How to Remove the Old Carpet From Hardwood Stairs

Probe along the seam between the bottom stair step and landing, inserting the pry bar or long, heavy-duty screwdriver under the carpeting and tugging up on the tool. Try pulling the carpeting up with your hands until the method of attachment is exposed. Wall-to-wall carpeting is most often installed with hidden carpeting tack strips.

Rip up the bottom stair carpet until the tack strips are exposed on the tread and the riser just above it (if any were used on the risers). Fold the excess carpet up to the next step above and weigh it down with something heavy like books, a 1-gallon bottle filled with sand or water, or a concrete block. Don't cut this excess carpet off yet.

Slip a pry bar under a tack strip and use a hammer or mallet to drive it in under the strip by about an inch. Pry the tack strip away from the wood of the stair. Continue to work along the length of the strip until the entire strip has been removed from the stair. These strips will often break or splinter into pieces: remove all the pieces individually. Place these tack strips in a garbage can or cardboard box. Don't toss them on the floor or put them in a garbage bag. Pull any nails or staples used to mount the tack strips to the stair.

Rip the carpet up on the next stair once you have removed all the tack strips from the stair below. Fold the carpet over again and weigh it down. Pry up the tack strips and dispose of them properly.

Rip up the carpet and pry up the tack strips as you work up the staircase. As soon as you have too much old carpet to handle comfortably, cut some of it off with a carpet knife. Keep enough excess carpeting "going" so you can get a good grip on the carpet as you pull it up.

Pull up any small pieces of carpeting that may have been left behind, especially around the balustrades. Make sure no nails or tacks remain in the wood.

Fill all the holes left in the wood with a stainable wood putty. Use a flexible metal spackle knife to fill these holes with putty. Work from the top stair down, filling the holes as you go.

Sand the stairs once the wood putty is completely dry. Use a power sander for fastest results. Sand with the wood grain, not across it. Sand down any bumps created by the wood putty work. Use a tackcloth to wipe away any dust.

Stain the stairs with the wood stain of your choice that matches other hardwood floors nearby, especially at the bottom of the staircase. Apply the stain with a brush or a clean cotton cloth, starting at the top of the stairs and working down. Make sure no one will be using the stairs while the stain is drying.

Apply a wood sealer finish to give the wood extra protection. Choose a finish that matches the finish of your other hardwood floors nearby: eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, or gloss.