opening up a space, changing a railing, or want a statement staircase, that falls under our custom staircases and handrails work. The same craftsmanship that makes a refinished stair look seamless is what makes a new one look built-in rather than bolted on.

What Stair Work Costs

Stairs are priced by the staircase, not by square footage, because the labor is in the detail. The main factors are the number of steps, whether railings and balusters are involved, whether you are refinishing or installing new treads, and whether the color has to match existing floors. A straight run of a dozen steps is a very different job than a curved staircase with turned balusters. We look at your actual stairs before we put a number on them.

If your staircase is looking worn or no longer matches your floors, get a free estimate and we will walk it with you and lay out your options.