Painting stairway - help with project!

There's always someone here who knows The Answer to the Really Important Questions, so here goes. . .

We are doing a small kitchen remodel which is rapidly becoming the project from hell. We're having a new floor and countertop installed professionally and doing the painting ourselves, as we always do.

Unfortunately, it's become one of those where-do-we-stop things. The kitchen entryway also goes downstairs to the family room so we have to at LEAST paint down the stairs because otherwise it will look like crap. Problem is that it is a tall ceiling and will require a tall ladder on top of some kind of scaffolding. IF I could find stairway scaffolding to rent around here, which I can't. Hopefully, that makes some kind of sense.

Anyone ever done this or have a brilliant notion how to do it?

eileen from OH

that reach quite a distance..

That's all the help I can give :(

there was a box about the height of two steps. This made painting the stairway easier. Would be fairly easy to make. Then it's possible to rest the ladder on it and other stairs.

Hope THAT makes sense. :)

Duh!

Call around to several professional painting service companies in your area and express an interest in renting whatever type of equipment they use for things like that. If they can't rent out the equipment, they should at least be able to tell you how they do it or what they use.

Or you could do as much as you can and hire someone to do the small amount you can't reach yourself (couldn't take more than an hour unless you're doing a faux finish).

Good luck!

1) Place a 2x8 (or 2x10) at the top landing of the stairs, and a heavy stepladder at the bottom. By placing the 2x8 through the appropriate stepladder rungs (steps), you've created your own scaffolding (note: you may want to use (2) 2x6's instead - more room to stand on!).

Use a roller extension to get the high spots. For trimming ('cutting out" ) between the ceiling and wall, you can either a) place a small (8') extension ladder on your home made scaffolding, or b) if you have a steady hand, duct tape the handle of a brush to a roller extension pole and use the brush like a roller. I know it sounds crazy, but a painter with YEARS of experience showed this to me, and it works if your hand is true.

2) Get a set of ladder levelers for your extension ladder. What they are are two "devices" that attach to the bottom of the ladder, and they "telescope" out to about 24" or so. They're designed so you can use your ladder on uneven spots (like stairs). Any home improvement center or paint store should sell them - I'm guessing they run around $25 or so.

3) Call my friend Mike and ask if Juan is available. I've seen him (Juan) balance on one foot 30' up, while his brother holds a 32' extension ladder on a set of stairs - without levelers! I think he is part goat.

Take an extension ladder - buy one if you don't have it already (if you have a two story house with high ceilings, you'll need it for all kinds of things). Extend the ladder and put the top part to lean against the headyway above the bottom part of the stairs, while bracing the bottom feet against the riser of the stair. Buy two 8x6's and run them from the top of the stairs to one of the rungs of the extention ladder so that it's level. Then you (or someone) can stand on the boards and paint properly!

Hope this helps....pm me if this 'doesn't made sense'.

I grabbed a book at the library last evening that had a picture of just the arrangement you described.

Thanks a lot!

eileen from OH

I apologize for the unabashed commercial message you are about to read, but if you climb a ladder that's standing on a scaffold you are asking to break your damn fool neck. There is a better way.

We sell a ladder that's just what you need. It is a "four-way" ladder and it's only available from The Home Depot--we have a patent on this.

The ladder looks a bit like a stepladder with sleeves around the legs. (The sleeves have rungs.) It has five functions.

It is a traditional stepladder. Extend both sleeves to the height you need--anywhere from five to ten-and-a-half feet. Well, not quite a "traditional" stepladder--there are rungs on both sides, so two people can work on it at once, and the load capacity is at least 300 pounds (I think 350) so two people can work on it without getting killed.

It is also an extension ladder. Lock it out straight and you can climb the wall--maximum height is 21 feet.

And it's a pair of stepladders--pull the sleeves completely off the ladder, stick the second set of hinges (included--don't throw away the little suitcase that came with the ladder; the second hinges are in it) in the sleeves, and you have two stepladders. Very handy when you need two stepladders--hanging curtains, anyone?

You can also use the pair of stepladders as a scaffold--just stick a board between them and you're golden. They sell an official board they want you to use, but it's expensive as hell and most people just use a 2x12.

But for your purpose, the stairway ladder function will come in very handy. Extend one sleeve all the way, leave the other in (you may need to extend it a bit) and put it on your stairs. You now have a 10.5-foot stairway ladder. This is the only really safe way to use a ladder on a stairway--anyone who puts a ladder on top of a scaffold, then climbs the ladder, should be sure to check his life insurance coverage before he goes up.

We get $199 for these ladders and they're worth every cent. I bought one. Now I use my ladder all the time--before I got this I had a 24-foot extension ladder, which I hate. I still have the 24-foot ladder, but it comes out of the shed maybe twice a year. This ladder stays in the house. We also have an 11-foot version of this ladder that costs $99. The big one will fit in the back seat of a Honda Accord, which is how I got it home.

I rent stairway scaffolding; two days rent on a stairway scaffold will pay for one of these ladders.

for the ideas! Knew this was the place to ask!

eileen from OH