Finishing your basement stairs is quick and painless and can still look incredible
Finishing your basement stairs not only makes the space look more complete and welcoming, but it can also add an element of safety by reducing the risk of slipping and falling. There are a few different ways to finish basement steps, and thankfully, all of them are DIY friendly. In this guide, we’ll discuss how to prepare for your basement stair remodel, four options you have for finishing them, and when you might want to consider hiring a professional.
Finishing your basement stairs accomplishes two main things. First, it makes your basement look more complete, which is crucial if your stairs lead down into a finished or partially finished basement. Professional-looking steps can lead to your finished basement adding more value to your home. Even if you have an unfinished basement, finishing your stairs can make them safer to use, reducing the risk of slipping when you’re moving things into and out of storage in your under-home area.
So, whether you want to make your stairs safer to use for yourself, your kids, or your pets, or you want to add some elegance and a sense of completion to your finished basement, finishing your steps is a great option that you can get done yourself, usually in a single day.
The cost to finish basement stairs yourself will usually range from $100 to $3,000, depending on the strategy you use for finishing the steps and the railings you add, if any, for safety. Painting and staining your steps are going to be the most affordable options, installing a carpet runner will be a little more expensive, and installing vinyl planks will be the most expensive option.
If you’re hiring a basement remodeling professional near you to do the work, you can expect to pay between $500 and $6,000, in most cases, again depending on how you want your steps to appear and function.
Before you dive into finishing your steps, there are a few things you should consider regarding the appearance and safety of your steps, as well as the ease of your project.
Consider carpet for safety. If you want to reduce the risk of slipping on your steps, especially if you have children or pets that will frequent the basement space, installing a carpet runner is going to be the best option and offer the most traction.
Choose paint or stain for affordability. Paint and stain are both super affordable ways to finish basement steps, adding elegance and beauty for as little as $100.
Vinyl flooring is the most aesthetically pleasing. If you have a finished basement and want the most beautiful steps possible leading down to your basement living area, vinyl flooring is typically a preferable option. Plus, you can match the step treads with the flooring in your basement for a cohesive and pleasing appearance.
Vinyl and carpet are ideal for finished basements. Painting or staining wooden stairs that lead down into finished basements often won’t look complete. Opt for a carpet runner, full carpeting, or vinyl for the most elegant and “complete” appearance. Just be sure to measure your stairs for carpet correctly.
Step preparation is crucial. If you’re painting or staining your stairs, sanding beforehand to ensure everything is smooth and level is a good idea. If you’re installing carpet on your stairs, prepping the steps with carpet padding is a good idea for comfort and noise reduction.
Consider your own safety. If you’re sanding, staining, or painting your steps at any point, always wear a respirator to avoid breathing in harmful compounds or sawdust. If you’re using a stapler or nail gun, we recommend wearing eye and ear protection.
Leave time after finishing. Unless you’re installing carpeting, you should plan on leaving some time after you apply the finish or install the vinyl plank flooring for the stain, paint, or adhesive to cure. Make sure you won’t need to use the steps for at least 24 hours after finishing the project. If you don’t have an exterior entrance from your basement, make sure you start at the bottom!
There are four main ways you can finish basement stairs, depending on how you want your steps to look and feel. We’ll walk through each of these options from simplest to most challenging below.
Sanding and painting your steps is the most straightforward option, and provided you take some time to tape off any areas you don’t want to paint, you can’t really mess this one up! Just keep in mind that paint doesn’t offer much traction, and it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing option.
Using a random orbital sander, sand down any rough spots or uneven areas on your steps, paying particular attention to the treads—the part you step on. Make sure to wear proper safety protection. If your steps are brand new, you can safely skip this step.
Wipe any sawdust and debris off of the steps using a clean rag.
Carefully tape off any areas you don’t want paint on using painter’s tape. If you plan on painting the treads and risers different colors or staining the treads and painting the risers, make sure to tape appropriately to avoid cross-contamination.
Using a brush or roller, apply an even coat of paint over the entire set of stairs and let it dry completely. You can wait the recommended amount of time mentioned on the paint, or you can wait 24 hours to be safe.
Apply another even coat of paint and let it dry completely.
We recommend applying one to two coats of polyurethane as well to add durability. You can follow the manufacturer’s directions for application.
Sanding and staining is similarly simple to sanding and painting, but stain requires a bit more care to get an even coloration. Keep in mind that you can easily cover up paint with more paint, whereas stain is permanent and can’t be covered with more stain. Make sure you choose a stain color you like.
Use a random orbital sander to smooth the steps and sand down any imperfections unless your steps are new. Always wear a respirator, ear protection, and eye protection when using your sander.
Wipe the steps clean of sawdust and debris.
Tape off any areas you don’t want to stain, but keep in mind that stain can easily bleed under tape lines. Be conservative with stain application around tape lines, and consider painting over areas where you want the stain to end.
Apply a pre-stain wood conditioner according to the manufacturer’s directions. This step is optional, but it will make it much easier to get an even coat and uniform appearance.
Using a clean rag, apply the stain to your steps by rubbing it into the wood. Use even pressure and try to spend the same amount of time on all areas. Always wear a respirator and nitrile gloves when applying stain, and open the space up for ventilation if possible.
You’ll need to wipe off excess stain after a few minutes, according to the manufacturer’s directions. You can move from step to step staining, but return within the timeline to wipe any excess off of the previous step.
Once the stain dries fully—based on the manufacturer’s directions—we recommend applying one to two coats of a polyurethane made for high-traffic areas. This will lock in the color and help protect the steps from damage and moisture.
