Staircase part 2- prepping for greatness

The initial demolition was rather satisfying. The next stage was a little tedious. What we are intending to achieve is a more open and light look and feel to this area. Since the staircase is the first thing you see when you walk in, we want it to be more of a focal point. When we built the house, we were struggling with the budget after the contractor forgot a little thing called TRUSSES. If you've ever built a house you know that is not something you just forget. That error put a $10,000 crimp on our budget and to reclaim the difference we sacrificed compromised on a lot of the finishing details, including the staircase. 


I've looked at a zillion images of staircases and think that the best fit for the architecture of this house will be a wood banister with white rails. I want to carpet the stairs because I feel it is safer than wood and most of the flooring in the house will be hard surface. It will be a way to bring in a softer surface on a lower traffic area. 


We had the option of following the angle of the staircase or notching the base at the level of each stair. We chose the latter, because we like the look and have a good idea how we want to trim it out. Installing the rails will likely be easier too. Building and reinforcing the base was not exactly complicated, but did require a fair amount of patience and many trips back and forth to cut 2x4's.

Once that was done, it was time to put the drywall back up.

See that ladder? This is where it goes:

Part of the compromise I mentioned earlier was that we did all the drywall ourselves in an effort to bring the budget back. Our savings in labor costs manifested in several areas where the seams were less than desirable. This was one- of course the highest, most difficult to reach spot in the entire house.


Once the mud was dry, it was time to paint. We started with the ceiling. One thing I wanted to change is the ceiling fan at the top of the stairs. It is too large for the space and it seems a little dated to me. I suggested we remove it now so that it would be easier to paint. Bye fan!

Together, we painted primer over the entire upper stair area. This was a little tricky and required some clever maneuvering of the ladder. And a broom handle.

The walls are all white now, the ceiling has been painted white semigloss. Next is painting the walls and installing a new fan, both of which need to be purchased. The lower hall needs a little more mudding attention and to be painted as well. Then we'll get to start on the really fun stuff- adding the woodwork and trimming the staircase out.