Background: See “Stairs: Part 1: Demolition Right“
The stair reconfiguration is done! Well, mostly. I still have a few things left to do but I’m not in a rush:
- Replace the brown-stained board on top of the open wall (still deciding what to do; thoughts?). I’m temporarily using the board that sat on top of the former pony-wall since it’s the right size.
- Run electrical from the light at the bottom of the stairs to the wall at the top of the stairs (adding a second light). This will be a project in itself and will include a new blog posting.
- Use my new DeWALT D26677K hand planer to shave a bit more off the bottom of the door, since it’s still rubbing on the carpet.
I installed a new “Promenaid” handrail along the length of the stairs. Luckily the 12-foot length was perfect so it didn’t require any specialty cuts. We ordered the Silver Anodized Aluminum version with flush endcaps. I went with this handrail since the wall positions are adjustable; fixed positions would have missed the studs, and that’s a non-starter for a handrail. Adjusting the mounts was much trickier than their video showed, and I nearly gave them a bad review, but after a lot of futzing and retries I was happy with the end result.
We hired contractors for drywall mudding / texturing and painting since texturing is an art-form and ladders are for the brave. They did a great job! We’re also happy with the carpet choice since it brightened the area.
Overall we’re VERY happy with the new configuration. My workshop is completely closed off which will be good to keep pets out and dust in. The removed pony-wall makes it easier to navigate bulky object to the basement.
I refreshed the rest of the finished basement as well; I’ll post separately for that. For now some photos of the (nearly) completed stair remodel:
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