Naked Staircase

After confirming our carpet installation date, M and I started working on the upstairs.  Since we were getting the basement and upstairs carpeted and had already painted the basement, all we had left to tackle was the 2nd floor. This included two bedrooms, a hallway, and a staircase that needed to be cleaned, painted, and have the carpet and carpet pad ripped out. It was a harrowing and dirty job but we were more than happy to do it since we could thoroughly clean each room. We thought the stairs would be the easiest job but that proved to be the worst.

The carpet on the staircase was heavily stapled and M had to pry off the carpet instead of just ripping it out. After the carpet was removed, we took the disintegrating carpet pad off of the steps and then went back and removed the pad bits that were stuck under staples. Upon closer inspection, we saw multiple layers of staples from previous carpet installs. It bothered me that these staples were left in the stairs, littering and marring the surface. After two hours and multiple blisters on my hands, I had pulled out almost all of the 500+ staples. There were about 10 that I couldn't get out since they were flush with the wood.

Once I pulled out the staples, M came through and vacuumed up the mess and then fixed the squeaky stairs. He quelled the squeaking by securing the tread to the riser. He first drilled pilot holes for the screws and then used a countersink bit to recess the screw head. After all was said and done, I ran up and down the stairs as quiet as a mouse. Overall, this little project took us 4 hours to complete.

M ripping out the old carpet

Peeling back the carpet pad revealed an old razor left behind by the previous installers

Removed the carpet pad which left little tufts of pad that were trapped under the staples

Pulling out staples...more fun than pulling teeth?

Various types of staples accumulated over 63 years

These staples were used to secure the carpet to the stairs. These were the most difficult to pull out since they were bidirectional, narrow, and long.

Countersink bit used to fasten tread to riser

No more staples!

BEFORE

The unassuming carpeted staircase before we moved in