Your older staircase adds character to your home with its decorative railings and stately appearance. But if it hasn’t aged as gracefully as you’d like, and its charm is wearing away with each creaky step, call in a professional to give your stairs added support.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE HOME DEPOT

This oak staircase, with carved balusters and a curling rail, would be historically appropriate in a Victorian home. Products shown are from The Home Depot.

Silence That Squeak

The most common problem with older staircases is that they develop squeaks if the glue holding various parts together wears away, according to Glen Gustafson of The Bergen Home Wright, Oradell (bergenhomewright.com).

“Staircases are basically glued together, and nails hold things in place until the glue dries,” he said. “If you have access to the back of the stairs, you can fix creaking treads by taking them out and re-gluing and nailing them. If you don’t, you can do what we call face-nailing through the finished area.”

For staircases with ornate balusters, replacements for broken spindles can be custom fabricated if the homeowner desires.

Gustafson said fixing squeaky treads is a matter of choice. Homeowners can try to “lubricate the joints” by applying talcum powder to the surface and working it into any cracks.

When a staircase has separated from the flooring due to the house settling, though, call a professional.

“If there’s a gap between the stairs and the floors, your staircase is hanging on the wall and not really touching the floor,” Gustafson explained. “Every time you walk on it, you’re putting more stress on the stringer that’s hanging up in the air.

“Eventually, that’ll give, and you don’t know if it’ll all fall apart… Every time you walk on, it it’s going to sag a bit, pull on the handrails and pull the newels away from what they’re attached to.”

Out of Code, Loose Railings

Many older staircases actually are out of code, noted Mike Alleva, of Alleva Construction Inc., Hackensack (alleva-construction.com).

“A lot of people want to bring the stairs up to current code, so they are a proper width and safer to use, but it can be expensive,” he said. “You have to actually open up the floor above to make more headroom for the new stairs.”

For loose railings, Alleva said, it can be difficult to match the details of older balusters and newel posts. Often, when repairs are made to the rail it affects the stairs, which are connected to the balusters.

“Another typical issue is if the wall-mounted handrail starts ripping out of the wall,” he said. “A lot of times, you actually have to open up the plaster, because most of the old homes have plaster walls. You have to put new blocking behind the plaster, re-plaster it and then reattach the wall-mounted handrail.”

Both contractors advised that, with material and labor, it could cost about $400 to $800 to repair squeaky steps and loose balusters. If the job goes much beyond that, they said, it may make more sense to put in a whole new set of railings and stairs. This can cost $1,500 to $3,000, depending on the location (basement or main floor) and the amount of detail.

“Say the homeowners want to replace certain aspects of their staircase, such as swapping out pine risers for oak risers,” Gustafson said. “It might be more cost-effective to just replace the entire staircase.”

Staining and Finishing

Alleva said typical arrangements for stair design include purchasing primed risers, stringers and balusters that can be painted and treads and handrails that will be stained.

Jeff Spillane, senior product manager for Benjamin Moore, said homeowners have a choice between oil-based (solvent) stains and urethanes or ones that are water-borne (alkyd/acrylic). He added that oil-based stains were used predominantly for years, but new water-based formulas deliver a similar look with fewer VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and easier application.

“The last few years have brought into the market a new resin that’s a water-reducible alkyd,” Spillane said. “We also have a new product, Benwood Interior Wood Finishes, Waterborne Stain No. 205 (MSRP $16.99 a quart). It has low VOCs compared to solvent-based items, and it’s easier to use and control.”