Can I just say that I have been waiting forever for this remodel? Like…FOREVER! I’ve wanted on many occasions to rip into the staircase when the hubby was at work or gone away on a business trip, but I did because #1 – I needed to have funds available, and #2 – he likely would have been just a touch upset for ripping out the carpet.
Well, the years of patience has paid off! This past weekend he finally listened to the designer (me) and ripped out the spindels! With a chainsaw no less!!! You think I’m kidding, just watch the video below!
Okay, so he started off with a chainsaw just for fun, and because he wanted to use the pun, “Fixed the newel post!” from Christmas Vacation. What can I say? I have a crazy fun life over here with my boys.
He quickly moved to using the reciprocating saw and cut out the remaining spindels.
Before:
During:
So I used a gel stain called java, but once I applied it the hubby said it looked black. Of course an argument ensued that I was the designer and he should listen to me. It wasn’t black it was java…I didn’t win and then the next step was to make the hubby happy…
Let me tell you that once you apply a stain heavily, like I did because I was lazy, it’s not easy to get it to come off. Not easy at all.
Why was I lazy you ask? Because years ago when I was yet again trying to have my stairs remodeled and the hubby didn’t want to, I got the crazy idea to paint it white. It looked great for the first year, but then the paint decided to wear off, mainly on the newel post, the round knob to be exact. So one weekend my son, Coley, and I decided to get crazy and strip the paint off…that was over 4 years ago. It’s funny how paint could wear/rub off in certain spots on the banister, but I couldn’t get it off in others. The newel posts to be exact. So thus why I put the gel stain on heavily. Gel stain is one of the few products that will and can be applied over paint without any adhesion issues. And let me tell you it stuck good, like real good.
So I proceeded to use a restore product that removes stain and restores wood to it’s natural color without sanding. Bahahahaha, oh wait, that wasn’t meant to be funny, but it is somewhat. It did do part of the job of removing most of the stain, however, not all of it. Sometimes you just have to know when to quit, which is what I did.
So here’s the new mahogany stain I had the hubby pick out, and the old java stain below. So maybe he was right, but only to a certain degree. The java did come out darker than what he wanted, which gave it more of a black appearance, and the new mahogany is more of a true brown.
All in all was it worth my time? Of course, I made the hubby happy and that’s all the matters since he is helping with the work and that means I don’t have to. The designer in me compromises from time to time, but I’m not backing down on the floors…
