Staining our new staircase!

New Oak Staircase!

We finally found the staircase we love.  We purchased the staircase components at Lowe's of Washington.  The brand is RetroTread by Young and is made from solid red oak.  

The hand rails and baluster and newel post came from Keim Lumber in Charm, Ohio.  They are custom made from solid red oak.  It is the staircase of my dreams!  We have been staining them for days now...three coats of Old Masters gel stain in American Walnut #81808 from Colorize of Pittsburgh.  We are finishing with three coats of Old Masters Interior Water Based Masters Armor in Satin finish #72104.  It is designed for floors but can be used on furniture, cabinets, etc. and is for use on interior wood surfaces.  

We have been working on this project since October 29, 2019.  We started outside as it was warm but we had a rain shower and had to run with all the pieces to the garage to protect them.  The next day we took them to my Daddy's home to finish the staining and finish coat.  

I'm taking a tea break!

Buster enjoyed being outside with us.

It has taken a week to sand and stain the stairs.  Then it took more than another week to apply the three coats of the clear finish.  In between, we had the Hallmark event, shopping, the Martha Washington Quilt Show, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  Deep breath here...it is closer to being done now.  We have the stairs complete and down...and are working on the handrails and balusters and newel post after the wall is painted.  By the time we are finished a job that could have taken possibly three weeks will have taken three months.  But the result is worth the effort.  I can say that if I ever decide to do a home remodel project in autumn again I hope someone stops me!  If you are in the market for wood parts for your staircase I recommend the two stores that helped us find exactly what we needed.