Fixing Things #3

    Everything we have tried to change a little has resulted in at least two more jobs required BEFORE we could do the initial fix.  Examples:  fix the plaster and sand before painting, replace the bracing and fill in the cement hole before replacing the cap to the porch.
   Well, we took the carpet up off the stairs leading to the bedrooms, and discovered the previous owners had removed some coving from under the treads and thus removing some extra support for the edges of the treads. (Can you guess where this is going?)  We found the  treads had been painted black, which must have been pretty, and I may repaint them that way.  We also found the last three treads were cracking  all the way across.

 We spend a good hour pulling A LOT of staples out of the wood where the padding had been attached to the steps.  

The family that pulls staples together, ...um, ... has safe feet together??? 

                                                

   We came up with at least a temporary solution to the tread  issue.  My husband put glue in the cracks, and then screwed the broken section into the rest of the tread.  He then cut  planks to fit under the treads, the same size as the risers, and pounded that in to add support uner the cracked area.  So far it is holding up.  

Adding the riser facings.

     The reason we just didn't pull off the cracked treads and make new ones is that the bottom steps are quite irregular - rounded at the bottom, cut in around the newel post,  and not a simple fix.  We are not at a point where we could removes access to the upper floor of the house for a day or two, so for now, the facing fix is what we stay with. 

     When we pulled the carpet off the upper landing, we found another quirky thing. There was linoleum under the carpet (and thus over the hardwood) on the landing.   It is definitely lino, not vinyl, and it looks like it is pieced into the pattern.  I was not expecting it, and we will eventually remove it, as it is filled with holes from the staples and the tack strips, but for now I plan to clean it up and live with it for a while. 

You can see the hardwood edge of the step under the gold edging strip.

This is a better idea of the colours. 

   So what is next in this summer adventure of  flying sawdust and paint drops?  We started pulling up the carpet in the living room.  So nice not to be living with someone else's stains!  We still have one strip left to go - there are two heavy pieces of furniture to shift to get to that part, but it will happen!