How to Redo Carpet-Covered Stairs

Prepare for the job. You will need to wear gloves and safety glasses for this project to protect your hands and eyes from any flying tacks or debris. Work from the bottom of the stairs to the top to reduce the risk of falling as you pull on the carpet.

Pull up the carpeting. Use a pair of pliers and get into one corner of the carpeting. Pull it back towards you. If it's tacked, it should come easily. If it's glued down, you will need to pull harder. You may need to lever it upwards off the adhesive with a putty knife.

Remove the tack strips. Pull up all the tacks on the stairs.

Clean up the stairs. Use a shop vac to pick up any carpet debris and dirt. If adhesive is left on the floor, you can use mineral spirits or an adhesive remover to scrape this off.

Sand the stairs. Use a hand sander with a medium grade of sandpaper first and go with the grain of the wood. Sand it again using a fine disc in your sander. Vacuum up all the dust with the shop vac.

Paint the stairs. Use an epoxy floor paint since this is a high traffic area. Apply the paint with a brush and go with the grain of the wood. Let the paint dry for six to eight hours and apply a second coat if necessary. Sand in between the stairs lightly with a fine grade sandpaper when you are done.

Place a wallpaper border between stairs. This gives your staircase more depth and visual interest. Use pre-pasted wallpaper. Cut the border to fit, dip it in water and smooth it into place.