Paint grade building materials can be made out of a
variety of different types of wood. They can be made out of solid wood,
small pieces of wood and even saw dust. The picture below provides you
with an excellent example of a stairway that's going to be painted,
using paint grade lumber.
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Why wouldn't you use paint grade lumber instead of
expensive hardwoods, especially if you were going to paint it anyway?
I couldn't agree more, if I was going to paint something, I wouldn't use
an expensive hardwood. However, if an architect or home designer is
trying to get a specific look for the stairway, you will usually need to
use a specific type of wood, to create the desired effect.
The picture above provides you with poplar stair risers and mahogany
stair treads. Both of these woods will provide you with two different
looks and finishes, after their painted. The stair treads are going to
be painted brown and the risers are going to be painted white.
Painted Stairs Can Create Safety Problems
If you're planning on using an oil base, semi gloss or high gloss paint
on your stair treads, you could be creating a safety hazard. Gloss
paints usually create a slippery surface, when moist.
To prevent someone from slipping and falling down the stairs, it
wouldn't be a bad idea to use a carpet runner or individual stair tread
carpet pads on a stairway that you're planning on painting. You can even
purchase a nonslip or skid resistant materials, if you're not interested
in using carpeting.
You don't have to believe everything that I tell you, but the first time
that someone slips on any smooth stairway, you should automatically go
into safety mode. If someone slips and falls, it's obviously too late,
but you're probably not going to want it to happen again. This is when
you need to make the necessary repairs, otherwise you could find
yourself dealing with the same problem in the future.
Painted stairs will usually suffer from high traffic and need to be
painted regularly. If you have a steady supply of people walking up and
down your painted stairway on a regular basis, it won't be long before
you start to see the wear and tear patterns, throughout the center of
the stair treads.
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