Hardwood Stair Refinishing in Maryland: Cost and Process

Stair Work We Do

How Much Does It Cost to Refinish Hardwood Stairs?

Stairs are $200 per step, labor and materials. A step is one tread and its riser. That price sits beside our published floor packages: about $995 for a single room around 200 square feet, $1,695 for around 500 square feet, and $3,195 for a typical 1,000 square foot main level. The full floor pricing, and what moves it up or down, is in our guide to the cost to sand and stain hardwood floors.

Stairs cost more per square foot of wood than a floor because almost none of the work can be done with the big machines. Each tread and riser is sanded by hand and with detail sanders, edges and corners included, then stained and coated one step at a time. Your written estimate lists the staircase as its own line so you can see exactly what it adds to the job.

How Stair Refinishing Works

The old finish comes off first. Treads are sanded back to bare wood through a sequence of grits, the same way a floor is, only by hand. Risers are either sanded and finished to match or prepared for paint, which is the look most Maryland homes with stained treads use.

Stain goes on next if you want color, then protective finish coats. If your floors are being refinished in the same visit, the stairs are stained from the same color so the treads match the floor at the top and bottom of the run. See our hardwood floor refinishing page for the sanding, staining and finish steps on the floors themselves.

A staircase is the one part of the job the household cannot walk around, so ask about access at the estimate. Plan for the stairs to be out of use while stain and finish dry.

Matching Stairs to Your Floors

The cleanest result comes from doing the stairs and the adjoining floors together, with one stain color across both. Quoting the stairs with the floor is the easiest way to make sure the colors match.

If you are deciding whether the staircase should match or contrast, we wrote that up separately: should a staircase match the floors?

Replacing Carpeted Stairs With Hardwood

Carpeted stairs are a common part of a townhouse project. We take up the stair carpet, install hardwood treads, finish or paint the risers, and stain the treads to match the floors above and below. New treads are installation work rather than refinishing, so that part is quoted per job at the free written estimate. Our hardwood floor installation page covers stairs, treads and risers on traditional, circular and split-level staircases.

How Long Does It Take?

A typical main level floor refinish takes 3 to 5 days, depending on the size of the floor, any board repairs and the finish you choose. Stairs done in the same visit are scheduled inside that job. The estimate tells you which days the staircase will be worked on before anything is scheduled.

Why Work With AG Construction MD

• MHIC #104041, licensed and insured. That is the license Maryland requires, and it is verifiable on the state register.
• Owner Aaron Goodman has 15 years of hands-on flooring experience across Maryland and Northern Virginia and personally oversees every project.
• Free, written, no-obligation estimates on every commercial project, including budget numbers for work that is not approved yet.
• One contractor for hardwood, sanding, staining, refinishing, restoration, luxury vinyl, laminate and carpet, so nobody is pointing at somebody else mid-job.
• A service-area business, not a showroom. We come to the property, and there is no retail markup on the quote.
• Scheduling built around your operating hours wherever the job allows. Office hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm.

AG Construction MD LLC is based in Woodbine, MD 21797 and is a service-area business. Call 240-246-4561 for a free estimate or request a quote online.