The dark brown is the place where (what I think is skim coat) pulled up. It's sort of like a cardboard. When it first started coming up, I tried to just take my time and be super careful, but it came up regardless. Now, I'm afraid that if I paint on that metarial, it'll just soak into it.

This.

Get a pro, especially if the drywall is exposed to a lot of light. Every seam will show if not done correctly.

Oh hell, that's the paper layer of the drywall you're pulling up. Whoever put up that wallpaper should be shot, you NEVER hang it on bare drywall. Shit like that pisses me off.

But anyway, it needs to be sealed up, Kilz2 works good for that. It will harden the surface into something you can work with. Then it will need to be scraped, skim coated, sanded, probably skimmed again and primed before you paint.

In other words, it's going to be a lot of work. And a textured paint won't hide that much damage. I definitely would not recommend going that route.

Agreed. Also agree with NOT putting wallpaper straight onto bare drywall paper.

Alright bros, I've got the handy-man know how of a first trimester embryo, but I'm taking on my first home improvement project this weekend. Refinishing my stairs.

I've got the carpet up, original oak woods underneath. Unfortunately, the risers are painted white, the treads are bare but have paint splatter on them. I pulled up the tack strips and dug out the staples. I only have one broken tread to replace, the rest seem in excellent condition. I'm going to start sanding today, stain the treads, clean up the risers, and lay some grip strips.

Any guidance, tips, prayers, wishes for death or terminal illness are appreciated.

Sounds like you have a good plan. While you're cutting the new tread, harvest the oak sawdust. Mix it with some wood glue to create a stainable putty to fill the holes your tack strips and staples left behind.

If you can pull the treads completely out without breaking them, that will make the job 10000x easier. Most of the time that is impossible.

When I do stairs, I usually start with 60 grit edger, followed by 60 grit orbital, 80 grit, 120 grit orbital. Take a very sharp chisel to shave the nasty old finish off the corners, and prepare to finger sand the piss out of them.

When doing the final finger sand in the corners, remember to blend your sand marks together by bringing it out at least 3-4 inches past where the orbital sand ended. If you are worried, just hand sand the entire tread to final grit.

Filler putty before the 60 grit orbital, or you will be changing out orbital pads constantly. Invest in some stainable filler at your local hardware since the homemade stuff can be messy and if done improperly will leave "glue streaking". That occurs when the stain doesn't take to the wood because of glue residue seals it off.

Good luck, and get ready for a wood dust storm!

Can't offer much advice on the wood floors but I suppose I'll take the opportunity to post a couple pics of my latest project.

Before, an 80s era oak light grid covered nearly the entire kitchen. Several of the light fixtures had fallen and others weren't working and some were just burnt out. The whole grid was starting to sag as well. It was also ridiculously overdone, 12 2-bulb fixtures was way, way more light than the room required.

http://oi43.tinypic.com/23mmba.jpg


And the after pic, new grid and panels with a bank of 4 2-bulb fixtures in the center, and recessed lighting over the countertops, with both sets switched independently so we can use whichever is necessary.

http://oi39.tinypic.com/2e4humx.jpg


I spent the better part of 3 days of my vacation this past week working on this, so while KCunited is busting his ass on those floors, I'm going to be relaxing next to the woodstove.

Great stuff on the filler, hadn't thought of that. I suppose I had better cover the furniture as well.

Thanks.

Shit, cover everything. May want to drape plastic around the area if possible to try to contain some of the dust. And when you're done, change your furnace filter.

And while I'm at it, here's what my spring project will be. My patio awning kinda fell during this last snowstorm. I had added an additional support to it when I rebuilt the adjacent sun room so I'm a bit puzzled at what caused it to come down. Luckily it missed the propane Weber, but the charcoal Weber wasn't so lucky. And even luckier that it didn't come down when I was under it because I do spend a lot of time out there in the summer.

http://oi42.tinypic.com/ei10uh.jpg

Nice work! :thumb:

Our kitchen had a drop ceiling w/ 1 florescent fixture. I hated it! Then, one day Gonzo hit one of the tiles w/ a broom and my project began.

Come to find out, the previous owners didn't care for the faux brick that outlined the area above the cabinets, so they installed a drop ceiling. After looking at it, I fell in love and made it work w/ my remodel. Unfortunately our kitchen isn't that big, but by removing the drop ceiling it makes it "appear" bigger.

The original drywall lid is still up there, but significant damage was done to it when they wired the the dozen florescent fixtures. Restoring it, and removing the hideous sunflower wallpaper on the soffits would've added more time that I didn't really have, plus I would've had to go into the attic to do my wiring...not fun. Would've saved me a little money too, but right now I have more money than time so I went the quicker and easier route. I'm not a real big fan of drop ceilings in residential applications but I think it works well enough in this case.

****ing nice Bug. That looks really really nice.

Listen to notorious about the filler because he's right. If you're not incredibly careful with a DIY putty, you'll have streaking where you stain.