Today is a big day. After getting the thumbs-up from my landlord, I've started work on my staircase, which I asked for advice on in a previous post. Click through to see how it all goes down.
I start with my first trip of the day to the local hardware store in search of a floor sander. There are no rentals available, so I purchase the cheapest model, which comes out to what I would have spent on renting for several days, anyway.
When I come home to peel back the linoleum on the top step and find what's lurking beneath, the wood seems nice, but most of it is covered in layers of brown paint and black adhesive tar paper. So I tie a scarf around my face and get to getting. The sanding removes the mess up to a certain point, but after 30 minutes spent on one step and only getting it partially cleaned, I realize I'm gonna have to call in the chemicals if this is ever to get done. The sander will be more useful once the wood is completely stripped.
So I make my second trip to the hardware store, and pick up something called Zip-Strip. It seems gnarly, so I make sure to get a real mask, goggles, and gloves. Safety first!
The chemical does a good job of eating through the paint, but four rounds of goo and steel wool scrubbing in I realize that the tarpaper on the stairs has somehow fossilized and become one with the wooden treads. This is not a realistic plan. I call my dad for advice and he recommends that I rent a belt sander, because he claims, as I suspected, that the chemicals won't be able to remove the adhesive entirely. So I call the local construction rental place and they're all out of sanders for the afternoon. Bummer.
I spend the rest of the day removing the first layers of gunk on the stairs and devising a plan. On the risers, the linoleum is in good shape. I'm considering just sanding and painting these rather than attempting to refinish them as I am the treads. It seems like an impossible amount of work, but I'll be able to make a better decision tomorrow once I've experimented with the proper equipment. But I'm now thinking that putting some sort of solid surface down instead of trying to revive what's already there may be the best option...
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This post made me laugh. Sounds like you've moved quickly through several early stages of remodeling. Starting with "dear god, what have I done?" then onto "well this isn't going to work," then onto "how the eff am I going to do this?" and then onto the most important stage, which is "well I can't just leave it like this. better get back to work." Kudos and good luck!
painting sounds good.
how about just lighting the stairs with LEDs and unscrewing the lights? you can quit now! :)
Uff-ta! That sounds like loads of work. Glad to hear you're keeping your chin up about it. When we busted our backs trying to remove tar paper from our old kitchen, we found that placing an hot iron (bottom covered in tin foil) on the tar paper for a while eased the adhesive enough to get a paint scraper under it. It was messy and putsy, but it worked and it was chem-free. Perhaps a heat gun would do as well, just watch for any damage to the wood itself.
Also, the linoleum on the risers may not be as tough to remove since it hasn't been stepped on for decades. Still, once, you start tearing at it you've opened a whole new can of worms.
Do you know what era the linoleum was from? A lot of old tar paper contains asbestos. Sanding kicks all of that up and into the air... and into your lungs.
Oh boy.... sending some happy energy your way. Agree with asbestos comment from greenish. We had some old linoleum that needed professional removal due to asbestos. You are kicking some butt... keep it up!
You have such nice smooth hands.
don't ruin the skin.
Nowyou know why it's never been done!!!!
oh hell, just carpet the whole mess and call it a day. sisel, maybe.
im surprised you didnt think through this a little more before starting... like you hadn't removed the linoleum yet and didnt know what was under it? I guess I am just a little more obsessive about forming a plan before I start working so I won't be out extra cash and I won't be making 3 trips to the hardware store in one day.
I've been researching Skimstone - it's non toxic. It might work on your stairs to just cover it all up. What I've read says it wears extremely well
Any one have experience with it? I'm considering putting it on drywall for in a bathroom instead of tile.
Love to hear how this works out. How bought a bright red carpet?
I'm for keeping the linoleum on the risers if it still is in good shape...I think it looks awfully nice myself.
Keep it up!
A heat gun, as medusa12120 recommended, would be a great idea. I've been using ours to remove 70 years' worth of paint from wooden windows, but I can imagine it'd be great for that fossilized goo that you're dealing with too.
Can't recommend a brand, as ours is an ancient wire-loop heater thingy that you probably can't buy any more. Looks like it might be 40 years old itself? But it still works!
Hmm. I would try 'Peel Away 7' or another 'Peel Away' product. They are friendly people and would be more than happy to answer your questions if you give them a call. Some of their products are corrosive and should not be used on Wood (Will darken) however there should be one of their strippers that will take all of that off. There is a new product that has a wax paper backing, so you just apply walk away and pull the paper off with all the nasty junk attached, no more steel wool itching!
I would avoid using a Heat gun, you can actually set things on fire quite easily with it. All it takes is some material between the cracks to light up and you have an extremely dangerous fire located UNDER a stairwell.
Another safer option would be a heat gun that uses infrared heat. It not only works better than a normal heat gun but also does not start fires. I would recommended: the http://www.silentpaintremover.com which works wonders!
Good luck I own a commerical property that took 3 years to restore to my liking, but am no in a similar predicament when it comes to my rental apartment. I discovered Oak furnishings and moldings hidden under about 7 layers of paint and now I am reviewing just how much time and money I want to invest in a place that I do not own.