Can you sand and stain old carpeted stair treads?
When ripping up old carpet on decades-old stairs, homeowners often find worn subfloor treads and are unsure whether they can be sanded and stained to match new flooring like LVP, or if they need to be completely covered with new matching treads or replaced.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1sanding and staining the existing wood treads
- 2installing luxury vinyl plank stair treads over the existing steps
- 3using solid wood cladding
- 4replacing treads and risers entirely
- 5painting the stairs or reinstalling carpet
- 6sanding, staining, and painting instead of full replacement
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“30+ year old carpeted stairs. Carpet has reached lifespan and we are debating if we should remove and replace all risers and treads or try to renovate them (sanding, staining, painting).”source ↗
“We recently ripped up the carpet on our staircase and found this underneath. Is this a type of wood that is able to be sanded and stained to closely match the lvp that we are using on the floors? Or should we get the lvp stair treads to put over them?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4Is my weathered deck salvageable or do I need to replace it?
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- 2Should I keep old 1970s basement tile or cover it up?
- 4How to know if hardwood is under carpet before pulling it up
- 3Should I tear out old plaster or put drywall over it?