Installing a carpet runner on your basement stairs is pretty simple, but it looks super professional when you do it properly. Make sure to measure your steps before you purchase your carpet, and buy padding that sits about a half-inch to a full inch inside of the edges of your runner on both sides.
Prepare the steps by cleaning them of dirt and debris. If you want painted or stained steps beneath the runner for a truly professional and elegant appearance, follow the previous steps first to apply paint or stain.
Mark the center of your steps with a pencil on each riser and tread. It’s also a good idea to mark half the width of your carpet padding and half the width of your carpet runner on either side of the center point. This will help the carpet installation go much more quickly.
Using a finish stapler—pneumatic is ideal, but an electric stapler will also work—staple the carpet padding to the top of the top-most riser. At each horizontal line, adding three staples should be sufficient and help avoid mistakes when you go to staple the carpet runner over it. One staple on each side and one in the middle should work well.
Pull the padding taught down the first riser and staple again at the bottom of the riser.
Now pull the padding taught from the bottom of that riser to the end of the following tread, stapling across the backside of the tread.
Wrap the padding around the front edge of the tread, pull it taught, and staple to the top of the next riser. Continue this process until you get to the bottom.
Cut any excess padding off.
Now, begin at the top again with your carpet runner. Follow the same steps you did for the padding, but staple six times at each horizontal line—meaning, at the top of each riser, the bottom of each riser, and the back of each tread. Six evenly spaced staples with one on each side and four spaced across the middle of the runner will prevent stapling into the staples that are holding the padding in place.
Installing laminate vinyl plank flooring on your basement steps is the most complicated option, but it’s still suitable for most DIYers with some patience. Plus, this option looks the most professional and usually adds the most to your basement’s visual appeal.
Begin by cutting your riser pieces to length using a utility knife or a miter saw with a high-tooth-count blade. You can cut the pieces to the proper width on a table saw, also using a blade with a high tooth count. Since there can be slight variances in riser height, we recommend carefully measuring them one by one to make sure yours fit perfectly.
If your laminate planks have a foam underlayment attached, you’ll need to remove that. You might be able to peel it off easily. Otherwise, use a razor blade and a paint scraper to remove it.
Apply a generous amount of construction adhesive to the rear of your first riser piece, and press it firmly onto the wooden riser. Apply pressure evenly across the entire riser, ideally using a laminate floor roller.
Repeat the above steps for all additional risers.
Next, measure your treads from the face of the riser above to the face of the riser below. Again, we recommend measuring each tread individually.
Attach each tread using a generous amount of construction adhesive, and press each on to your steps using even pressure with a laminate flooring roller.
Repeat the above steps for each tread.
Next, cut stair nosing for each step. We suggest measuring each tread individually and checking to make sure your sizing is correct before attaching.
Apply the nosing to each step using construction adhesive, and use a roller to apply pressure for a proper seal.
Wait for the construction adhesive to cure completely—based on the manufacturer’s directions—before using the stairs.
Once you’ve put the work in to finish your basement stairs, you’ll want to make sure you protect them properly, especially since they’re likely going to see a lot of foot traffic. There are a few things you can do to keep your finished basement stairs looking fresh.
Reapply polyurethane. If you’ve painted or stained your steps, you should have also applied polyurethane to protect the wood and finish underneath from physical damage. Still, polyurethane will wear down over time, so we recommend reapplying poly once every one to two years—depending on how much traffic your stairs see—to keep them adequately protected. Doing this will help avoid having to sand and reapply paint or stain.
Re-attach carpeting when necessary. If you’ve installed a carpet runner on your steps, keep an eye out for any areas that start to pull away from the treads or risers. Not only can this be an extremely dangerous tripping hazard, but it will also make your steps look disheveled. Go over any areas with the stapler again as needed.
Clean the carpeting regularly. Finally, regularly clean your carpet runner to make it look fresh. You can use a carpet shampoo and some elbow grease to get out stains and discoloration.
Finishing basement steps is a DIY-friendly project, so we’re confident that most homeowners can tackle these four strategies without the help of a professional. However, there are some cases where we recommend calling in a pro.
Non-linear stairs. If you have basement stairs that descend, make a 90-degree turn, and then descend again, installing vinyl or carpet runners is going to be a challenge. It’s still doable as a DIYer, but we’d recommend calling in a pro to make sure all of the angles are done cleanly.
If your stairs are damaged. If your stairs aren’t new and have any damage or imperfections that need repair, you might want to consider hiring a professional for help before finishing them. Any damaged steps, from basement stairs to steps on the main floor and even attic ladders, can be safety issues and can make finishing a challenge.
Complete stair carpeting. If you want your steps totally carpeted rather than just partially covered with a runner, we recommend hiring a pro. Complete carpeting is much more complicated with all of the angles and may require special tools for measuring and attaching.
If you’re uncomfortable with the process or don’t have the necessary tools. Of course, if any of the steps above make you uncomfortable or you don’t have access to the necessary tools, a professional can make quick work of the project and save you some time.
There are a lot of ways you can get your basement stairs looking nice, but the best options are installing laminate plank flooring or painting the risers, staining the treads, and installing a carpet runner. Vinyl flooring is less involved but will be more expensive, and both options are suitable for most DIYers.
You don’t need to have a door at the top of basement stairs, but having one is usually a good idea. Not only will the door block the view of the basement, which might serve as a play area or less appealing workout space, but it can also prevent children or pets from going downstairs, as well as accidental falls.
Most homeowners prefer vinyl plank flooring to cover basement stairs, and this is generally considered the best option because it’s resistant to mold and won’t get damaged by moisture. However, carpeting is a more affordable installation and provides better traction to prevent slipping and falling. If you have kids or pets that will frequent the basement area, a carpet might be a better option to add some extra traction.
