some advice on painting/varnishing stairs

[rozia]

i want to take the carpet up and varnish my stairs dark brown, and then lay a runner from top to bottom. How do i varnish my stairs, do i need to prepare the area first, if so what would i need to do. thanks in advance.

[B00]

If they're anything like my stairs, they'll need all the nails, hundreds of the buggers pulling out. Then 2 years of sanding (that might be a slight exaggeration)- then once varnished- a bucket for you to use as a loo downstairs as you can't then go upstairs to use the toilet.

Oh, and if you have a dog like mine- gawd help you!

[heathfield]

If you intend laying a runner, there's no need to varnish the whole of each tread, just the bits at each side that will show. That way, by keeping to the middle while the varnish dries, you can still have access to the upstairs.

[marden40]

depending on your budget, there are laminates available for stairs if you are wanting dark wood......stairs vary by how old your house is, the stair risers and treads might not even be wood, MDF has been used for quite some time........laminate is not cheap but I've used this on quite a few properties and the final result is amazing, virtually no prep required.

http://parquet.quick-...M6R1a8CFcEmtAodrHUQeQ