During and During - Stairs

I so deeply wish that the title of this post was Before and After. But it's not. Nope, it's not even close. Well, I guess it's closer than it's ever been before. Indeed, we are really enjoying the fact that we are seeing some progress. However, we are not done.

The fact that we have come so far was really driven home when I unearthed some printed photos taken sometime this winter. So this is the first in a series of posts entitled During and During.

This pair of shots is of the stairs just after they had been gutted, and after the drywall had gone up - the newel posts are stripped down to the bare wood in the second shot (on the right). Got to love the smell of Poly Strippa while I did those babys. We have ball-tops that were custom made for them by Century Porch Post so that we were able to at least keep one part, if not all of the original trimwork. We are still in the process of stripping the black gunk off of each tread and riser to prep for paint.

I love the old curtain hanging behind Jamie in the left shot - probably there to "protect" the kitchen. HA!

What you cannot see are the balusters that, though made of lovely maple, were covered with thick, old, chipped paint and needed to be stripped as well and also doubled in quantity to meet code regulations - less than 4 inches apart. As well, the banister had been hacked away, much like the ball tops and was beyond repair. These both would have to be fully replaced.