Use a degreaser or soap solution to cut through any dirt or grime. Start by sweeping and mopping the stairs to remove dust and debris. But trust me, putting the time upfront will give you professional-looking results. I know, I know-not the most exciting stuff. You’ll need to clean the stairs thoroughly, sand away any loose material, fill holes or imperfections, and prime before painting. It may be tempting to slap some paint on those stairs and call it a day, but proper prep work is crucial for a smooth, long-lasting finish. Properly prepping and painting your stairs now will pay off for years down the line. Fresh paint will liven up and modernize the look of your stairway, and it also protects the material underneath and makes the stairs safer by increasing visibility. I am so glad to be done and super happy with the results.Painting your home’s stairs is one of the most dramatic upgrades you can make. If you have high windows, keep a bottle of windex and paper towel on the scaffolding to knock out dirty windows and cob webs.Purchase all new light fixtures and fans to install while you have your scaffolding rented.Have another person available to move the scaffolding while you work.Don’t use tape for cutting in the edges, use an angled brush.When rolling, use an up and down motion on the first coat and a side to side motion (opposite) on the second coat.Keep in mind, this includes multiple daily kid sports activities and social taxiing…. We thought maybe we could finish in two days but ended up keeping it a week. If you are doing a large area like I was, take your time and quit when you are tired.

Fill all nail holes and damaged dry wall – if it’s a large area, use drywall mud and add texture (available in a spray can).

Start by removing all light fixtures and vents.

Here’s a youtube video covering basic set up: If this is your only option you may want to get two relatively strong people to help, not sure I could have lifted it while on a ladder. We cheated a little by adding the top layer of the scaffolding (12 foot platform railing and gates), by using our spiral staircase instead of both my husband and I being on ladders and dragging both heavy pieces up and then installing while balancing on ladders. I will be honest, the hardest chore is putting the scaffolding together, which is most certainly a two person job. Each side on each level is a single piece unassembled. Our rental scaffolding fit easily into our Tahoe and was not that bad to get assembled. We ended up buying a multi-level adjustable ladder for the staircase, which was the only high area that wouldn’t be reached with scaffolding. Just fyi, at home depot there are also a variety of ladders for rent.

We rented scaffolding for around $150/per week or the daily rate was $55/per day. Spraying is really only possible if the home is vacant or you can contain the drift, with my open floor plan, that would not have been an option.

Here’s the before pics, I refer to this color as “homebuilder beige”.Įven though I own several paint sprayers, I made the decision to roll versus spray. I am happy to report, it was NOT NEARLY as bad as I had thought! I consider myself pretty brave when it comes to DIY ( hello concrete countertops!) but the thought of renting scaffolding and painting that high for that long was daunting. I had put off painting my main living area for 15 years because of the 19 foot ceilings.

Scaffolding for painting stairs