Stairway to heaven

Refurbishment of the stairs started promptly as planned on Tuesday morning shortly after 8am.

I say "refurbishment" rather than "replacement" deliberately, as we're not having the entire staircase replaced. This particular company don't do that in any case, but it would have been (a) far too expensive - more than double what we eventually paid - and (b) unnecessary, as the main carcase is still sound. The bits we don't like are the more visible and slightly less structural items, like newel posts, rails and spindles. As it happens, these guys also work on the external and internal stringers, but only to encase them in new wood, rather than replace them entirely.

The project stretched beyond the original estimates of either the designer (a full day, maybe two) or the surveyor (definitely two days, possibly a few hours on a third day), which was strange because when it was booked in, they said they had two other jobs to do the same week. During a break in proceedings on the first day - with all the hand rails sawn off and only two of the original newel posts still in place - one of the joiners admitted that they "never do these in less than three days" and in the end, for one reason or another, one of them had to come back for an hour or so this morning for some finishing touches.

Still, the end result is definitely worth it. You'll have to wait for pics until a carpet has been chosen and fitted. The original stairs were painted red and white, and since they're the only bit that remains unchanged they don't really set off the lovely warm oak to its best advantage!